Tagged!

I have been tagged! (It's a blog thing.) My homegirl Linda tagged me.

So here it is...

7 strange things about myself

1. I carry on discussions with my organs
2. I have a thing for old doors, office supplies, and baskets
3. I am learning to play the ukulele
4. I eat spinach with vinegar
5. I like to indulge my inner child (think tutus, Barbies, playing in the rain)
6. I sleep on a water-filled pillow
7. I terrorize my friends with pink flamingos
   

6 random facts about myself

1. my first name means Morning Star
2. I was bit by a dolphin at age 17
3. my hair is naturally curly
4. I am a type A person with a big free-spirited streak
5. I was born in New Mexico
6. I was a band and science fair geek
   

Pondering

What do I want to be when I grow up?

My layered question.

There are so many swirling dreams. Can I be a keeper of plump clouds? Is it too late to be a princess? I am a mystery to myself. So many experiences have left a signature on my life. Can art sustain my life? Will my boundaries disappear? What is my life song... my calling? Can I build a backyard spaceship to the moon? I am whole yet still missing a piece or two. How is that possible? Am I shrinking my dreams? Is there such a thing as controlled abandon? I am cool like the other side of the pillow... kinda zaney. I have steel wings. So which way do I fly? Am I strong enough? What ingredients are in my pot of possibilities? Is there a future in being a professional puddle jumper? Are cupcake tasters in great demand?

Does it ever get easier?

If any answers come to me, I will pass them on ; )

Split in Half

Evan has a plan for this everyday school thing. He said he needs to have 2 halves. One half can stay home with me and one half can go to school all day. Awwww... I thought that was a really sweet idea. I actually would like that idea : ) Evan is really enjoying Kindergarten, but tonight he did say that it is too long.

Then Evan took his plan to the next level. He decided he needs a brother that looked like him and they can take turns going to school because it is nice to learn stuff at school, but I could teach them stuff at home too. I love to watch the gears running in his cute head ; )

Oh, and he is still negotiating what he deems okay for me to do in regards to his 'Big K' experience. Today he got off the bus from school and I could tell he had something on his mind. Turns out he thinks it would be a 'fair idea' if I alternate days waiting outside when his bus comes. Today I waited outside and watched him get off the bus and ran down the hill. Tomorrow he wants me to wait inside and let him come to the door. I can't make any promises, but I will try ; ) I absolutely swell with love and pride watching him get off the bus at the end of his school day. I look forward to that each day. So the poor child may have to deal with mom being around even if he doesn't think it is cool. I will just have to remind him that it is in my contract as a mom to do stuff that isn't cool to him. It is simply part of my job and what I get paid the big bucks to do! LOL

Evan the Water Fountain ; )

Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath. ~Author Unknown

Crazy Curly!

12 x 12 layout using lots of stitching, a swatch of fabric, and woodgrain contact paper
close-up of Evan's curly hair

three more little things that make me happy for no apparent reason

1. strawberry milk shakes... YUM
2. redecorating my blog (much easier than my house) lol
3. checking out the names of nail polish colors (strange since I seldom wear any)

Diary of a Crazed Kindergarten Mom ; )

Seriously. I think I should rename my blog. It seems that life currently revolves around my child going to the "Big K".

(photo of Evan checking out the school playground last Friday)

Anyway, I dropped him off at school this morning. He didn't want me to walk him into school. (He didn't want Markas to walk him in yesterday either, but Markas insisted.) I'm trying to follow Evan's lead on these kind of things... and this is Day 3 afterall. I prepare myself to watch him walk into the school building my himself and disappear out of sight. I wasn't however prepared from him to have playground time before the first bell rang. So instead I watched him walk onto the 'playground of life'. Very symbolic actually. My lone child entering and then blending in to the mass of busy bodies on a large playground. My insides ached a little. I know it is only mommy growing pains. Somehow I don't think they are going away any time soon.

Evan asked me the other day... "you want me to stay little for a really long time, don't you?" That is a hard one to answer because the answer is both 'yes' and 'no'. It's a lovely dream that he could stay little longer, but it is like trying to catch the wind. I guess all this crazed mom can do is stand back and enjoy the breeze...

Mass Transportation Rules

When I asked Evan what his favorite part of the first day of kindergarten was he answered... 'riding the bus'.

He was so excited that his feet barely touched the ground as he ran down the hill to our house!

