Round 'em up

Friday was Kindergarten Roundup. (A phrase that's always made me laugh. I think it sounds like "Find all the unruly 5 year olds and corral them. They belong in Kindergarten. Not running through the streets.")

I'm so excited for Jack to start Kindergarten. And not because I'm checking another kid off my list, so to speak, and enrolling him in FREE education 5 days a week. But I'm excited because...

A) Jack and Sarah will have the same schedule.

B) I know the kindergarten teachers and really like them all.

C) Sarah is super excited to have her little brother at her school. She's already promised that she'll come by and see him whenever she can.

D) Sarah has done Jack (and Caroline) a HUGE favor by being a really sweet kid. I'm not bragging on myself or Jason. This is all about Sarah and the way God made her. She listens. She obeys. She's kind. So when another McGlamery is set to enter the halls of Barksdale, I know that the staff isn't bracing themselves.

A first child that sets a great precedent is priceless! A first child that causes trouble leaves the siblings constantly making up for it and proving that they're different from the oldest kid.

E) We know a lot of people going into Kindergarten this year. I knew NADA, ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH when Sarah started at Barksdale. This year we know Oliver, Blake, Arianna, Weston, Andrew, Amanda, Braden, and Jagger (possibly.. or he may stay in private school).

Who knows if they'll be in the same class but that's a lot of kids to know at recess. And those are a lot of moms for me to be able to email or coordinate play dates.

And-- BONUS-- Amanda, Blake, Weston, and Andrew all live either on our street or the street next to us. Can you imagine? Counting Jack we'll have 5 Kindergarteners within 1/4 mile of each other.

That's an awesome part about public school, I think. Kids in your neighborhood come out of the woodwork. And you finally have a reason to know who lives where and how many kids they have and what ages they are. And we have a kid-filled community. I love that!

........


I'll miss Jack and I'm sure I'll do a post about that as we get closer to August. But this year I'm not nervous. I'm not sending this tiny little girl who turned 5 one month before kindergarten started to this big school where I knew no one. I'm sending Jack. Who will be almost 6 to a place where his sister has laid some incredible groundwork and where I know a little bit more about what's going on.

Hooray for school!

It's Tuesday.

AKA "Scootering inside naked" day.

But also "hey, whatever it takes so you'll let me cook dinner" day.

Bluebonnets

On Sunday before church, I took the kids to Arbor Hills to take their pictures in the bluebonnets. Sarah commented that she had never seen them up close. Could that be true? Maybe she's forgetting other times she's been in them. Or maybe I've never done this with the kids before. I honestly can't remember.

The grass was wet so the girls didn't want to sit in the grass. I don't blame them. My heels were sinking into the ground.

I couldn't convince Caroline to leave her Dora purse in the car, but I guess every girl does need her accessories.

Jack wanted to sit in them. He didn't care if he got wet. But then again, he had already tripped and fallen in the grass so he didn't have much to lose.

I hope she's getting paid a lot because... yikes!

Jessica Simpson has a deal with Weight Watchers to be their spokesperson as she loses her baby weight using their program.

The rumor is that she's intentionally putting on extra weight because, in her contract, she'll get paid more if she loses more.

If that's true, then she's ridiculous.

Colorblocking

This spring I am NOT afraid of color. Be prepared if you see me out and about.

Today I'm colorblocking.

Down to the yellow wedges.

I know it doesn't match, but it goes. You have to look no further than a Target commercial to see that this is the trend for the spring.

And I'm not scared of the looks I may get. (Even if those looks are from my husband. Although I will say, this morning he didn't question me at all.)

Color is FUN! :) Blacks and grays of winter are yucky and depressing!! Even if people don't get what I'm doing, I'm sure I'll make them smile. And I don't mind if it's because they think I look ridiculous.

HELLO, SPRING!!!!

Loved it!

even though it's a teen movie. Or maybe because it's a teen movie.

:)

Ok, if you go see the movies without reading the books, then I'm worried you're not gonna fully appreciate the awesomeness of this trilogy. (Yes, worried! I will stay up at night! So read the books.) I'm afraid you might say, "Well, that was weird." or "That was good, I guess." or "I don't see what the big deal is."

But that's because you need to read them.

I loved the movie. It was just what I imagined. I loved the characters. Physically they were what I wanted them to be.

I loved that I knew what was gonna happen. It was great to hear the gasps in the audience. You could tell who had no idea what to expect. It has been AGES since I read a book before seeing a movie. Books are always better, of course. Nothing can compete with your imagination. But knowing what's gonna happen doesn't ruin the movie for me. It makes me enjoy it even more.

