Father/Son Camping trip

"Twenty copies please. And can you make them front and back, with this page?"

The one thing about being the Librarian that I love, is that I get to see all the fliers going around church.

"Father/Son camp out? This week-end?" I looked at my son. He was frozen, eyes on me. "Any age limit?" I asked the man as I ran his copies for him.

"Nope, just gotta have your father with you."

My son looked very hopeful. "Buddy, you want to take one of these and see if Bro. Brough will take you?"

My son clutched the piece of paper to his chest, reading over the information. When we finally got seated in our pew, he strained over his shoulder watching for Bro. Brough.

"Mommy, he's not here," he whispered in a strained voice. The poor kid was turned nearly all the way around in his seat. He watched as another family sat down behind us. And then some how the flier got dropped right next to the boy behind us. The boy was cuddled up against his father, and I could see my son crumpling. This kid didn't have to wait around for Bro. Brough to show up to find out if he was going to the camp out.

My son collapsed on the pew, almost in tears. His flier sat next to the kid behind him, unnoticed. His face turned red in an effort not to cry. The camp out at he so desperately wanted to go on; I nearly started to cry myself. Finally I turned around and asked them to get the flier. My son's face cleared once his hands were wrapped around the paper again.

And finally Bro. Brough's 6'6 frame was seen at the door. My son bolted off to show him the flier.

Good news, he gets to go to the camp out. He'll get to go camping, and sleep in a tent, all with his wonderful buddy, and Bro. Brough's 16 year old son.

Question, how did I get a son who loves camping and fishing when I don't? Once he heard he would get to go fishing, he was over the moon.

Letter from my daughter

A letr for the H.F

H.F I'm verry sorry for bing bad. Next time I will maeck a bedr chose and clen up all the sttuff on the floor.




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Tonight the kids locked me out of the house. And then got into my closet where I keep their House Fairy treats. They rummaged around the box, and opened the ones they wanted. At first I waited for them to come open the front door. Visions of destruction danced thru my head, and finally I broke into the house

I was not a happy camper. But I had taken advantage of the time outside to calm down. I made the kids clean everything up, and put stuff away. And then I instructed them to write letters to our Dear House Fairy explaining why they should stay on her inspection route.

The letter above is what my five year old wrote, or as close as I can decipher. My son has until tomorrow at breakfast to turn in his letter.

Lice . . . . again

My daughter had lice the first time back in January. Took about 3 treatments to finally get on top of it.

And now she's got it again. I kept her out of school today and put her thru the regiment. First the lice shampoo, and then picking thru her hair. We also use a Leave-In product to help make her hair unappealing to any lice. It's oily but so what!

Thank goodness I change out her clothes once a month. I had a ready supply of clothing that's been sealed in bags for 4 weeks. Everything else I washed. I got by really lucky, just three loads of laundry. 5-7 would be the expected amount. I even washed all of her bedding.

I'm exhausted. My back hurts. I wish I could have gone to work today, would have been easier, and more fun than this!

I spoke with the school. The nurse said that Kindergarten has had alot of infestations this year. She suspects it's just the age group. They hug and snuggle up, lean against each other. And if one kid gets it, there you go, off thru the whole group it goes.

My scalp is itching just thinking about this. Not that I have any, but it gives me the creepy crawlies. Sorry no pun intended, but I'll leave it in because it's funny in a sick sort of way. As tired as I am, the base side of my humor is surfacing.

War has been declared

The pranks at work had me laughing so hard today my stomach hurt. It was so funny.

Yesterday our dear colleague who got newspapered, graciously left prunes. And about an hour later, noises started to be heard that said the prunes were working their way thru. Personally I thought that was a little fast for prunes. But the noises kept up. And those with the prunes plead innocence.

Well one of the ladies left for a baseball game, and soon afterwards we discovered the remote contraption that was making the offending noises. And we had a really good laugh.

