...That's not great.

Kindergarten, in his own words.

Each morning in Bubba's kindergarten class, they have journal time. Basically, they are given a piece of paper with 4 lines at the bottom; and are encouraged to draw whatever they want and then write a sentence about it. They are not given any assistance with the drawing not the writing. After they are done, an adult (either the teacher, aide or parent volunteer) will "translate" what they tried to write and include that on the page as well.

The result, as you can probably guess, is pretty darn entertaining.

I've been able to peak at his journal a few times over the school year, and it's been fun to see what he chooses to write about and that his writing and spelling have improved.

Here are my favorites:

I am playing hide and seek and she found me!

Corn maze. Me, sister and mom in the night.

The ants are on the elevator.

I am battling Darth Vader!

There is a monster under my mom's bed. And I love my mom, and I love my dad.

My sister is in jail.

My house is flooded. (This makes me sad that he remembers that this has happened to us.)

I am scared of the scissors and the pebbles.

I am in a snowmobile and I love my mommy!

Elmers smells like lipstick.

The lightning goes BOOM, BOOM like and elephant.

The tree is mad because of the tire swing.

My sister took my snakes but I said NO, NO.

I am going to the football game! I have ham.

Birthdays are so exciting. Birthdays are so good until the very last crumb.

And my favorite:

This is my memory.

Goodbye kindergarten! 

Things I don't currently understand.

1. Boom Boom Pow. The song makes no sense to me. The beats okay, though. Holla!

2. Bumpits. WTF?

3. People that don't like watermelon.

4. Rompers.

5. All the interest in J&K+8. Outside of their supposed marital problems, who cares? If you video-taped me with my kids all the time, you'd probably catch me being awful occasionally (or more than occasionally). At least my hair looks better - no Bumpit required.

Splash!

Typical Sis, requesting to get wet.

She was happy after the fact, too.

8 things.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To

1. Getting past June 25.
2. Moving into our new building at work.
3. SUMMER.
4. Getting together with our new neighborhood friends.
5. Painting the basement
6. Watching my garden grow.
7. Dinner tonight with just Sis and me.
8. The Log Cabin.

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Volunteered in my son's kindergarten class.
2. Worked.
3. Laundry.
4. Washed and vacuumed my car.
5. Went to the grocery store.
6. Meal planned for the week.
7. Vacuumed the house.
8. Went to dinner and a movie with a friend.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1. Play the guitar.
2. Complete a triathlon.
3. Cure MS.
4. Enjoy running.
5. Fall asleep (and STAY ASLEEP) easily.
6. Drive a minivan. (I. just. can. not.)
7. Drink red wine.
8. Be taller.

8 Shows I Watch

1. Law and Order: Criminal Intent
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. The Office
4. My Boys
5. 30 Rock
6. SNL
7. Reruns of Friends, Will & Grace, Frasier, etc.
8. King 5 Morning News

Grace in Small Things, Volume 6.

1. 2/$5 flip flops from Old Navy. There is something special about the design this year - they feel fantastic on my feet.

2. Eating dinner on the deck. The kids love to play ball after dinner, while RD and I relax and reflect.

3. My new Starbucks double-walled cup for cold beverages. I treated myself to one with the gift card I received from my sister-in-law for Mother's Day. I LOVE iced-coffees and will be using this all summer long. No more condensation on the outside of the cup! BONUS: environmentally sound. (Pud will be happy to hear this.)

4. Cheap sunglasses from Target. Fashionable and it's not a big deal when Sis breaks a pair. Or two.

5. Finding sand in the lint trap, an indication of all the fun trips to the beach we've had with the kids lately.

Want to join me? Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in 365 days of Grace in Small Things.

The weekend: taking cuts.

Playing Little League softball provided some of my favorite summer memories growing up. So, it's a great joy to me that Bubba has taken to t-ball so well in his first season.

Bubba would like nothing else than to play catch, field, or hit hit balls. And, for the most part, RD is happy to oblige. If the weather is nice, odds are the boys will be outside throwing, catching, or hitting.

Not that I'm complaining or anything. It's all very cute.

Sis isn't quite into the ball playing - yet. She's into the scooter.

Or "deathride" as we call it.

Cecelia.

I like a good sitcom more than the average person. I think it all started with the Wonder Years and came to a head when I started recording Boy Meets World (which also starred a Savage brother) on Friday nights when I was in college. I'd come home from a long shift at the Spag and enjoy the lasagna that the kitchen set aside for me, garlic bread and Cory and Topanga.