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

And I loved being alone. So there.

If I had gone with Jason and he didn't like it as much as I thought he should've, that would have bothered me. I'm strange like that.


.........

Only bump in the road--- There was some lady that brought in her child. And from the sound of his UNENDING QUESTIONS, I think he was around Caroline's age. I'm an understanding parent about the crying kid on the plane. I feel for the mom with the child who's melting down at the grocery store. But when you want to see a movie and you can't find a sitter so you bring your chatty toddler with you, that's just selfish. Leave the babies at home, please!!

[Getting down from my soapbox now :)]

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Mom is watching the kids so I can go to the movies to see "The Hunger Games".

I've been told it's weird to go to the movies alone, but I beg to differ.

(What's weird is that I took a picture of the empty chair beside me to show that I'm flying solo.)

So excited to be here!!...

Later gator!

DQ: That's what I like about Texas

Style. It's a personal choice.

Shameless

I had NO idea Billy Joel sang "Shameless". I was only aware of Garth Brooks. But Billy Joel Night on "American Idol" taught me otherwise.

(Lucky for country music Skylar that Billy sang this. BTW, Skylar needs to go. I can't decide if I don't like the way she sings or the way she looks. Either way. Buh-bye. And "bye" to the guy with the long hair who always flips it around and sings in a high-pitched voice. I want to stomp on his face.)

Back to Shameless...

I love this song. I had completely forgotten about it. But, I have to admit, I love Garth Brooks. He has the easiest songs for me to sing along to and his songs take me back to my youth. Phrasing it that way makes me sound like I'm 80.

I know that "true" country fans think his shows got too big and too grandiose. They prefer the George Straits of the world who sit on a stool with their guitar. But I like shows. And of course Texas country fans seem to show some disdain for anything coming out of Nashville. But I need songs that are on the radio.

Give me Taylor Swift or Keith Urban. I don't like country music enough to seek out the obscure, bar-playing musicians.

I found the song on youtube, and in honor of my realization that Mr. Joel sang it first, (I'm sorry, sir, for being a moron), I'm posting it. Now I'll be singing it all day...

You see in all my life
I've never found
What I couldn't resist
What I couldn't turn down
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew
But I can't walk away from you

I have never let anything have this much control over me
I worked too hard to call my life my own
I made myself a world, and it worked so perfectly
But it's your world now, I can't refuse
I've never had so much to lose
I'm shameless


Now it'll be stuck in your head too. You're welcome. :)

Celebrate America

The first grade had a performance Tuesday night all about America.

Sarah had to say, "In the War of 1812, Samuel Wilson was in the business of slaughtering and packing meat."

It was her first time speaking into a microphone. She was a little nervous she admitted, but she told me her strategy to stay calm was "to picture everyone in their underpants."

It must've worked because she did a great job!

Little Britches Rodeo

Jack had a rodeo Tuesday.

He had a vest and a hat, which he wore sideways a lot. And his boots were on the wrong feet. But, hey.

They learned all about the state flag, bird, tree, nickname, etc.

I think learning every little thing about your state from the time that you're in preschool is something that's unique to Texas or maybe the South. I know that when my brother-in-law saw my niece do this program, he was baffled that they learned so much about Texas. Apparently those folks in New Jersey don't take quite as much pride because Al knows nothing about his home state.

(But I bet New Jersey's state dance is the fist pump or the Jersey Turnpike.... "Jersey Shore" reference in case you've never seen it.)

A lot of these pics are action shots and blurry. (Even the ones that aren't turned out blurry it seems.) We also videotaped, which was much more effective.

There were relay races...

Then Jason raced.

Then there were songs around the campfire. They sang one song to the tune of "BINGO" that spelled out the word "Texas". Jack's job was to hold up the T. He said he was pretty nervous because "it's a lot harder than you think." :) Well if that's true, I'd have never known. Because he made it look easy. ;)

Finally we went upstairs for a snack.

It was a fantastic afternoon!

Bird houses

I have to play a little catch up this morning. I found pics on my camera from December. Oops. And for my own documentation purposes, I have to throw them in the blog.

Please excuse me while I bring myself up to date.

.............


Jason's gift to the kids for Christmas was the gift of a project. :) A Daddy/child, build it together birdhouse.

I thought that was such a sweet idea that wasn't gonna be as much fun as he had hoped.

I was right. ;)

He did have a good time letting them pick out their paint colors. But the kids got kinda bored halfway thru painting. So Jason and I finished some of it and then he assembled them by himself.

It's the thought that counts though.

This is Sarah's.

Jack's was brown and blue and red. I'm not sure why I don't have a pic of that.