So today all of us played with the remote control devise. We put in the other ladies purse, and began testing it when she was on lunch. Well a supervisor that she's trying to impress happened to stop by right in the middle of the testing. We tried to blame the offending noises on the supervisor. She grinned knowing she'd just walked in on something. Well about then the remote control got stuck on, and a long series of rich noises came from the empty desk. They were deep resonant, and juicy, and we all lost it. We were laughing hysterically, the supervisor right along with us.

After lunch, our colleague quickly found the devise. We wiped the tears from our eyes, and grinned for the rest of the day.

Gotta find me one of those! It was so funny!

Pranks at work

Hmm . . . I'm reminded of high school! Fond memories of short sheeting beds, and Vaselined door handles. Anyone needing instructions, feel free to contact me!

Okay, let me see if I can tell the story behind this wondrous prank. Two women on my row are dieting. They have a contest to see who can loose the most weight.

It started I guess when one of them brought in some white chocolate for the other. And then random bits of candy started appearing on desks. Sometimes it was obvious who left the candy, other times, we were left wondering. And of course, every time candy appeared, there was retaliation.

Well, turns out, some of the candy was being left by someone not even in on the race to loose weight. And when that was found out, revenge had to be had. And since Candy wasn't good enough, this is the result. You might not be able to tell, but taped onto the monitor is a Hershey Wrapper, one of the candies that appeared on desks. Written on the wrapper are the words, Thanks for the Candy.

Baseball game

I won two tickets to a Ranger's game from work. When I got them I wasn't quite sure if I had won something, or just found myself cursed. I don't like sports much. And I'm slightly phobic of crowds. I just feel uncomfortable. Takes a sport I really like to balance out that feeling, like figure skating, or the symphony.

I was thrilled when my son said he'd like to go with our Home Teacher from Church.

Today's the big day. I've heard non-stop about this game. "Mom, when does the game start? Mom, when is he coming to get me? Mom, I really want to play baseball?"

I handed over the tickets at the Church Picnic this afternoon. I think these two are two kids in a candy store. He's almost as thrilled as my son. I'm glad, because I couldn't be that excited about the game. And my son deserves to have a fun time.

Pawn Shop

I believe it was Wednesday when this all started. My son tracked mud all over the house, so I asked him to vacuum it up. While my back was turned, he used the vacuum on the bathroom sink. I came back to find my vacuum cleaner full of water.

Thankfully he wasn't electrocuted. The machine worked thru the whole thing, and I actually got it dried out. It is still working, but I don't know for how much longer. Very quickly I decided that I would need to pick up a replacement vacuum cleaner.

And it was time for my son to pay for it. Called a dear Brother in our ward and asked if if he'd be willing to play a part in this drama. He came over and let my son "pawn" his bike. My son's bike went out the door, and my son got $20 to pay for the vacuum cleaner. (My son never saw me pass him the money, or the gig would have been up!)

Today I nailed down the other half of the less. We actually went to a pawn shop to get an affordable vacuum cleaner. As we went in, I pointed out the bikes outside the shop for sale. He asked if we could buy one. I picked out a really great machine, for a very good price. As we came out, I explained in more detail how a pawn shop works.

"But Mommy, I don't have $20! I want to get my bike back!" There was a note of panic in his voice.

"Buddy, there's a list of chores on the fridge that I'll pay you to do. You're welcome to look thru them and pick one or two you'd like to do."

Today he vacuumed my couch for me! He had fun. He really enjoyed getting to use our new machine. And he liked take the couch apart, and finding buried treasure.

Divorce progress

My divorce has been in progress now for nearly 2 years. Today my lawyer sent me the first draft of my final decree. I still have to read it in full, and perfect it. We've already made two minor changes. After it's perfect according to me, they'll work on setting a court date.

Once the court date is set, then we'll begin negotiating with his lawyer. With any other lawyer, we would expect to actually work things out and settle the divorce. But with my husband's lawyer, we always have to go stand in front of the judge. They simply will not budge on things.

I don't want to get excited. There are too many hoops in front of us still. Every other time we've had to go to court, we have to set the court date about 3 times before we get one that will work for everybody. Each thing takes so much work.