Somehow, however, I am about 3 years late to the How I Met Your Mother bandwagon (FYI: people in the "know" call it HIMYM). Maybe it was because it was on CBS? Or the somewhat strange premise (narrated by Bob Saget - he's telling is children the story of how he met their mother)? Or because Doogie Howser was in it?

I may never know.

A few months ago, I started watching the reruns on Lifetime. They also make the shows available On Demand, which I LOVE. I'm trying to catch up on prior seasons all while watching the first run episodes.

It's exhausting. But worth it.

(Sidebar to The Sister: if you're not watching, you totally should be. Netflix, baby!)

Here's a clip from last Monday's episode. I'm STILL laughing about it.

Someone cares what you had for lunch.

I know that Maggie would like us to believe that No One Cares What You Had for Lunch; but this time, I'm going to risk it.

I have never really been the kind of person who goes "out" for lunch. Yes, I had (and still have) a few lunches with friends each month, but I usually just walked over to the nearby grocery store for a sandwich or salad. Even though that's still less expensive than going out to a traditional restaurant, it still adds up.

So, combine my desire to save a few bucks and going on the South Beach diet. It pushed me to start packing my lunch most days of the week. It took me well over a year to figure out the best way to organize what I needed for the day. I had a number of go-to lunches and would also schedule our family's meal plan in order to optimize the left-overs for my lunch.

I HAZ MY LEFTZOVER LAZAGNA. Yum.

About two months ago I decided to search for THE PERFECT lunch bag/tote to make my lunch nirvana complete. I had some tough needs - I have a particular storage container that I use for salad - and it needed to fit in the bag.

I found it - in Built NY bags. One of their bags had the correct dimensions AND had enough room to carry everything I would need.

Oh, hi! Here's the bag. (PS. It's a Gourmet Getaway.)

And here's all the crap I'm able to stuff into it every day. Well, for tomorrow's meals anyway.

(Clockwise from the banana and apple: rice/beans (lunch), eggs/beans (breakfast), pico de gallo for rice/beans and egg/beans, yogurt, cheese, carrots and radishes.)

(Yes, I pack my breakfast, too. I just can't get me AND the kids ready AND eat breakfast AND get out of the house on time. I pack this all the night before.)

(Yes, it IS weird that I eat beans with my eggs, but DAMN, it's good.)

(Yes, that's homemade pico de gallo, via The Pioneer Women Cooks.)

Now, just HOW do I get all this in that bag?

Pretty simple. It's like bricklaying. First layer.

Layer two.

Top with fruit. DUH.

Then zip it up. Oh, I didn't mention it has a zipper?

I am, apparently, a lunch nerd. Carry on.

Easter, or something.

Easter was only, like, a week or so ago, right? So, it's totally cool if I toss some photos out here and call it a post, right?

It was a CLASSIC Seattle Easter, meaning, it rained all day. The family headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's to do the whole church/egg hunt/ham dinner thing.

Sis showed everyone at church her new dress (Costco special).

They did a little egg hunting.

I took some awkward self-photos. Though, that's not new.

After church, we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma's house, where the kids did what they always do at Grandpa and Grandma's house: watch On Demand cartoons on one of Grandpa's flat screens.

Grandpa got them SIlly Putty, so the holiday wasn't a complete loss.

Spring Break, Seattle style.

Our trip to Idaho for Bubba's Spring Break was more enjoyable than I thought it would be (although, in retrospect, it was clear that I should have expected it). It was just the two of us: Bubba and Mommy. Since the kids aren't on the same schedule yet, it made more sense to keep Sis in daycare/preschool (we're already paying for it) and let Bubba enjoy a visit to his only boy cousin.
 
While challenging at times, when Bubba is one on one (minus his sister!), he is really quite easy-going and compliant. With this ex tended time together, it became clear to me just how much Sis is REALLY AND TRULY going through her terrible 3s.
 
But enough of the negative! We had a snowy ride over the pass, a fast food lunch/refueling/play stop and arrived in Idaho greeted by 4 inches of snow. WOOT! The boys just had so much fun together the entire time, with just a rare fight or two (honestly, I really can't rememeber one!). They enjoyed playing together so much that it provided The Sister-In-Law and I many hours of time to chat, read or DO NOTHING (my favorite. Together we played Legos, went to gymnastic glass, ate at Taco Bell and shopped for tie-dye together. Plus, it's just nice to be away from your own house - there's no laundry to deal with, food to shop for, bathrooms to clean, or mail to deal with.

Also? We talked my brother into joining Facebook; just so he can play Scrabble with me. He gets to kick my ass and I get to connect with my brother more. It's win-win, really.

 We can't wait to return in August. And we just may bring Sis with us this time. Maybe.