Good Report Cards = TCBY

Bean and Bug have both made honor roll this past 9 weeks.  Bug asked if we could look into getting some ice cream as a reward.  I hope she is easily pleased when she’s 16 as well!

We had a mass of children Saturday night.  There were the neighbors, M & K, Bean, Bug, and Almost Mine.   Since everyone had done pretty well on their report cards, it became a group outing. 

Do you know how long it takes for 5 children to decide what they want?

Do you know how many funny looks you get when you walk into a store with 5 children that span a 3 year age difference?

 

Fadre and I realized the only child out of the 5 that didn’t look like it belonged?  Bean.  Everybody else has pretty much the same hair color – but hers is much darker.  When you see her face though, you know she is Fadre’s child.  At least that’s what people tell me.  I see a child who constantly looks at life through a prism.  But that’s another story…

It turned out to be a worthy reward.

And we were all happy.  Did I mention I had a strawberry parfait?  You know, I’ve been working hard too. 

And my willpower was not strong enough to just watch them eat it.

And then Bug asked if these could spend the night:

 

And I said yes.

Because I had forgotten they were energized by this:

Oh, and the last one was still awake after 11 o’clock that night.

Family Breakfast Day

Bean and Bug offer breakfast at school once a year as a fundraiser. So this morning we all get up early. Okay, the girls got up same as always because they are usually downstairs, ready for school and eating breakfast by 7 am. I am usually thinking about getting in the shower at that time. But I did it and we were ready to leave the house by 7. Since the neighbor kids’ mom had to work early this morning and their dad has to leave for work pretty early, we took their girls with us. After sitting down another neighbor and his daughter joined our table. It was just like a regular Block Party.

Almost Mine’s Birthday Dinner

Almost Mine picked Chili’s as his birthday dinner restaurant. Zman and his girl K had plans for later that evening, so we invited her to join us. I got this appetizer for free with a coupon. Mmmm.

Bean, Bug, Almost Mine

Fadre, Poppa, iNik, Nana

Zman and K (he loves for me to take his picture)

Almost Mine got a cool backpack for his Nintendo DS.

Me, iNik, Nana

I ate me some of this.

While Fadre had this.

The girls you ask? They went all the way to a restaurant to get the same mac ‘n’ cheese I make at home.

Bug was a little tired and in a sour mood.

I tried to sympathize with her.

I shared this with Fadre and it was good!

A perfect end to a fantastic night.

Who says public education isn’t good?

At the dinner table last night Bean was talking and used “in a moment or two” during her conversation.  At that point Fadre stopped, looked at me, and said, “What 8 year old kid uses the word ‘moment’?”  At which point Bean replied, “I find that offensive.”

Since when do 3rd graders use these types of phrases?  When I was in the 3rd grade my focus was to stay away from boys with cooties.  I was not the least bit concerned about about my grammar.

Bug and Bean were none too thrilled about their public education this morning when I realized that they were still asleep at 7:27 this morning and that they had to be at the bus stop by 7:32.  Clean teeth are overrated anyway….

Valentine’s Day Eve

How did I spend the night before Valentine’s Day?  Fadre and I managed to work out an excellent deal with the neighbors.  They take our girls Friday evening and we keep theirs Saturday evening.  Great deal, huh?  In the budget conscious state we are in, I have been practicing my bartering skills.  But of course, we have to plan our evening around Zman’s social schedule.  We drop him off at his bud’s house and we head out for sushi.  Because I bought a $25 coupon for $3.  Even Valentine’s Day can be celebrated at a discount.  Only, we bought more than we could eat, but hey – it’s lunch for another day.  Our dinner looked something like this…well, what was left of it.

Because we felt like overstuffed sloths after dinner, we stopped by to get some of this.

White Chocolate Mocha is one of my BFFs.

Afterwards we headed home and rested until we were needed. 

By Zman.

Three weeks ago Zman created his Master Plan for Valentine’s Day.   All to ask out K.   Fortunately, he is a good sport and let me take some photos.  Okay, maybe I went back to my well-honed bartering skills…I’ll help you if I can take pictures.  He really wasn’t left with much of a choice since he doesn’t have a driver’s license.

The plan started with Fadre and I picking him and his buddy C from C’s girlfriend’s house where they had gone to visit while Zman’s potential chick was there.  But first, he asked that I pick up some flowers.  “Red and white, Madre, red and white”, said Zman.

So…

Flowers, check.

Step 2..Pick up Zman and pretend to go home.  But instead, drive around the block and pull up in front of the girls’ house, with the lights off.

 

I hope he used a different look while he was trying to impress her!

Step 3…The boys hide behind the truck and write their love notes.