And even though I want to get divorced, it's kind of anti-climatic at this point. Then I really have to face the idea of dating again. I mean, I have a crush or two at church. But it's been safe because I wasn't divorced.

I'm out of practice, and my old single dating techniques are not going to work. Dating as a single mother is a totally different ball of wax. And with two very active children, a home, work, laundry, dishes and the rest of the litany, I don't know where dating fits in. Being separated, and in the divorce process is something I've gotten used to.

I want to get remarried. I want someone to love me. I want that joy. But I don't want to go dating.

Ode to Texas Blue Bonnets

As you can see, we did the Texas tradition this evening, pictures in the fields of Blue Bonnets. My kids would not sit still, and were running all over this field. Maybe that will help them fall asleep quicker tonight. I'm crossing my fingers.

Virginia Tech Tragedy

I keep reading about the shooting in Virginia. Yesterday it didn’t upset me very much. But today it hurts really bad.

I have no special connection to the school. No one I know has ever gone there. Really, it is nothing to me. But I read about it, and a lump develops in my throat. I watched some stuff on TV, and felt the tears start to roll down my face.

At work we kept checking the new sites, reading each scrap of information as we ran across it. We devoured it, speculating.

I listened to an audio track of the gunshots. My memory was transported to an early morning in Nigeria. I heard only 3 or 4 gunshots that morning, but the sound is imprinted on my memory. I can recognize that loud pop.

Watching the service at Virginia Tech on TV, I was profoundly moved. And probably not for any of the reasons anyone else was. The service began with the National anthem. That didn’t surprise me, and yet it meant so much. In Nigeria a tragedy of this nature would not have the attention of the President. Instead the officials would barricade themselves safely behind walls and guards. They would issue statements on the price of petrol and state of education.

I know our government is not perfect. Our society is far from ideal. If we can produce a young man like this, we know that we are imperfect. But I was very moved by the value of one life. Each victim is being celebrated and remembered. Though the families are reeling from shock and grief, they know that the nation mourns with them. Many have noticed their loss.

In other parts of the world that would not be true. One person would not be so highly valued.

Bathroom Magic!

I nearly lost it tonight. I nearly broke a sweat with the kids. I came close to doing the thinking instead of handing the problem back to then. Fortunately Jim Fay's voice kicked in.

I went into the bathroom to let my son know his time was up. The shower had drowned out the sound of the alarm. I watched in stunned silence as he took a cup full of water from the shower and dumped it straight on the floor. And then he repeated this. My feet were rooted to the floor. My blood pressure went sky high. I felt the need to grab him and spank his bottom, HARD!

But Jim Fay, and his Love and Logic CD's kicked in. Strong does of empathy comes first.

"Oh no, Buddy!" Somehow my voice remained calm and cool though I could feel my heart pounding.

My son looked up at me. For an instant he grinned, but then when he saw I wasn't angry his face fell. No entertainment. "What are you going to do about this?"

He looked at the two inch deep water. The child actually turned the water off, and got out, stood dripping on the bath mat that bore a close resemblance to a sponge. His face got long, and he looked at the water on the floor rather than looking at me.

"Would you like to hear what some other kids have done about it?"

He nodded, and grabbed the toothpaste. He pretended to squirt it into the toilet.

"Some other kids have gone splashing in the water until it was all over the bathroom, walls, ceiling, and everything. How would that work for you?"

I actually know exactly what that looks like. Me and my brother did it when we had a babysitter over for the evening. It started when I tossed a wet washcloth at my brother. He laughed when it left him with a big wet spot. He threw it back at me, and things went down hill from there.

I listed off a few other crazy things he could do to further destroy the bathroom. And then I gave him a few good choices. How about a mop? Or some towels? He chose to go get towels.

An hour later, my bathroom floor is dry, and he's now putting away my dishes for me.

Yep, I like Love and Logic. And I look forward to when my kids misbehave, because then my house gets cleaned up!

The Bike

Right now I'm so proud of myself. I repaired my daughter's bike!

