A Good Book and Other News

I know it's a little late to still be talking about Halloween BUT if you have younger kids, I highly recommend the picture book, The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs. It is a wonderful way to look at Halloween and jack-o-lanterns with a Christian perspective. It's a very awesome book.  She also has an Easter book called The Parable of the Lily.  Equally awesome.

In other news...my 4 year old woke up this morning (the day after Halloween) and says, before breakfast mind you, "Mom, I really feel like having some chocolate.". Me too.
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My 8 year old recently admitted to me that she has been trimming the hair on her legs with scissors for a couple of months now.

Look at what the Stupid cat did to my shirt!

To the shirt that I wore ONE time!  ONE stinkin' time!!

In case you missed the gigantic hole that goes completely through from one side to the other, here is a close up. 

That's a big ole' hole!!  Stupid cat!!

Photoshoot

Here are the results of an impromptu photo shoot with my youngest daughter;

She's usually not quite so compliant when it comes to pictures.  She was in a good mood today though so I took advantage.

Rain and Playdough

The wonders of home made playdough on a rainy day.  No tennis, no soccer, no piano, not even any homework.  They literally played with playdough from the time they got home from school until I had to force them to clean up for dinner.  That was close to 3 hours!  I had made my youngest a couple of batches of playdough intending to keep her busy while her sisters were away at school so I could do some housework.  Who knew it would have given me time to clean the WHOLE house.  Did I?  That's not the point. 

Playdough Recipe
Mix;
1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup water
1 TBSP veggie oil
food coloring of your choice

Mix all very well in a saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly until playdough forms a ball.  Remove from heat.  Remove from sauce pan to wax paper.  Cool and knead.  Store in airtight container or ziplock bag.

Name Changes and Yelling

Ok, since I keep confusing the heck out of people who know me that read my blog by calling my children names other than their own, I am going to stop calling them Kristin, Grace and Elliott- which are not their real names. Instead, from now on, I will refer to them as my oldest, middle or youngest or #1, #2, #3. Maybe that will be easier.

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On another note...

My middle child says to me yesterday; "Mom, you have a good voice for yelling."


:o

Krunchers Play Blades in Game Opener

Saturday, the Krunchers of Marietta played the Blades of Marietta in soccer in their first game of the season.

While according to officials the game was scoreless at the end, both teams enjoyed running up and down the field and numerous goal attempts.

Krunchers forward, Elliott McCutiepants ran hard and tried her best.

"Getting the ball from the other team was my favorite part." said McCutiepants in an interview late Saturday. "I liked the Gatorade too." she added referring to the team snack after the game.

The Krunchers will play again this Saturday at 10 AM. Preparations are being made for another top notch game.


McCutiepants goes for the ball.


#7, Elliott McCutiepants exhibits good hustle as she rushes the ball.


McCutiepants enjoys a laugh with friend and teammate, Lisa Howyadoing, before the game.

Where Were You?

I grew up hearing people ask folks my parents age questions like, "where were you when Kennedy was shot?" "Where were you when Elvis died?"
Unfortunately, my generation now has a "where were you" question to ask.

Where where you 10 years ago today on September 11th?

On September 11, 2001, I was in my classroom, teaching a language arts lesson to my first grade class. Back then, technology was not what it is today and so information was not quite as readily available as it is now. I don't even think I had a computer in my classroom then, so no Internet. Even cell phone coverage in my classroom was spotty.

Another teacher, Mrs. Lewis, knocked on my classroom door and asked if I had heard what happened. I don't remember a lot about what she said but I do know that I didn't quite understand. For some reason, I thought she meant some sort of fighter jets had crashed. While I thought that was tragic, I didn't really understand why she would coming knocking to tell me.

My cell phone rang. Because of the spotty coverage, I stepped out in the hall to answer it. It was my husband of barely 6 months calling. He did not often call during the day since he knew it was difficult for me to take calls. It wasn't until he explained to me what had happened that I really understood. Something horrible had happened. It was more than just tragic as I had previously thought. This was scary.

Being that I worked in an elementary school full of minds too young to really be able to understand what was going on and why, and us as the teachers and adults, not really prepared to explain it yet, being as most of us didn't really understand it either, there was not a lot of reaction school wide, even though the school was on lock down. They did turn on TVs in the cafeteria and tried to turn them away from the students, so the teachers could watch the news as it unfolded.

We were to continue our day as normal. We were not to tell the students anything that had happened. We were to try to remain calm. It was really difficult to concentrate on anything for the rest of the day. I'm pretty sure my students didn't do a lot of learning that day because I didn't do a lot of teaching.

There were some parents who came to the school to check out their kids early. The phone lines we burned up with other parents calling, wanting to be reassured of the safety of their kids.

There was a heavy feeling of "oh my gosh" in the air. I didn't know anyone in New York or D.C. or on a plane for that matter. I knew all my loved ones were safe. But that didn't take away the eeriness and the heart thrumming anxiousness of the day. And it seemed to get worse and worse. It was a nightmare.

Later that evening, my husband and I gathered at our church along with many others, to pray for our country, for our leaders, for the injured and for the families of those who lost loved ones. It was a very somber event.

It was a day I will never forget.

Where were you?