You would not believe the amount of discussion and laughter that erupted while trying to decide which color to use…

Then there was a little bit of writer’s block….

You would think by the 9th grade, they would’ve mastered the heart shape..But it was 11:00 at night and very dark and at this point we were all laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes.

Then he gets serious…

Step 4..Finish the “love” note.

My heart “twittered” with a little pride when I saw this…the culmination of three weeks’ planning, which is equivalent to 6 months in teenager timing, SO ROMANTIC!

Step 5…Parents drive down the street so the boys can call the girls out to view their “street art”.  Of course, Fadre and I turned the car around so we could at least see a little bit. 

Step 6…Zman calls for us to come and pick up him and C.  But of course I whip out my bartering skills and swap a pick up for a photo.  They were oh so thrilled.

Don’t mind C’s girl…she’s just not use to me yet.

 

Note to Fadre:  I do not require love notes written on the street or a bouquet of flowers.  A load of laundry and a load of dishes will do me just fine.  VERY ROMANTIC!!!!

Fadre Does the Sweetest Things for Me!

Fadre took this

to here for me last night

because the weatherman mentioned

but all we got was this

and this

and up close it looked like this

but it was enough to cause this

which made the children do this.

Take THIS Starbucks

Fadre made this for me.

Okay, this is his.

Mine’s smaller.

And it was MMMmmm!

He’s so good to me.

7th Grade Operating Manual

When Zach was in the 7th grade OUR homework assignment (yes, I said OUR - if I remember correctly, Wes and I have already passed the 7th grade - why do we have to do 7th grade homework all over again???) was:

Tell me about your child in a million words or less.

Really?!?! Wouldn't you rather just keep him for a couple of weeks and find out for yourself?

If I recall correctly, (because as most of you know I can't remember what we had for dinner the night before) I was really busy at work so Wes, my Knight in #2 Pencil Lead Armor, took on the task. This is what he had to say:

Zach—One in A Million-More or Less

Here is the operating manual for the 2006 edition of Zach…I hope you find it helpful.

Zach’s a kid with way too much talent and personality; and far too little time to accomplish anything he’s told to do. He’s liked by most everyone as far as we can tell and is a friend to kids much older than himself. He has never gotten into any serious trouble such as fighting, cheating, stealing, or any of the other really bad words, but he does tend to get into the mischievous little adventures which make you wonder what he was thinking at the time. Example: For fun he re-arraigned the landscaper’s marker flags for an underground sprinkler system that was soon to be installed!

Zach’s very smart, but too often his best work doesn’t shine through. He feels the need to race through his assignments in order to get back to his fun time. His parents are working on that, and I’m sure you can appreciate the labor involved in telling a 12 year-old to slow down, and make it look your best.

Zach’s someone who doesn’t have to struggle often with his schoolwork. Because of this, if he’s challenged or given a lengthy assignment, he will sometimes become frustrated quickly. Zach’s mom and dad have both passed the 7th grade already, so Zach’s required to do his work himself. His book reports and hallway posters may not always be the best looking works displayed, but they are always his works. He will get guidance from us, but he doesn’t have publishers, editors, and artists on staff as some appear to have. The Alexander family has had more than a few late nights sticking to the principle of this, even though we could have desktop published our way to an early night’s sleep.

Zach is the oldest of three, with 2 little sisters to help distract him in the afternoons after the school day. He’s a master of the loophole at home. If given a chore or assignment, he will try it, but if the instructions weren’t clear and in the proper order, he has the tendency to sometimes use that to his advantage and stop the process. He’s very talented at creative thinking projects, and given the right motivation, a good storyteller, comic, and writer.

Zach does have a tendency to shut down when confronted or if pressed. He will argue his case, but after the absolutes are stated, he will often glaze over and wait for a better time to express himself. He tends to be a bit on the careless side, especially with taking instructions and keeping up with them. His room’s a mess and it doesn’t bother him, so why should his backpack and assignment folder be any different. Yep, his parents are working on that too.

Wow - the 9th grade version still looks A LOT like the 7th grade version - only TALLER!

Chick Magnet

While out shopping the other day Zach says to Wes:

"You should get a sweater vest - they're chick magnets."

Wes is taken aback for a moment and asks, why they are chick magnets. Zach explains that at the moment he (Zach) seems to be repelling the women and since he doesn't own a sweater vest, this MUST be the reason... I love Zach's humor. During the last 12 months he has really developed a good sense of humor and can crack jokes about and poke fun at himself. He has joined a youth basketball league and practices are underway. Games start 12/3 - Go GRIZZLIES! His social advancement (talking) during school is not popular with the teachers. We received an email from the Geography teacher about him putting his head down in class and napping. His grade in that class??? - 99 average. It's tough to come down on him hard with a grade like that.