The bike had a flat tire. I tried pumping it, and the tire deflated. I got a bottle of bike fix a flat. Worked on the front tire, the back tire was oblivious. At Wal-Mart I finally broke down a bought a new inner tube.

And today I stared at the bike thinking how is this done? I had no clue.

Other bike repairs were done with much nagging of the ex. Can you fix the bike? And he would tell me to go somewhere and buy him certain tools. A few days later, after the kid had nagged him some more for good measure, he would finally take it outside and repair it. Bike repair was not a spectator sport.

Okay, gotta get the tire off. Hmm . . I started prying the tire off the rim. Once the tire was off, I realized I was no further. The rim was attached the to bike, and so on. I ended up taking the whole thing apart. I was impressed with myself.

Even better, instead of using the new inner tube, I repaired the old one. I used parts out of my tire repair kit. And then I declared her tire repaired. My daughter rejoiced.

She came to join me, sitting on the patio.

"Mommy, this is a Black and Decker." She held up my electric screw driver bits.

"Yep, sweety, and I love my Black and Decker! Let's me do any job I need to do. Hand me my wrench."

She looked around and found my wrench. "Best thing I bought, this wrench," I muttered as I tightened a bolt on her bike.

While I was married all the tools were kept in the trunk of his car. A few times I went and bought tools for myself. But he always discovered them. And since there were useful, he borrowed them, never to be returned. Now I get to keep all my tools.

"Girls can repair bikes." I declared. My mind was on one of my Love and Logic CD's. A 14 year old boy retorts to his mother that vacuuming is woman's work. And my ex would have had a cow if he saw me getting greasy hands working on the bike. Though he could never say, and would never admit to it, it really bothered him that I was willing to do "Men's Work."

So, my daughter has her bike back. And I feel powerful.

(Blowing off the tip of my electric screw driver!)

Vacuuming

On Wednesday I set a task for the kids. Vacuum your bedroom by Friday dinner time. I asked them if that was a reasonable limit, and they agreed it was. Mind you, the room looked like a tornado had blown thru. I realized there would have to be a search and rescue mission first to locate the floor. In between Wednesday and Friday we had a bunch of drama with my son's eye. And Friday evening they actually spent with their father.

No problem, there was always Saturday breakfast! I got up, and had a leisurely morning. The kids played, and took a while to even get dressed. I made a wonderful breakfast all for myself. And declared breakfast time. They both got up to the table, and only then realized there was no food.

"Oohh, whoops, I forgot to tell you." I said in a very sad whisper. "Remember that vacuuming you said you would do by Friday dinner?"

Two very sad heads nodded.

"Well, it's not done. You told me it was reasonable to expect you would have it done by Friday dinner. But don't worry, you can have breakfast as soon as you get your vacuuming done."

Well, my two little angels didn't take this lying down. They screamed. But since they had agreed to the time limit, they were unable to yell at me. A few times they did whine for food. But more they yelled at each other to get busy.

I had my breakfast, got my morning chores done, and then got ready to run my errands. Wal-mart, Health Food store, Goodwill, and then home. By 2pm, they were both very hungry. Now they were begging for lunch. My daughter was whine central, griping big time at her brother.

I had lunch, and the two of them discussed how to clean the room. I put my dishes away, and they took out the vacuum cleaner. They couldn't get it past the door. I made my bed, and they screamed at each other. My son took his sister's blanket hostage, and she slapped him in retaliation, her voice hitting pitches I thought impossible. He screamed at her that she needed to clean the room. She accused him of being bossy.

I grinned in my room. Better they each learn that these techniques don't work. And better that they learn it at home where no real damage can come. What a great disservice I would do my son if I let him continue to boss other kids around. His sister was really teaching him something. And my daughter really needs to learn that whining and refusing to work don't make you any friends.