They ended up hanging them on our palm tree out by the pool. A week ago we saw a bird moving twigs and things into Jack's house. So exciting! :)

And thankfully Sarah's feelings aren't hurt that the bird chose his house over hers. But if a bird never moves into her house, I think she'll have an issue.

Snoopy cookies

We made cookies. They were in the shape of Snoopy, lying on his house. But you can only tell that it's Snoopy lying on his house if you ice them just the right away.

Caroline just sucked on the icing.

Like they were little tubes of goodness.

Just for her.

Then the other kids used those tubes to ice their cookies. Cleanliness and hygiene are priorities in this house.

The cookies weren't very tasty, but it was a good time!

(In case it caught your eye, Caroline is, in fact, wearing her Halloween shirt in December. You're not imagining things.)

Educated by Jason

As I was driving in the rain this morning, I was thankful for the traction on my tires. And I was glad they aren't bald. Bald. Jason taught me that a few weeks ago.

I always thought it was "balled". You knew it was time to get new tires if they got little balls on them. Which I thought was strange since new tires seem to have little balls on them.

Bald. That makes so much more sense. Some things you just have to see in print.

.......

Also on my drive this morning I passed a gas station where I've seen men loitering in the past. On the corner. Kinda like women who work the corner.

Jason taught me those are day laborers. If you need a crew to help you with your yard, let's say, you pull up and tell them how many you need (in Spanish) and the first ones to jump in the back of your truck are the ones you take home with you.

I had no idea you could do such a thing. Not entirely sure if that's legal so I will not say whether or not Jason and his dad have ever done that before.

Read books?

Any time I tell Caroline that's it's time to sit on the potty, she always asks, "Read books?"

I first started out this whole pottytraining thing with singing. I would sing three or four songs. When I was finished, she could get up. But three or four songs didn't work. Either that wasn't long enough for her to sit there. Or she was incredibly mesmerized by my beautiful singing voice and would forget to go.. ;).. Whatever the reason, she'd get up and use the bathroom somewhere else.

Until I brought out the books.

She loves for me to read books. She wants another one and another one. Sometimes I sit my bony rear end on the cold tile in the half bath reading books to her, long after we've already had pottying success.

Then it hit me... And here's my confession to you... This is the first time (that I can remember... surely there's been another time... but I can't think of when) that I've sat for a while and read to her.

I'll let that sink in. Let the gasps and the shocks and the "What kind of a mother is she?!"s subside.

{Still waiting.}

I mean, even when we go to the library, she wants to do puzzles or the little computer they have for preschoolers.

Moving on now...

Ok. So yeah. I read to Sarah from the get-go. I'm pretty sure that while I was pregnant, I was reading to her, shouting at my belly. On her first day home from the hospital, I swear to you I took her on a tour of the house and pointed to things like tables and would say "Table. That's a table. Can you say table?" Her first day home. No lie.

Jack caught me on the upswing as well. I was on the floor, reading everything to them. Doing every little song that had a hand motion. Those wheels on the bus went round and round and the itsy bitsy spider climbed that water spout.

Then there's Caroline. Sweet Caroline. Precious little third baby Caroline. She's got a different Mom. And she's a different kid.

No naps past 18 months because we had to be in the car picking up her brother and sister. I don't sit and read. I help with homework and chauffeur here and there and run errands. And in those down times where we could sit and read, she seems to prefer to play with her brother or sister... or the Wii.

Without my even realizing it, she's become my friend while the big kids are at school. We do lunch dates at the Magnolia Cafe once a week where we share finger sandwiches and fruit. She's a pro at sitting in dressing rooms while I try on clothes. She grocery shops with me and goes to the bank.

The other day she partially sang her ABC's and I was so proud and surprised. Who knows who's been working with her on that. It hasn't been me. Maybe PBSkids.org. That's such an educational website. :)

It shamed me when I realized how hungry she was for me to read to her.

I called my mom and told her that I'm a terrible mother to Caroline. And she reminded me that when Brian, my little brother, started Kindergarten she had that same panic. She thought, "We've never worked on his ABC's! We've just been hanging out for the last 5 years."

But that's the joy of the last baby. Not as much hovering. Not as much pressure. A little more, "Eh. Your preschool teacher can teach you that. Let's go to the mall."

And while this has reminded me that we need to spend some more time reading... She really does love books... I love the way we've spent these last 2 1/2 years together. There's still plenty of time to learn that tricky "LMNOP" part of the song.

A rundown on "Twilight"

Since I'm sure you're dying to know what I thought... (lol)

I think the first movie was really good, and I've heard the book is even better. Maybe it's because I watched them back-to-back or maybe it's because I'm not reading the books and only watching the movies, but the 2nd and 3rd movies were a little irritating to me.

