Monday, April 21, 2014

Week in Review: April 14-20

Last week...
...I had a spa day at Lazuli Blue! The parentals gifted me with a certificate (months ago) that I finally redeemed. I enjoyed an infrared sauna, a Swedish massage (I was certain there would be bruises afterwards), & a hydrafacial. A LOVELY way to spend an afternoon. I don't get those kinds of experiences very often, so it was an absolute treat. It was hard to say goodbye to the fuzzy robe  & slippers.

...the fam & I (except daddy, 'cause he had to work *sad face*) attended Zoey's first school strings performance. She was so excited! Without any pressure from me, I really hope she decides to continue on with the cello. I can totally picture attending her high school orchestra concerts. And I'm bonding on the musical level with that girl of mine as much as I can. But our 2-man band, Chuke finds it hard to practice very often: (What? You wanna play outside? What? You wanna chill out & play games? What? You wanna invite friends over? What? You've got homework to do?)

...Zoey & I decided to do some container gardening during her monthly date. I spent some of my birthday money on dirt. Haha! But sad news: our cucumbers aren't looking so hot. I think they are diseased. Great. I can do lots of creative things, but I have never been one to grow things. We are planting carrot & tomato seeds this week. I'll prolly kill those too. Just give it time. I really, really, really, want this to be successful for Zoey. She loves plants & flowers & outdoor things like that. In fact, she currently loves weeding. She just recently told me that if she could have any wish, she would wish to have a yard filled with weeds, just so she could pick them all. Seriously, we'll be passing by a random field or yard, & she'll see weeds, & it just KILLS her inside that she can't go pull them. Yesterday the Mr. took the girls to the park. While he & Pazely were tossing a ball, Zoey was sitting near a patch of weeds, weeding to her hearts content. 

...the girls & I contributed some artwork for a local park project. A friend's son is hoping to have a sign put up at McMurray Park in Richland, using artwork from locals, which will be turned into tiles. The project has yet to be approved, but I'm certain it will get a bunch of "Yay's"! Sitting under a gazebo in a park with the girls, & coloring with pencils, was a super fun way to spend an hour on a Saturday morning.

...I finally finished making 52 mini buntings for donating to the BirthMom Buds Retreat. I think this is my 4th year donating items to their annual retreat, as part of the goodie bags the ladies will take home. (Last year I made vintage button rings for all of them!) Have fun in Charlotte, North Carolina, ladies!!

...the girls & I decided to mix things up for Easter's annual egg decorating scene this year. I found THIS idea on Pinterest which makes tie-dyed eggs using shaving cream & food coloring. Ours turned out rather light, so next time I think we should go crazy with the food color. We ended up applying rub-on tattoos to decorate the eggs as well. And then our refrigerator died. So we had to bring our things down the street to grandmother's house for safe & cool keeping.
We kept things simple this year for Easter, because we had to. I kind of felt bad about not being to get the girls new dresses & shoes & tights. (Thank you, Jesus for hand-me-downs!) We made do. And there weren't the big baskets filled with lots of  fun prizes & treats. Just tiny things that I found around the house. That fit in an egg carton. For reals. But the girls had fun & we made memories just the same.

...I made scones/griddle cakes. I'll share the recipe later this week. They were so yummy, & cooked right up on my griddle! I need to restock mother's lemon curd though. Can't get enough of that stuff on the cranberry griddle cakes!

...I had the largest group of kids for 4th grade STAR Club last week: 13! (It's normally a maximum of 8, but I made an exception this week.) For the first time there were trouble-makers in the mix too. Which makes everybody act more obnoxious than usual. (Boo. Hiss.) I secretly wished that several of them had chosen to attend the bunny craft in the next classroom over. 
I hear all sorts of topics of conversation with those kids every week. First, the kids were quoting lines from a new movie out in theaters. (I am very surprised at the movies that parents of 10 year olds let their kids go to! GAH.) And then someone mentioned the word "puberty". I think they thought it was a bad word. (I'm one to talk. I'm married + 39 + have 2 kids, & the word "sex" still makes me feel uncomfortable. haha! I blushed when I typed that.) But I explained (in 7 seconds) that puberty is simply your body changing as you get older. General. Basic. No weirdness. Yet they still made grossed out/that's disgusting faces. Then, one girl asked me, "How are babies made?" I replied: "This isn't that kind of crafting class, honey." (Are there even those types of crafting classes?)

Have a happy Monday!

For a photo play-by-play, click HERE.

2 comments:

  1. I'm over 20 years your senior, but we still have a lot in common when it comes to chatting about sex with 4th graders! I taught 4th grade for many years, and their topics of conversation haven't changed much over the years! You did exactly the right thing with your matter of fact answers, even though inside you were probably wishing you could click your red ruby slipper heels and say, "I want to go home...I want to go home..." I hated Family Life days, when we had to gather all the girls and tell them about puberty. YIKES! Smart girl to keep the numbers after school down, because when one of them gets silly they all act like crazies! When I meet with other retired teacher friends, we all get a good laugh over the questions and comments the kids used to make!
    Thanks for sharing your stories!

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  2. I giggled at your reply, ""This isn't that kind of crafting class, honey." Kids can keep you on your toes for sure! lol!

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