m.o.M - mother of Michael

A Budding Artist

Michael drew this from his "How to Draw Disney Characters" book and then mailed it to our friend who actually gets paid to draw The Donald!

The Life of a Mom

From swim meets in the morning...

 
.to monster trucks in the afternoon!

It's all in a day's work.

The Little Boy Who Didn't Cry Wolf

Last Saturday morning, my bedroom door flew open and in ran Michael.

"Mommy! Daddy! I just saw a snake in the hallway!"

"Honey, it's for you." I said as I rolled over to catch another couple of winks.

"Michael, you had better be telling the truth." Michael grumbled as he pulled on his shorts and sneakers.

I heard closet doors being opened and closed as Michael looked for the alleged snake.

"No snake," he said when he came back into the bedroom.

"Maybe you just imagined it, Michael," I yawned.

"I did not! I went to the bathroom and when I came out it was in the hallway! It made my legs shake!"

When Lizzy awoke later in the morning, I told her that there might be a snake in her bedroom, but that she would probably never know because her room was such a mess - being awoken so abruptly that morning had made me just a wee bit cranky.

That was the last I thought about the alleged snake.

Fast forward to last night, Monday night about 11:00 pm: My bedroom door flew open and in ran Michael.

"Mommy! Daddy! The snake just crawled under my bed!"

"Honey, it's for you."

"Michael! There had better really be a snake!" Michael grumbled as he pulled on his shorts and loafers.
"Stay in here. I'll be right back."

"Look! Daddy has his official snake hunting shoes on!" I laughed.

Michael's bed has a trundle and sits directly on the floor so there's really no "under the bed" to it. Nonetheless, I heard my great white hunter pulling the trundle out, bang his knee, curse, and open and close a couple of closet doors.

"No snake. Go back to bed, Michael."

And he did.

A few minutes later as Michael and I lay there in our bed, Michael said, "If I had seen a snake crawl under my bed, there's no way I would go back in that room on the other side of the house to sleep!"

I had a momentary flash of guilt, but decided that if there had really been a snake in that room, there's no way Michael would have gone back in to sleep. No snake. He's crazy, I thought and I rolled over and went to sleep.

I awoke at 3:00 am, went into my bathroom without turning on the light so as not to disturb Michael. I did what I had to do and went back to bed.

The next morning, we all got up, got dressed and everyone headed off to work and school. I went to clean the bathrooms.

I wiped down the counters, cleaned the mirrors and scrubbed the toilet in the kid's bathroom. I did the same in mine, wiping down the bottom and back of the toilet as well. As I was leaving the bathroom, something caught my eye. I reached down behind the toilet to pick up the errant piece of trash only to find:

School Daze II

I sure hope this sticks for more than one day this time!

See ya!

School Daze

 

 The first day of school! Hurray!

 New duds and new sneakers; the trappings of this momentous  day! I would have preferred a collared shirt, but Wall-E was the choice of the day.

As the Michaels pulled out of the driveway, I stood there grinning and waving goodbye feeling positively giddy. My neighbor, who was out, asked if Michael was off to school. I spread my arms and sang out "Hallelujah! Yes! Yes! Yes! He is off to school!" My neighbor laughed - hopefully with, not at, me.

It's been a wonderful day! I cleaned, I scrubbed, I washed, mopped and vacuumed. I purged. I was gloriously alone!

Alas, the end of the day came, but even that was okay because pickup line means knitting time and I'm back onto the palette sweater.

Michael had a good day. When I asked him about his teacher, he said she was nice but that after lunch, she got all crazy. "You know that kind of crazy like I got at Halloween? All jumping and running around from too much candy?"

Hmmm, I wonder what she had for lunch.

The End is Nigh!

Fifteen hours left and it looks like I might survive summer vacation!

We beached, we bowled, we built with blocks. We movied, we marveled, we made meatballs. We did NOT weed, wash or wipe up. Boy do I miss weeding, washing and wiping up!  Fifteen hours more.

It's now time to put the final touches on the kid, pack the backpack and lay out the clothes.

 

Fifteen hours more and I can put on my best June Cleaver smile and wave goodbye to the Beav! Just fifteen hours more.

AACK! It's a Cat Gak Attack!

The last ball of Kaalund Classic Two. Nuts! I was hoping that I would have enough of this to finish the Goddess Anniversary Mystery Shawl, but alas, it appears as though I may not make it. Oh well, onward I will push and we'll just have to see what happens.

The good news (yes, there is always good news!) is that after this, all that remains is the edging so maybe, just maybe...

In other news, Mic and Mo went bowling again. Again, Mic beat Mo.

 School starts ... when?

Mic and Mo Go Bowling

The things we do for our kids in the summertime - like wearing shoes that have seen more feet than steps.

When we got to the bowling alley, I explained to the teenager in charge that I had never done this before and needed some guidance on ball weight, bumpers and lane assignments. "I'm just a mom trying to get through the summer." I said.

"It's okay," the pimply-faced teenager sighed. "We get that a lot this time of year."

I Survived Kindergarten!

 

Well we got no choice
All the girls and boys
Makin all that noise

'Cause they found new toys
Well we can't salute ya
Can't find a flag
If that don't suit ya
That's a drag

School's out for summer
School's out forever
School's been blown to pieces

No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher's dirty looks

Well we got no class
And we got no principles
And we got no innocence
We can't even think of a word that rhymes

School's out for summer
School's out forever
School's been blown to pieces

No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher's dirty looks

Out for summer
Out till fall
We might not go back at all

School's out forever
School's out for summer
School's out with fever
School's out completely

Special Thanks to Alice Cooper: "School's Out Forever"

   

Let's Go Fly a Kite

The last field trip of the school year - again: can I have a hallelujah?

Off we went to the Chain of Lakes park for kite flying and picnicking. I was worried all night long that there wouldn't be enough kites; there wouldn't be sufficient wind, but as it always is, the things we worry the most about never happen.

It was a perfect day: overcast and not too humid, and all the kids had the opportunity to fly kites.

It even made me smile.