Bella is so stubborn. And then I wonder, "Why are so many people risking their lives to help her? She's high maintenance."

And then I thought, "Seriously? She cut herself again??! No one can be that clumsy! You're hanging out with vampires! Be careful not to bleed so much!!!"

And if you've seen the movies, then you know she never slightly bleeds. She cut her finger on some wrapping paper, and it was gushing. She falls and hits a rock and, of course, bleeds. She crashes through a table and bleeds. Bleeding, bleeding, bleeding. Enough already. Bubble wrap yourself or watch where you're going.

I still like Edward. I like Jacob. I could've liked that the 2 guys were fighting over her, except that she started to really bug me. I kinda wanted to step in and say, "Boys, boys. She's a lot of trouble. Just fight over me instead." :)

Anyway I'm taking a break from it before I cram the 4th one down my throat. Because I want to like Bella. And maybe I'll like her better if we've spent some time apart.

.......

And, to be fair, Katniss from "The Hunger Games" did stupid things too that bugged me, and I got frustrated with her as well. But she's had a hard life and I can't hold it against her. It's much easier for me to forgive her foolishness.

:)

Caroline is almost on the train

The potty train, that is.

We had some setbacks because we were on Spring Break, and that's not ideal when you're supposed to be at home watching your kid's cues as to when she needs to go potty. And I was reading all day yesterday and not paying much attention to her at all. (oops.)


BOTTOM LINE: Spring Break + potty training = not a good idea.

But I anticipate this week going much better.

Right now we're down to 1 or 2 accidents a day, and she's consistently waking up dry.

Progress is being made.

Saturday

I read. And read. And read.

I finished "The Hunger Games" trilogy.

And with all that crammed into my brain, I had a hard time falling asleep. But it was sooo good.

A brief synopsis of the first book, in case you don't know what it's about. (I promise to not ruin anything)...

It's a post-Apocalypse world. The fires, floods, droughts, etc have destroyed life as we know it, and a new society has formed. Humans. But it's futuristic at the same time. What used to be North America is now a country called Panem... a reference to ancient Rome. And there are a lot of similiarities between the Capitol and Rome. Panem is a place where the rich grow richer while the others starve. A place where suffering of the weak is seen as entertainment.

The country is divided into 13 Districts plus the Capitol. Each district provides a certain service and knows nothing else in life. One district is agriculture. One is fishing. One is mining. Etc. And all of their efforts go to feed and supply the people in the Capitol. It's a miserable life.

Seventy-five years before the book starts, the Districts rebelled against the Capitol but were overwhelmed. And as punishment, District 13 was completely destroyed while Districts 1 thru 12 are forced to participate in the annual Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games are for boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18. A lottery of the worst kind. When a child turns 12, his/her name is put into a bowl once. When he/she turns 13, it's put in twice. At 14, the name is in the bowl 3 times, etc. But if you want grain to feed your family, you have to add your name an additional time. If you want oil to cook, your name goes in the pot. And so on.

Once a year the town gathers for what's called the Reaping. And it's when one boy's name is drawn from each District. And one girl's name is drawn. Those 2 children are then wisked to the Capitol where, after a week of interviews and festivities that only add to the sickness of what's really going on, they are put into an arena with 22 other kids where they are forced to fight to the death. While the rest of the country watches. Televised.

The arena seems like the vast outdoors. Woods, lakes, etc. But Gamemakers control everything. They can make it rain in the arena. They can send down fire balls. They can make it unbearably cold. Anything to make this horrific show more gripping and to force the children ("tributes" is what they call them) to fight and kill.

Only one person can win. Meaning friends will kill friends. For the Capitol's entertainment. As punishment for a rebellion decades ago.

.........

I couldn't put this book down. And when it ended, I immediately had to start book 2. And from there, I finished the series. And like I said, I had a hard time settling my brain after that.

I told Mom that I LOVED them. I so rarely read a story with a plot. I read magazine articles or self-help/parenting books. I don't read books that suck me in like this and make me care about the characters. Where good people have frustrating qualities. And bad people can be charming and it's hard to know whether we should trust "that guy" or not. I was so conflicted. And nervous. And practically biting my nails. Over a book.

I can't wait for the movies. :) I think they're gonna stay pretty true to the novel, which I don't know why they wouldn't. It's plenty good on its own without some screenplay messing it all up.

Spring break day 5

I'm losing steam.

Another mall. This is the Galleria. Jason works in the towers here and met us for lunch.

So tired and just want to read The Hunger Games.

