May 2015- The time we built the Ark

Rain, Rain and more Rain.

And in other news?  Nothing.  It just rained….all month long.

I may or may not have mentioned that we are in the midst of a large front yard landscaping project. I’m not talking about just planting some new flowers and adding some mulch.  Nope.  I am talking about ripping out every existing blade of grass, tree and bush and replacing it with a mud hole larger than you have ever seen.  Did I mention that it rained?  Also, have you met our Twin Terrors?

Yeah, they look sweet.

Walter and Charlie + 9″ of rain + white carpet and couch = One Disgruntled Housewife

I’d better move on to other topics. Otherwise, the muddy mess that is my house will cause me to fall into a downward spiral that ends badly….with drinking before noon.  Clarification….drinking before noon on a weekend is good, on a school day it’s problematic.

Speaking of school days, my hours of volunteer service in the Kindergarten classroom meant that I was “rewarded” (???) with the opportunity to chaperone the annual trip to the zoo.  Sounds fun, right? Yes, if it’s only my children that I am in charge of, and I don’t have to ride down and back on the school bus. As it was, I was wedged between two 6-year-old girls on the bus ride, one of who gets car sick. Awesome.  Once there, my group consisted of Reese (piece of cake), one of her well-behaved friends (still good), and 2 others that can only be described as the devil’s spawn.  I’d spent enough time in the classroom to know that these particular little girls could be “challenging”, but once they were out in the open space, they upped their game to full-on warfare.  What in the world had I done to this teacher to make her punish me like this?  Had I not been patient enough in my kindie math lessons?  Had I given her the side-eye one too many times when the kids blew snot on me during circle time?  As we made our way around the zoo that day, we frequently passed the group of kindergarten teachers, who coincidentally had ZERO kids in their care.  I swear that my teacher snickered when she saw me and my crew.  

Long story longer, when Malory hits kindergarten, I will write them a $500 check to avoid the zoo trip.  Or, maybe I’ll send Daddy…..

At least there’s this:

GRRRRRRRR

It was nice to spend the time with just Jackson.  I’d been there many times with various school groups, or with Habanero in tow.  Being able to learn (play) with only him was awesome.  Plus, it was important to do something brain-related before we moved onto the afternoon’s activities….

Bowling and video games at The Summit.

 The following week was Reese’s day off.  We decided to spend the day in Denver shopping for new summer clothes.  I am hoping that the morning was not a glimpse into my future shopping trips with my daughters, because honestly I am afraid.  We couldn’t agree on anything.  Clearly, Reese wants to dress like a 17-year-old hoochie, and I want her to remain a little girl for quite some time.  After many eye-rolls and sighs, we were able to compromise on a number of cute things.  We even bought a few pairs of shorts (!), which is no small feat if you know Reese.  All dresses, all the time.

Now, as much as she loves clothes and shopping, she is still a fun-loving kid who requires a few video games.  Truth be told though, Reese plays all video games in hopes of winning a stuffed animal from one of those terrible machines with the claw.  Give her a card with $20 in credit on it, and she’ll have it spent in 5 minutes flat….and then be terribly sad that she doesn’t have the enormous purple teddy bear.  We’ve talked about it multiple times, but the girl is powerless to resist the claw.

All these tickets and we did not come home with another stuffed animal…can you believe the injustice?

Not to worry, there’s always lunch, and I am not lying when I say that her pasta with STEAK was WAY BETTER than the salad I ate.  Swimsuit season in the near future and all….

Last up for the month was the culmination of many hours of hard work at Canyon Concert Ballet. You’d think I was talking about Reese and her ballet and tap dancing skills, but I am not.  I am talking about the hard work of navigating that ridiculous parking lot and then dragging Malory kicking and screaming to drop off and pick up Reese, once a week for NINE MONTHS.  It would have totally been worth it had Reese loved dancing and shown excitement about her upcoming recital.  Nope.  She was ready to quit around the first of November, and I had to pull out the well-known Mom lecture….”If you start something, you will finish it.”  Uggghhhh….somewhere Jane is laughing her a$$ off.

BUT, the costume alone and her happiness about being allowed to wear makeup was ALMOST worth it.  This was her Swan Song, I’m afraid.  Our days of Canyon Concert Ballet are over, unless Malory gains a significant amount of grace in the next few years….and they fix that damn parking lot.

To celebrate a job well done in her 3-minutes of fame, we hit Kilwin’s for some ice cream.  Summer is just around the corner, and we needed to practice our cone eating skills.  Clearly, Malory needs some work….