Under The Big Top

Little Dude & Girlfriend enjoyed their first circus over the weekend.

(I firmly believe you can't go to such an event without purchasing cotton candy.)

AJ laughed out loud...
my heart bubbled over.

Abby clapped & squealed in excitement...
I remembered the magic of a circus as a child.

I enjoyed watching them take it all in
more than I could have ever enjoyed any show.

AJ held my hand on the way out of the tent...
& said, "We should swing our hands together because we are happy."

Yes. Indeed.
We should swing our hands.
Because. we. are. happy.

We may become Circus Junkies.
We are already planning our next trip to the Big Top in October.

New Wheels

All Wheel Drive...

safe on snow & ice...

fuel efficient...

great for a commute down I-25...

Does it get anymore Colorado than a Subaru?

A Morning On The Boat

Checking out dad's rad moves.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups peeled, pitted and thinly sliced fresh peaches (5 to 6 medium peaches)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Several dashes ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour the melted butter into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup sugar, the baking powder, and the salt and mix well. Stir in the milk, mixing until just combined. Pour this batter over the butter but do not stir them together.

In a small saucepan, combine the peaches, lemon juice, and remaining cup of sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Pour the peaches over the batter but do not stir them together. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden-brown. Serve warm or cold.

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

Kind-a feels like I dropped my curling iron on my back...

BUT

I love it!

And The....

Mullet of the year goes to........

........

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

Girlfriend!

All business in the front...
party in the back.

(sorry baby girl)

Last weekend we ventured up to the mountains for a family hike.

AJ kept asking when we were going to put up the tent.

Me: "What tent AJ? We are just hiking."

AJ: "What is hiking?"

Me: "Walking and climbing on a trail like we are doing right now."

AJ: "Well this is boring. When do we put up the tent?"

Me: "There. is. no. tent."

AJ: "Well, I don't understand hiking."

Me: "You just enjoy nature and get exercise."

AJ: "I need to go potty."

Me: "Of course you do. Okay...well...on a hike, we go potty in nature."

AJ: "You mean. you want. me to pee right here?"

Me: "Yup."

AJ: "Will my pee make the tree grow bigger?"

Me: "Yup."

AJ: "Cool."

AJ: "Mom, are we in the woods?"

Me: "Yes."

AJ: "Is there wildlife in these woods."

Me: "Yes."

AJ: "I want to go home."

Me: "You are safe."

AJ: "I think daddy needs to carry me."

Me: "Daddy is carrying Abby."

Me: "Or not."

First Week of First Grade

Be not alarmed by this post.
I am fully capable of teaching children and being responsible for their safety.
But if you are a parent, you know that there are fleeting moments of disarray.
So naturally, if you are responsible for 22 children at one time,
there will be very rare, few instances of such disarray.

I am dead tired.
I am experiencing a bit of culture shock,
as I adjust from teaching second graders to teaching first graders...

It truly is amazing what a difference a year makes.

They are so stinkin' cute...
and just so little, seeking constant guidance and help in this great big world.

I think you have to have a mothering nature and bionic high energy capacity in you
to teach pre-school, Kindergarten, and first grade.

Even the routine of eating lunch that we so effortlessly go through the motions of everyday are huge to little guys who are just experiencing it for the first time.

I never really thought about what eating in the lunch room
for the first time would be like for a little one.

Let me tell ya, it is quite an experience.

I witnessed it first hand last Tuesday, as I watched young eyes swell huge with eager anticipation and anxiety, and short legs recklessly scurry in through the doors of the lunch room...

small hands fumbled with a foreign milk cartons,
asking the adults where the straw for these things were...
tiny fingers fought to independently open cheese sticks and GoGurts.

excitement, mixed with unsure nervousness buzzed in the air

I glanced over just in time to see one little guy toss his entire lunch tray into the trash can...
thus sending me on a nice little dumpster diving maneuver followed by a tray scrapping lesson.

But pandemonium broke loose when four classes of lunch room newbies
went to return their lunch boxes to their classroom designated lunch tubs.

The lunch tubs that were clearly marked with their teachers' printed names...
that they could not read.

A laminated life size school picture of my head was promptly plastered to the front of my lunch tub to avoid such future confusion.

BUT...
You see...the thing about the lunch tub
is that I keep forgetting to have the kids pick the thing up after we return from specials.

Thus leading to the following fabulous scenario...

My heart rate increases and my blood pressure is rising as I am frantically trying to get 22 spastic first graders all packed up to go home Wednesday at 3:55, mere minutes before the bell rings...only to realize
we. do. not. have. our .lunch. tub.
great.

