Polka Dots

Had a pedicure today and looky what she did...



Ahhh...summer time. A time for pretty sandals and pretty feet. :)

Gardening

Two more beds to prep and then I'm done for this year. Usually, all of my flower beds are done by the end of April. Not this year. :( The main reason for this is I went back to work and now all that I used to do during the day while everyone was away waits for me when I get home. Mind you - I am not complaining about going back to work 'cuz I wanted to do that. It's just been a little overwhelming to try to do everything else, too. Then, we were slapped with a major cold snap over Easter that zapped everything that was budding and leafing out. And to cap it all off, I came down with a nasty sinus infection. But I digress...

I spent all winter researching and planning my flower beds. I have a notebook full of ideas and I planned it all out on graph paper (yes, I'm a nerd). I decided that I would put in mostly flowering perennials and shrubs that provide some winter interest. I am preparing to put in the last two shrubs - Wine & Roses Weigelas - they are gorgeous. Now, I just need to decide what I'm going layer in front of them. Must go to the nursery tomorrow. My favorite past time flower/plant shopping!

My next project is to research the plants to put along the property lines to act as a natural fence. Yes, more plant shopping!

School's Out for Summer...

Yippee - I'm done for the summer. I'm soooo excited that I get to sleep in tomorrow - well, a little bit anyway. Since I went back to work in August 2006, my house has not been as thoroughly cleaned as I would like. My friends know that I (used to) set aside one day (usually Tuesdays) each week to clean the house top to bottom. Nothing else gets done that day. Well, that is until this year. Now, I'm lucky to get something done each day. Laundry takes all week and then it starts over. Thank goodness I can recruit my kids to help. For that I am very thankful - even if I have to ask them to do it. I've had to adjust my cleanliness standards as the kiddos haven't mastered Mom's requirements for what is clean! But, hey...it gets done. Right?! Now, where was I going with this...Oh, I remember. Tomorrow morning is set aside for cleaning the house Mom-style. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to it. Then, it's off to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 with the kids and a couple of friends for the boy's b-day celebration.

Wii

Okay - the boy turned twelve yesterday. The only thing that he really wanted we have been unable to find for him. WTF is up with the Wii. We have been everywhere, looked everywhere and still no Wii. We knew that it was popular, but we had hoped that supply would've caught up with the demand by now.

In the meantime, we will still search out the Wii - though it may be Christmas before he gets his birthday present. :(

One more day...

Well, tomorrow is my last day of work for the school year. While I'm really looking forward to my summer break, I'm a little sad about the year ending. Why you may ask? Well, our elementary school will be splitting to create another elementary school. We will be losing half of our teachers to the latest addition to the county system. It's exciting to see such growth in our community, but it's growing much faster than we can keep up with. Our schools (at least in our part of the county) are overcrowded and our road infrastructure needs to be seriously revamped. It's only going to get worse before it gets better. Beginning Summer 2008, our community will begin experiencing a major growth spurt due to the BRAC. Our area will receive an influx of new residents mostly from the East Coast. While this is a great thing for the economy (we're getting lots of really cool shops), it puts a real stress on our infrastructure. Let's just hope that we can meet the standards that the community has set for us in the eyes of the new residents. But I digress...the reason I'm sad is that I'm slow to adjust to change. Don't get me wrong - I'm really excited that my co-workers are getting the opportunity to be in a new school and set their rooms up just the way that they want them. I just hate to see them leave. On the other hand, next school year my job will be much easier 'cuz most of the annoying parents are going to the new school. Yessssss!

Sigh.....

It's official - the hubby and I are officially parents of a HIGH SCHOOL student. D's 8th grade graduation ceremony was this morning. As much as she likes to disagree, D had a blast this morning. It was so fun to watch her walk through (great practice for the one that really counts). She was perfectly giddy at the reception afterward - though it was REALLY crowded (H & I dislike crowds immensely), so we didn't stay long.



D is the one in the middle.

Went home to change clothes then it was off to lunch at Rosie's and to see Spiderman 3, which was very intense, but we enjoyed it.

Now, it's off to bake a birthday cake for the boy. He'll be 12 tomorrow.

Slacking

I confess...I've been a slacker regarding blogging. No excuses...just way tooooo much going on to blog. That is until today. :)

End of Year Craziness

I'm not sure why this happens, but it does... Every school year around May 1st, students begin to lose it! I'm talking about slacking off on assignments, misbehaving, and in general, being brats!!! As an example, yesterday our principal saw 5 students before 8:30am! Granted I know that actual teaching wanes toward the end of the year, but not enough to warrant students going berserk. Next week is going to be even worse - I have resigned myself to that fact - as the school will be having grade level field days, class parties and 5th Grade Graduation ceremony. The only saving grace for me is the day before school lets out my daughter will be graduating from the 8th grade so I will be spending the entire day with her and NOT at work!! Bwa ha ha!!!

Did I mention that there are only 7 days left 'til school is out for summer?!

Daughters and Shopping....

Now I know how my mom must've of felt when we'd go dress shopping! Although, I used to enjoy shopping, a lot! But the daughter does not. Anyway, the daughter and I went dress shopping for 8th grade graduation this afternoon. What an experience that was!

First of all, there is the "dress code" for the school we must adhere to - dress straps must be 3 fingers wide, the dress must be white, etc. It was nearly impossible to find a white dress that DIDN'T have spaghetti straps or that was not too dressy (or too old - as D put it - 'I don't want to look like a mom'). Why they made the rule that the dresses had to be white is beyond me - the school is not a private school, where I can understand having such a rule.

Second, finding a dress that both of us could agree on. We went everywhere! There were lots of pretty dresses, but none of them white (or a close facsimile there of). We found one at NY & Co. It's an A-line, very sensible and we could embellish it if she wanted to. She didn't dig it - but being the stressed-out mom that I am, put the dress on hold - just in case...'cuz y'all know if I don't do that, her size is going to be gone when we go back to get it. Went to a couple more shops - nothing jumped out at us - well, me anyway. She found lots of prom-style dresses, but they're just not appropriate for 8th grade graduation. D did say that we'll have lots of fun shopping for prom dresses when the time comes. Yeah, right!?! We did go back and purchase said dress at NY&C. Just in case.

As a last resort, we went by JCP. Wouldn't you know it...there was her dress. It's off-white with black embellishments on the straps (which are 3 fingers wide), at the waist and around the hem. And...she LOVES it. The best part of it is...she already has black strappy sandals to wear with it!!!!! Shoe shopping with D is even worse, but that's for another time. Now, that we've got that done we can sit back and relax. That is until she starts high school in the fall...

All in all, it was a successful outing. And we rewarded ourselves with a trip to our favorite coffee shop for a cinnamon dolce frappuccino (light, of course). Yum!!!

Venting

Have you ever had one of those days where you want to scream "I QUIT"? Well, today was one of those days for me. I work for a local school and while I enjoy my job thoroughly, it does get to me. The thing I "love" the most is when parents come in to pick up their children after they've boarded the bus to go home. The end of the day is always chaotic - but when one has to retrieve a child off the bus, it's infuriating. The parents all know the procedures as they were addressed at the 1st PTA meeting and are PRINTED in the school handbook, but feel that the procedures DON'T apply to them. Grrrr.....

Only 15 more school days...I hope I can survive that long!