My Heart Started Kindergarten Today

Evan at the threshold

Evan with his teacher, Ms. Breeden

my kindergartener and me

Evan explaining the ins and outs of the alphabet to his daddy ; )
***

No tears! Yah! How can I be upset when my child is so ready for this next step? I don't remember being that self-assured when I was five. I know his wonderful preschool experience had lots to do with his ease in transitioning to the 'Big K'. As Evan & I were going through his bedtime routine last night, he asked if he could ride the bus home today. He said he wanted 'try it out and see how it goes'. Believe me I would prefer that he waited at least a few days before taking on this task. But if he is ready to try it, then who am I to dampen his enthusiasm? Okay, so I am his mom and moms have absolute veto power... yet I chose not to veto the bus. However I would still like to veto this all day kindergarten thing! ; ) I imagine that I will actually have a harder time in the next couple of weeks when the reality of everything sets in and when the newness wears off and I start missing my child like crazy! It is scary to function without my heart : /
oh... I also told Evan that kindergarten was so fun that I wanted to go too. He responded with... 'Mom, you are way too old for kindergarten. You had your chance.'
LOL

three more little things that make me happy for no apparent reason

1. $1 bins filled with crafty stuff and other goodies ($0.50 bins make me crazy happy!)
2. the smell of certain types of paper... new books or magazines for example. or maybe it has to do with the ink or a combo of paper and ink...??? who knows. it actually pains me a little to admit this one happy thing because I have been trying to reduce our household paper consumption : /
3. anticipating Fall

A Small Selection...

of recent photos

Evan getting a very close look at a passing train.

downtown V.B. 8/11/08

What do you get when you have a camera phone, a bumper boat, and a five year old driver?

pictures like this! ; ) 8/12/08

sleepover madness last night

Evan checking out the playground at his elementary school (Friday). He starts Kindergarten Monday.

Old Blue Bicycle...

more photos on my photo page

www.dljack75photos.blogspot.com

more photos from today coming soon...

numbers

NUMBER ONE!

WOW! I mean really....... WOW!

I couldn't contain myself watching this last night. I was surprised I didn't wake Evan up with my schreeching of excitement. Way to go, guys!

I am getting urked at some of the announcers though. They act as if they have the results figured out before the competitions even begin! For example, the announcer went on and on last night that there was no way the USA mens swimming relay team could beat the French team. Just didn't add up no matter how you looked at it. Excuse me, but isn't that what the Olympics is all about... that you never really know what can happen and who will amaze the world? If everything was a done deal going into it, why even bother with the Olympics?

NUMBER 5 1/2!

Evan is officially 5 1/2 today! I am not sure he is really that interested in this fact. He does think it is cool that he is closer to 6. Oh, and one more number...

SEVEN

the number of days until Evan starts kindergarten.

I {heart} that you {heart} making art

a quick PowerPoint layout

Evan admiring his salt dough creation

Working in the Rain...

Just working in the rain. What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again.

(like Singing in the Rain)

What a nice change of pace for this miserably hot time of year. Two glorious days of rain showers and cooler temperatures! Whooo Hoo! These are pics of Evan working in the backyard this morning... in the rain. We are moving rocks and Evan is a big help as the shoveling master. I know we have plenty of hot, dry summer yet to come, but the cooler weather does wonders to lift spirits and energize. Gives me hope that I will survive to experience the crisp air and dancing leaves of Fall! ; )

I have been getting behind in regards to my blog and photography. I am working on several other creative projects. More on those coming soon...

Cousins, Wiggly Teeth, & Whatever Else Pops into My Head

Cousins!

Alon & Evan had lots of cousin time yesterday and Monday. Alon (and MeMaw) came for a visit. The dynamic duo had a blast on the water slide. Another big highlight for the boys, was being twins... same t-shirt, same shorts, and even same shoes. They kept telling people... 'we look like twins, but we are cousins' ; )

(photos courtesy of my mom)

Wiggly Teeth

Evan had a dental check up this morning. He got a great report and an exciting discovering... he has not one, but two wiggly teeth! His front two bottom teeth are wiggly. One is actually extra wiggly. So it looks like the toothfairy will be visiting our house soon.

Whatever Else Pops into My Head

I guess I am in my usual August-is-too-freakin'-hot-to-be-happy funk! Lots of people talk about having cabin fever in the winter months, but summer has always been the worst time of the year for me. I feel very confined and restricted. I want to be outside, but at 105+ and crazy high humidity there isn't any point. My friend Linda has the right idea... she says 105 = perfect scrapbooking time. All a gal needs is artificially cooled air, plenty of scrappin' supplies, and a little mojo!

A different kind of dusting

I dusted off my resume today. Quite surreal I must say. I haven't looked at it since 2001... pre-marriage, pre-child... pre-everything it seems. Not that I have any specific plans to rejoin the workforce, but I figured it was time to at least prepare. It is almost as if I have held my breath for the past 6 years and I am just now coming up for air again. I do wonder if going back to work may be a good idea since Evan will be in school everyday. My only big concern is will I be up for working again... on a set schedule that is. I mean of course I have worked hard the past 6 years.. at just being and just taking things one day, even one hour at a time. But my health issues and energy level still makes me doubt if I am ready to take on a 'real' job again. No way to know until I try though.

Do you wordle?

I wordle!

I came across this cool site today and made my very first wordle. I picked random words from my word journal and made this 'word song'. Click on the image above or on the link below to wordle for yourself!

http://www.wordle.net