I'll blog more later.

Nails with KK yesterday

On the agenda today.. Spring break day 4

Is it almost over yet??? ;)

So today all of the kids are getting haircuts, which they actually really enjoy. We go to Snip its where they get lollipops and prizes. Even Sarah doesn't feel she's too old to turn down candy and a prize.

Then this afternoon, Mom and Dad are taking Sarah to afternoon tea. They took Jack to the rodeo in January and promised to do something with her. Today is her day. After tea, Mom is taking her to the nail salon where she and Sarah will get a mani/pedi. Or maybe just a mani or just a pedi. Can't really remember.

And can I say that I'm a little jealous over S's day of pampering??? My hair hasn't been cut since October and my cuticles are a mess.

Then tonight Mom and Dad are having the kids over for a sleepover. :)

Did anyone catch the theme?? "Mom and Dad". THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD!!!!! I've known this day was coming and I've looked forward to it all week long.

.............

Confession: While the kids are gone tonight, I'm finally going to get caught up on the whole "Twilight" sensation. Yes, I realize I'm ridiculously behind. I was shocked when I counted 4 movies that have already been released. FOUR? wow.

Truthfully, I thought the whole concept of a vampire romance was dumb and I couldn't care less if you're "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob".

Then on October 31, 2011, the first Twilight movie happened to be on FX. I was out trick-or-treating with the kids. Jason was giving out candy at the house. It was a slow night so he started flipping channels. He didn't really realize what he had stopped on. He saw vampires and stopped to watch a few minutes and actually got intrigued by the story. (Shhh. Don't tell him I told you that.)

So last night we sat down to watch the first "Twilight" movie. And we really liked it. :)

I'll speak for myself and not for Jason because I don't want to totally embarrass him, but it's oddly romantic. It made no sense to me that a vampire movie would be. But I love Edward. He's so protective and wonderful. :) And I'm really glad that Taylor Lautner is gonna to cut his hair eventually, right? I couldn't take him seriously.

There's enough action to keep Jason interested. It moves really quickly. The way the first one ended with Victoria walking downstairs makes me so excited to watch the second one tonight.

And if we're up for it, we'll watch the third one too. It's kinda nice that they're all on On Demand and we can just order one right after the other and be caught up.

So I'm on board now. Reluctantly at first. But now, I'm there.

And, in the spirit of "getting on board", Mom has loaned me her Kindle to read "Hunger Games". Everyone keeps talking about this book and the movie. So, this time, unlike the "Twilight" series, I'm gonna actually read. And learn about the plot the good old fashioned way. Without Wikipedia. Or a movie. I'll read the book.

But then again, the book is on a Kindle. So I guess it's not really the old fashioned way after all. ;)

Now we're playing at the mall

And my big kids are the same kind of kids I complain about during the summer. Ya know... The ones who are too old to be playing there and need to watch out!

Hooray for hypocrisy! ;)

A success

From left to right, meet Sendey, Cute, and Squiggles.

They had a blast!! :)

Off to lunch and then their first trip to Build A Bear

Spring break day 3

Still dressing themselves.

I think the tie is a nice touch. :)

Eight years

Our 8th anniversary was yesterday. Mom and Dad VERY generously offered to keep the kids so we could go out AND gave us tickets to a musical called, "In the Heights", that was playing at the Winspear.

It was such a fun night!

Jason surprised me with flowers. That's not typical (which is fine with me) and it made it that much more special. :)

When we got to the Arts District, we parked with Mom and Dad's parking pass... (Thank you!)... and walked about a block to Jorge's, a nice Tex-Mex restaurant.

I meant to take a picture of all of our food because there was A LOT on our plates, but I forgot until we were about halfway thru dinner. Dinner was very yummy, and we finished in just enough time to walk back to the Winspear and get a drink before taking our seats.

It's a very pretty building. Big windows and views of Dallas. And everything was new and nice. You can order a drink and take it into the theater, which is something you can not do at Dallas Summer Musicals down at Fair Park. (always a selling point for me... hehe)

The playbill. Should've turned off the flash.



The stage... This chandelier in the middle raises up so that your view is not blocked.

Waiting for the show to start

Neither of us knew anything about the plot. I knew it focused on a Latino community living in Washington Heights. I knew that a lot of the songs would be hip hop and raps. And I worried that Jason wouldn't be into it.

We loved it! It was a really good show. The dancing was incredible. And it was a different thing to do on our anniversary. Not the standard dinner. Or dinner and a movie.

We both said that had my parents not offered us their tickets, we would not have been nearly as creative when it comes to planning our own anniversary. :)

Thanks for a great night!