At different times each kid came in my room to tattle. Instead I quickly turned it into a wisdom pow-wow. First some strong doses of empathy. Sounds like you're saying you're really mad. I hear that you are angry. I was pretty amazed at how quickly they calmed down. Now, what are you going to do about this. They each muttered, I don't know. That's pretty sad that you don't know, would you like to hear what some other kids have done about this? Well, you could tear up your brother's pictures, how would that work for you? You could bite your sister? On down the list of things that wouldn't work. And then finally a few that would work.

And my son finally got the message. He went and cleaned the room by himself, and vacuumed the floor.

At 4pm they both had lunch, their first meal of the day. And my son agreed, his sister could do his mopping chore to pay him back. Bedroom's clean, and we have a higher odds that next time I give them a task they'll do it. Or at least, after they skip a meal, they'll be quicker to get it completed.

Because whining that you're hungry only got, oh that's really sad. Bet you really want to get that bedroom vacuumed! Followed by a mutter of, yeah.

Love and Logic gems

I've been listening to my Love and Logic audio CD's, and reading my books, and thinking. There have been a few gems of wisdom that I've learned. And to help me cement those gems into my head, I going to process the information with my fingers.

Children need a different parenting style from about 15 years ago. Our culture has seen a major shift. My mom was the queen of lectures. I mean, the woman had it down flat. When she started talking, my feet became glued to the floor, and my cheeks puckered in around my tongue. There was nothing I could say; my soul was laid bare before her. My mother could shine a light upon me, and suddenly I had to face things I'd been sweeping under the carpet.

But even with my kids as young as they are, I realize lectures don't work. I can't not get my kids attention. Even worse, my daughter thinks it the funniest thing in the world! And once my daughter gets going, my son turns into the joker.

I thought I was bad at talking to my children. Instead I've found out that my children have been programmed to be entertained by such behavior.

I love Harry Potter. I've read all the books, seen all the movies. I'm following every stage of the latest book coming out. My kids have watched the movies, and love them dearly. We laugh at Uncle Vernon, and Aunt Petunia. They are the funniest thing. They try to force Harry to be a normal person, when he's really something amazing. As Uncle Vernon's face turns shades of purple, we laugh harder and harder.

Our media often equates frustration with humor in this day and age. Watch a prime-time sitcom and see if you end up laughing at someone caught in an annoying bind. And children's programming is even more packed full of variations on this theme.

So, despite all my good efforts, my children have been programmed to respond to my anger and frustration with amusement. It is a show. Watch Mommy get mad about the fact that we took the sheets off the bed. And even if I could totally control what they saw on TV it wouldn't make a bit of difference. They go to school with 20 other children who have been indoctrinated in this new form of amusement.

Instead I've got to do the hardest thing. I've got to step away from the model my parents used because it's no longer valid. And believe me, my parents were some good ones. They were probably the best out there. But the world has changed, and my kids have different needs. I am moving out of my comfort zone, and moving into Love and Logic. It's strange, and I feel off center. But I don't feel quite so overwhelmed with the kids behavior.

All night long

I'm operating on about 4 hours of sleep right now. I spent most of my night at the ER with my son.

Last night my ex delivered the kids to me around 7:30pm, since it was his late night with the kids. He commented that my son had been rubbing his eye ever since being picked up from school, and was reluctant to discuss what had happened to his eye.

The eye in question was slightly puffy, and tearing up. He whimpered about it, and joined me on the couch. I asked him a few questions, but then quit when I saw it was getting me no where. After a half an hour he finally told me. It was a stick to the eye at lunch recess! So, he'd finished out the day at school with no one noticing. And my ex had dismissed his behavior. And still the eye is watering, puffy, and hurts.

I picked up the phone and called his pediatrician. She said that it warranted a trip to the ER. I dropped my daughter back at her father's and took my son to the ER.

By the time we saw the doctor, he had fallen asleep, and was very hard to rouse. The doctor wanted him to open his eyes. He screamed and scrunched them shut. We had a real battle to get the dye in his eye, and then view the cornea. I could see the doctor was totally frustrated. She was bent of of shape. I also could tell she was single and had little experience with children. I had been sitting reading a Love and Logic book all evening, so I had some very calm choices I laid out for my son. I explained that he could either open his eye and look where the doctor wanted him to, or the doctor could open his eye. Would you believe, this child I thought was dozing off actually said, the Doctor could open his eye. He of course screamed at her when she followed thru, but he had his chance to make a decision. I held him down, and we got thru.

