In House Artist

This week we attended Erin's Art Show at school. These are 5 of her pieces that were displayed around the school that she worked on this year in 2nd grade. There were also 3-D Arts on display, including a beaded necklace made with clay beads where she made the actual beads, but that didn't photograph so well. The talent of students in her school was incredible!

Enjoy my own little talented girl and her creative works....
1) Butterfly
2) Forrest
3) Horses
4) Chinese Dragon
5) Leaves

Summer Challenge

My two friends and I, Aubree and Jing Jing, have challenged ourselves. Ok, I started it and they are weak and cave to peer pressure, but regardless, we are doing this together! We are going to complete 100 scrapbook pages between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. I won't mention that we are each counting some work we did as early as Wednesday or Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, it was a looong weekend, ok? It is the general time frame we are going for. It is fun to egg each other on, watch the work we each create and have a little friendly competition. Especially with creative ladies like these.

So, here are the first 8 pages I managed to get done last weekend. I have 3 more finished, just not photographed and downloaded yet. I think if we keep each other motivated, 100 pages won't be that hard? Especially if you have seen the stash of supplies we have stock piled. We tend to encourage shopping as well....

Update: Seeking Counselor.

So, as predicted, Erin arrived home from school yesterday and as soon as she found out that Ira .... shall we say "Took care of the bird" she was PISSED! I was talking to him on the phone and she started yelling at him and was angry and he got the Very Mad Face and everything. Do I know my kids or what. And to think, she looks this sweet?

Haley, on the other hand, was rather matter-of-fact about the entire thing. Blase' if you will. She was proud of the fact that she did not tell anyone at school as daddy made her promise not to. Weekend Mermaid, School Day ELmer Fudd (I thought I thaw A Birdy? I did, I did!).

Ira told me that of everyone he spoke to over the course of the day told him the man was just not right. In his defense? If we lived in some parts of the country, the kids would have not only had their own real guns by now, he would have taken them turkey hunting already and taught them how to clean their own kill.

Just saying.
Maybe we should move to the Great Smoky Mountains. Or West Virginia.
Robins is the best we can do in Cherry Hill.

Years. Of. Therapy.

Strangely, this time I am not talking about me. My children. They will most likely need years of therapy. You see, their father is insane. He has an obsession. With birds. And killing them. Not all birds, just the 3 that have nested in my back porch. Where they proceed to shit all over the cushions and table and deck and everything. It is gross, dirty, disgusting and unsanitary. We eat there. The kids and dogs walk out there and then come in the. We have removed the nest, almost daily, just to have it rebuilt over night. The damn robin even laid her eggs on the wood beam with no nest!

So the birds have to go.

The other night, we were on the porch, and one of the cushions was literally PILED with bird poop. Did I mention this was the day after I had spent hours out int eh sun scrubbing the cushions with soap and water and a scrub brush to put them out for the season? No? well, it was. And this cushion had little piles of bird poop. All. Over. It. Gross. There were these two sparrow like birds. Asleep on the wire over head. Ira picked up a small bottle of Gatorade someone left on the porch. He threw it. Would you believe he hit the sleeping bird? Yeah, I wouldn't have either. Until he held up a headless bird at the kitchen window.

Yup. Headless.

Now, here is the part where my kids need therapy. The next morning? Erin asked if he kept the bird so she could see it. Serious. She was mad he didn't wake her up to see it. (He asked, I wouldn't let him, by the way)

Next weekend, birds (well, 2 out of the 3) are still around. Things. Get. Serious. Ira goes to the hunting store and buys an automatic bee bee gun. Thing shoots like 100 pellets in a nano-second.

Bird doesn't stand a chance.

Kids are running in the house all weekend yelling, "Daddy! Get your gun! The birds are her! You gotta kill them!"

Something is wrong with this. Normal children do not behave this way.

This morning I get a text message from Ira.

The Robin is dead.

I call him on my break. He said he saw the Robin and he grabbed the gun (he keeps the pellets out of it and the CO2 canister out of it all in different places, no way the kids can get to it) and puts it together and sits on the porch. There is dirt and bird crap every place. The thing built its nest. Again. For the 478th time.

He sits an waits. The robin hops down from his nest. Mocking my husband. He hops across the concrete patio and .... DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT-DT! His accuracy may not be true, but with an automatic weapon, just a sweep of the hand and the bird is gone.

Ira goes inside to get something to clean up the remains. He comes out and there is Haley. Kicking the bird with her shoe.

"I just wanted to see if it was still moving!"

When did she get so grown up?

Monday night was Haley's cheerleading show. Before that, I took the girls to dinner to meet two of Haley's friends and their moms at a pizza place. Ira met us there. From there, we went right to the show, where Haley and her cheerleading class did an OUTSTANDING job. They performed at the annual meeting for the JCC and were a fabulous success. I felt sorry for whoever had to talk after them. Just adorable.

As we left the JCC, Haley realized she lost her jacket. We knew she didn't bring it into the JCC so she must have left it at dinner. Back to the pizza place we went.... kids!

When we pulled into the parking lot, Erin said she would run in.

Really?

Ira and I sat and watched her go in the door. Now, the place has all glass windows, so we could see her and watch what she did. This is a pizza place I have been going to since I was, what, 14 I think? She went to the table where we sat and looked under all the benches. No jacket.

What would she do?

We watched.

She walked up to the counter.

She waited her turn.

We saw her talking to the very big, more than a little gruff and loud Italian-pizza-guy-behind-the-counter-named-Joey (Imagine that?) We saw Joey look around. We saw Joey hand Erin something. We saw Erin smile, say thank you and come skipping out the door with her sister's jacket. Joey smiled at us and waved over his head as she skipped away. He's a dad too. I know.

We were shocked.

She is 8 years old? How is she grown up enough to have the confidence to walk into a restaurant, look for the jacket, ask at the counter that is very over her head, and come skipping out? She didn't know we could see her the whole way?

When Erin got in the car, she was laughing. She told us that is was funny because at first she didn't see the jacket. It was inside out and the inside is white and it was with some white towels so she didn't even know it was there, even though the jacket is pink. The man had to look a few times and then he laughed when he found it. She was so proud of herself.

Erin has always been so independent. Always so willing to do things on her own. It shouldn't surprise me. She is my adventurous child. The one willing to do things.

This moment was just one of those that hit me. She really isn't a little kid any more. My little girl is growing up.

How did that happen?

All Grown Up

No posts for a month, then two in a day. Its a Festivus Miracle!

This deserved being shared right away. Haley had some remarkable news for me when I picked her up today from school. She couldn't wait to show me as soon as we got home. I won't spoil the surprise, I will let her show you.

{It's 3 tissue slide show, if you ask me.}

Please Excuse My Absence.

"Mommy! You are ALWAYS on your computer! Get off your computer and spend TIME WITH YOUR CHILDREN!"

This is what Haley said to me one day after school way back in April. Kind of hit me pretty hard. We had gotten in to this routine, you see. We came home, unpacked bags, checked mail, made snacks... then I got on the computer and the kids played. We were in the same room, but we were not together, I suppose.

And it took a 5 year old to make me realize it.

So I have not blogged for about a month.
I am going to try again. Hopefully I can do better. It is almost summer, so I will have all the time I need during the day to read the gazillion blogs I love and not neglect my children :o) I hope....