Which simply is not an option when 13 out of those 22 children are emotionally attached to their lunch boxes they need to bring home so they can pack their lunches for the next school day.

Audible relief floods over my class as my life size laminated face comes careening around the corner of our hall as two kids retrieve the said lunch tub and return with super hero speed.

I am frantically bending over, grabbing and passing out lunch boxes...
when I hear a muffled, "Ouch, OUCH, MRS. H, Ouch!" as I walk away.
I glance behind me only to realize that one of my students has her hair caught in the button on my back pocket.
My. butt. pocket. button.

ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!!!
Seriously. She is attached to the pocket on my backside.
Awesome.

I hectically untangle her hair from my button, throw the last couple lunch boxes at kids...I mean to kids and rush the class out the door as I try and smooth chicka's hair over.

Nice.

I smile and wave good bye to the last of my students,

return to my room and collapse at my kidney table.

Jess says, "So cut all the buttons off your pockets."

Thanks, sis.

Cottage Cheese and Sun Tools

So after dramatically limping around for a week from his last vaccination,
AJ was not too thrilled to go to the doctor today for a look into his lovely hacking cough.

As we drug a kicking screaming child across the parking lot of the doctor's office,
I did what any good parent does in desperation...

I bribed him.

I said, "If you stop freaking out and be a good boy, you can pick a treat when we leave."
nice....I know....you do what you got to do.
Don't judge me.

As I am praying that he does not say something God awful like Chuck E Cheese's...
the child calmly says, "Okay, cottage cheese. I want cottage cheese."

Cottage cheese it is.
You drive a hard bargain, you manipulative little kid.

So the promised cottage cheese brought me to King Soopers tonight...
where I found myself fumbling to carry excessive random items in my arms
with a four year old child who accurately told me the fruit snacks were by the bread
and refused to carry anything in his basket
other than his Dora fruit snacks and pineapple cream cheese.

This is my life people.

Upon leaving the store AJ asked me why the wind was trying to blow his receipt away.

Me: "Because it is strong."

AJ: "Why?"

Me: "I don't know, because weather is strong."
(I know, I'm a genius.)

AJ: "Why is weather strong?"

Me: "Because God made it strong."

AJ: "Why did God make it strong."

Me: "To move the air around."

AJ: "Why does the air need to move around?"

Me: "So it is not so hot outside."

you guessed it....

AJ: "Why is it hot outside?"

Me: "Because the sun is hot."

AJ: "Why is the sun hot?"

Me: "Because it is a big ball of firey gas."

AJ: "Why is it a ball of firey gas?"

Me: "Because God made it that way."

AJ: "How did he do that?"

Me: "I don't know...with his hands."

AJ: "Oh no! But he could burn his hands!"

Me: silent

AJ: " I know! He used his sun tools!"

Me: "Yes, AJ you are right, he used his sun tools."

AJ: silent

Me: "Now, go eat your cottage cheese."

AJ: "The throat tickle from the doctor did not make me feel better."

Me: "I know...but your cottage cheese will."

AJ: "I love you to the moon and back mom."

& suddenly all the kicking, screaming, bribing, and answering why after an exhausting week in my truly chaotic working mom life felt

simply perfect.

True Confessions

I own and use a shower cap and dry shampoo at least once a week.

I have taught my children that the ice cream truck only plays music when it is all out of ice cream.

Sometimes I feed my children cheese sticks and dry cereal for breakfast because it is easy to grab and go.

I was all psyched to do What I Wore Wednesday, but after spending forever trying to take a decent self portrait...I decided blah.

The Grand Finale

Goodbye late mornings in our PJ's.

Goodbye late nights snuggled in bed with my Nook.
Goodbye sunscreened days on the deck.
Goodbye Friday lunches with daddy.

(I will miss all of you dearly.)

BUT
before it was all over...
we squeezed in one last good sunshiney day at the park!

Complete with...

refreshing, cold water rushing through our flip flops...

slippery adventures under our sun hats...

a rockin' train ride...
a yummy picnic with daddy and good friends...

petting fuzzy farm animals...

and sharing...

a fabulous tart lime popsicle!

A rad way to celebrate our summer time together!

and now...

back to reality...

Hello 5:00am.
(I really do. not. like you. )

Hello insane marathon to get out the door in the morning with 2 moody children.
(can't say I missed you)

Hello I-25.
(truth be known, you are this chick's favorite part of the morning)

Hello adult friends.
(my sanity needs you)

Hello routines and schedules.
(AJ needs you back.)

& Thank you drive-thru Starbucks for making this re-entry in the real world possible.