We were both a bit shocked with what we saw. A bright green patch showed up on his eye. I thought it was his pupil, responding to the dye, but she said it was actually the scratch. It's about the size of the tip of your pinkie finger. She was amazed that he could sleep with a scratch of that magnitude on his eye. I explained that he had been whimpering non-stop before he fell asleep.

So today I'm home from work. I'm trying to find an ophthalmologist who will follow up with him. Believe me, it's hard to find one who specializes in cornea damage, and sees children. Guess they've had to deal with screaming fits, and eyes scrunched closed! We need to get a good look at the scratch. It will probably heal with just the antibiotic drops, but until we see it under good light we can't know that for sure.

It's a miracle

Tonight I heard divine words out of my son's mouth. The Holy Ghost came in, and tapped this child, and he spoke to me.

"Mommy, can I clean the bathroom? Can I do the toilet?"

I said yes, please do!

I was jumping for joy! I was so pleased! He loves cleaning the bathroom. He gets an excuse to use the foaming bath cleaner without getting in trouble. He sprays down the toilet, and swishes it around with the brush. And today I picked up some of those cleaning wipes. He had a fun time experimenting with those as he cleaned off the sink.

The latest in my Love and Logic CD's was on giving kid's chores. So I walked in to my kids dark bedroom.

"Guys, I've got a new adventure for you, a chance for you to learn some new things." I went down the list and told them the wonderful new ways they'd be able to contribute to our family. And my kids actually cheered, saying I can do that already, ooh, I don't know how to do that. I have to admit that I was completely shocked.

Hopefully this attitude will last as they begin to learn how to fold clothes and put them away. My daughter is nearly out of underwear because she decorated the house with her supply a few days ago. I helped her out by picking it up and putting it away. I guess she'll earn it back later! But no problem! She can always do a cleaning challenge for a chance to earn things back!

First Loans

My children each got their first loan yesterday. I've been listening to my Love and Logic CD's, and they suggest making the kids pay for their mistakes, truly pay.

They each put up a toy as collateral. At this point they don't really get it. I'm pretty sure that in a month I'll be repossessing the toys next month. We'll be learning that things disappear when we get loans. Instead of getting more money, money is lost, and stuff gets lost. Hmmm . . . Good real world learning chance!

More Love and Logic

I finally broke down and ordered a whole cart load of Love and Logic products. I've got 8 CD's! I've listened to two tonight. And one of the things they say is listen to them over and over again, until it gets drummed in your head.

Love and Logic is a parenting method. The idea is to set reasonable limits, and then allow your children to fail within those limits. Like right now my children are failing miserably at House Fairy. They haven't gotten their bedroom cleaned in a while, and they haven't gotten any surprises. But they are learning an important lesson; their actions dictate their own rewards. And lately they've been loosing, shoes, back-packs and blankets to me because I simply don't tolerate those things littering my front room. They don't simply get them back, they have to earn them back. Often they have to clean a bathroom to get an item back.

But Love and Logic is more than a parenting method. It's also chocked full of great things to say. It teaches me great little one liners that diffuse difficult situations. This evening my daughter was complaining about her brother's behavior, attempting to get him in trouble. My response was simply, Thank you for sharing that. She stomped her foot, and dropped the subject.

My goal is to brainwash myself into being a better parent.

My Easter Testimony

Easter Sunday, often a time of great joy for Christians. The service is filled with flowers, and songs. Each child dressed in pastel outfits, and girls in small hats. Christ the Lord is risen today rings out of the Chapel.

On this freezing cold Easter Sunday, that wasn’t quite the case. With snow yesterday many of us pulled out our darker winter outfits.

In the car I turned on the radio to a Christian Station. They were telling the Easter Story. I listened to Jesus in Gethsemane, and before the elders being judged. In between were songs that reinforced the story elements. As I pulled into work the song Via De la Rosa was playing.

Over and over today my brain has been drawn to the stories of Christ’s suffering for our afflictions. All my sins of pride, and unforgiveness have been thrown onto this spotless lamb of sacrifice. Each sin of my warring heart, and angry mind, he has taken.

I feel a deep sense of shame at my own sins. My heart is heavy. And I feel like there should be some debt I should have to pay. I know there is no debt. Instead my Heavenly Father wishes me to pick up my head and move forward. Live the Gospel and teach my children the truth of their Savior.

Yet I know a Godly sense of Sorrow is needed over my own sins. I need to fully realize and accept what I have done, so that I can truly appreciate the saving miracle of the atonement. I can never fully appreciate the magnitude of the Savior’s gift. But today I will contemplate it.

And I will pray that as I realize what God has done for me, I can realize he has done the same for my ex. My hand can never stay Jesus’ hand of forgiveness. Mercy is given to all, as a free gift. If I could make it so that my ex was unforgiven, then I would have damned myself to the same Hell. In my head I understand that, but my heart hasn’t come that far yet.

My prayer this Easter is that I my repent of my sins, and Come unto Christ. I pray might forgive my ex, and allow the Savior’s atonement to work on my behalf.

Happy Easter

They had free face painting at Whole Food's Market! He looks so cute! The teeth just look so real!

It was so funny when he saw his face in the mirror. He sat so still for the lady, I could see he was a little bit scared. He cracked a grin when I smiled at him. But he caught a glance of himself, and his eyebrows went sky high! And everybody who caught site of him complimented him on how cute he looked.

Busy Saturday

For the first time, I took my son to Home Depot's Kids workshops. He had a total blast. Very quickly he figured out how to handle the hammer. He actually put most of the project together by himself. They called it a roller Coaster car, and it's really adarling It's really darling. While he was still hammering away he told me he would put some of his action figures in it, and roll them around the bedroom.

I've struggled to get him out of the apron. He doesn't want to take it off. He had such a great time. I've really found his passion. He totally loves putting things together, and making things. This is what excites him.

Easter Hat

I won a prize at work for this hat. Tallest hat prize went to me! Huh, I wonder why?? Hmm . . maybe because with this moving flower arangement on my head, I had to duck under doors!

My prize it two tickets to a Ranger's Game. The only reaons I know who and what the Rangers are is because I live in the Dallas area! It's a baseball team, once owned by President George Bush. They might still be for all I know. I don't keep up with sports. I called my home teacher, my son's substitute father, and asked him if he'd like to take my son to the game on the 21st.

But back to my hat! I'm so proud of myself. It turned out so pretty. I started with the eggs. As you can see, even the eggs are decorated. The World Hotels visited our building a few weeks back. They handed out a new directory to replace '06. Well, I couldn't bare to throw out that old one. They are so pretty, and the pictures so amazing. And then I got the idea to cut out the pictures and glue them to Easter Eggs. And then the Easter eggs got glued to the hat, and then yesterday I decided to add in the flowers that just took this hat over the top. As one friend said, it looked like it should have been a center piece for the table.

I wore it into work this morning. They were totally impressed. We have a woman who is our liason with the hotels. When she caught sight of the hat, she had to come investigate it more closely. Then I explained what was on the hat. And she went over the moon in glee. She was complimenting me, telling me yes, that's what all these contests are about, this is perfect, and on down the line. Next thing that I know, The World Hotel is getting e-mailed pictures of my hat. The World Hotel rep is ten times more over the moon. They are having kittens of glee over this bit of recycling. All I did was cut out the pictures and glue them on eggs. By now this picture has been e-mailed all over the world to everyone in the World Hotels network, showing off a newfound way to market their hotels.

Oh well! My son is thrilled that he gets to go to a baseball game with his best guy pal! And I had a blast getting all this attention over my wonderful masterpiece.