Fischer and I had the talk.  He’s growing up fast:

We had Back to School Night this past week…. I totally remember fitty years ago when my parents went to BTSN for ME when I was little!  So weird for me to be that parent now.  But I don’t feel so old since BTSN, considering that Denton and I were the youngest parents there, and with the most kids.  

Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE Leo’s teacher and now how much I LOVE Nuckols Farm Elementary?  First, I love Mrs. Miller cuz she lets the kids be creative, she’s been teaching for 23 years but it hasn’t “gotten to her” to be around Kindergartners for that long. She handed us her curriculum outline and explained her teaching methods of allowing the children to find their niche and go at their own pace.  She’s big on NOT having the kids all on the same level – let them progress as they can.  Not only that, but she lays the SMACK DOWN in the right way, but is so kind about it all.  aka – Leo’s been in time-out twice already… Denton and I have both had heart attacks about it and had Leo write an apology note to her teacher.  And the reason being?  Because she loves her friends at school and when she gives them hugs, she picks them up and twirls them around, almost killing both of them. :)  

NFES is run by women – I’m not a Femme-Fanatic, but I think it telling that there are only 2 male members on the whole staff. Maybe I want to be a Vice Principal someday now…  the P and VP drive a Lexus and Mustang with license plate “GIDYUP.”  Heh. (Someday my Jeep Wrangler will have the license plate KIKDWN.)

So while other moms are crying and missing their kids during the day – I’m living it up going to the gym, spending more time with the boys, and thinking about how much fun Leo is having learning and being creative in a great environment.  Cheers.

Watch this now!

It was raining last Saturday and we didn’t have a lot of options, so we put on our suits and played in the rain (except for Marissa didn’t put on a suit–that’s why there are no pictures of her and I was manning the camera).  I remember doing this as a kid–I also remember using an umbrella sometimes (Did my parents want me to get struck by lightning?  I am the middle child . . .).  The kids loved it, and it was free, so a good idea when it’s raining.

We survived our first day w/o Denton, although by the end of the day the kids looked like this:

Thanks to Chick-Fil-A and Sheri the Clown who shows up there on Tuesday nights, Leo ended up a Cheetah and Fischer a “Rad Green Spiderman.”  They played hard in the play place, thus the smudged faces.  And that’s Fischer’s happy face, in case you were wondering. 

Sidenote:  Leo has a hard time falling asleep at night cuz her mind is racing thinking about Kindergarten and everything else in the world.  I was telling her she needs to relax and let her mind calm down, and she goes, “Mom, you wouldn’t understand.  It’s a magical thing actually, my mind just won’t stop moving!”  Actually I totally understand, guess who she got the problem from?

We miss you dad! 

Denton’s blog “Palin Report: More Facts”

Well, not in the same way as Oprah — I broke up with her.  Denton’s breaking up w/me now, but only for a week!!  Tomorrow at the CRACK of dawn Denton is heading out for a week to Atlanta for work.  It’s been two years since Denton’s had to travel – that’s the whole reason why we moved from Ohio cuz he had to travel all the time for work.  It was either have lots of $$$ but no husband/dad, or have dad at home. So here we are in VA.  Really I’m not complaining about his leaving…  I’ve got friends who have is worse then I do when it comes to husband’s traveling.  But for a second, since it’s my blog, I’m gonna FREAK OUT here!

Let me just list all the things Denton does and what I’ll be without this week, then you’ll feel my pain:

-Helps do bath night with the kids, it really does take two adults.  Have you ever tried to bathe 3 kids in one night?  It’s like a workout – we do all we can just to keep them alive and the house from flooding.  So this week, the kids are getting one bath and one bath only.  And if they start to smell funky, then it’s off to the pool. 

-Makes dinner during the week, sometimes.  I try to not have him do it every night, but it is his outlet to hit Tom Arnold’s or Ukrops on the way home from work and whip up something fabulous.  So guess who’s cooking this week?  Chick Fil A, Cici’s pizza, Costco, and whatever else is in the cupboards.

-Helps put the kids to bed every night… one of us takes the boys, the other takes Leo, then we switch to say good night.  Well, I’ll still put them to bed this week, and it might just be a little bit earlier then before. 

-After the kids go to bed, Denton turns from father to my therapist (massage and mental), boyfriend, best friend, sounding board, fellow snack eater, computer hog, Palin lover, and babysitter so I can make CVS runs.  So I’m going to miss ALL THAT!  Now can you feel my pain?

We’ll be ok – I’ve got movies, snacks, Kangaroo Jac’s, slumber parties, mom and friends on speed-dial, my blog, coupons, email, and many other things to keep us occupied. Good thing I married that boy – if I had let him get away, I’d have been the BIGGEST IDIOT in the world! (sniff sniff)

That’s it, I’m banning Oprah from my home and erasing all the TIVO’d episodes I have of her show.  Check out the Drudge Report to find out why.  Isn’t she all about empowering women and telling us to go for our dreams and reach our potential?  I guess that only means if you’re a Democrat.

For a while I’ve become less enamored with Oprah that I have been in the past. Really, I think she’s racist and egotistical. I learn a lot on her shows, but sometimes I think she caters to those “more like her” then not. And now that she’s pulling this, I’m breaking up with her.
Peace out Big-O! And change a lot!

Now I’ve got to figure out what to watch at night while I’m doing laundry….

Leo had her first day of Kindergarten today – the whole fam walked up to school with her, it’s two blocks behind our house.  I cried on the way up but tried to hide it from Leo – this morning she prayed that I would be OK while she was at school.  The day went by fast for just me and the boys at home.  We stayed busy and talked about what Leo was doing at the time, ie. eating lunch, recess, probably NOT missing us. :) 

We had a happy reunion when we picked Leo up from school!!  Fischer was happy, don’t be fooled by his residual salty face.  Leo ran all the way home from school – she obviously wasn’t tired!  Leo taught us how to make edible school buses, which she had made in class that day. Props to her teacher for filling the kids up w/sugar on the first day of school, Mrs. Miller is a brave soul.  Leo said to me, “There was a boy who wasn’t minding Mrs. Miller.  I was going to tell on him but then I decided not to, I think I made a good decision.”  It’s gonna be a great year.  

Marissa already mentioned that I have a crush on Sarah Palin (Governor of Alaska, John McCain’s VP Pick).  Just to be clear – it’s (almost) purely political.  A conservative reform-minded governor who takes on the worst excesses of the corrupt Republicans in Alaska; a sensible, take-charge, pull-no-punches former beauty queen and champion high school point guard, avid hunter and fisherman, mother of five? What’s not to love? There’s something very attractive about a no-nonsense, in-charge woman–that’s why I married Marissa. And for the record, Marissa has a crush on her, too.

I was so excited about the pick that I decided to start a blog:  The Palin Report. Not that I don’t already have enough trouble keeping up with this blog, but I think this is the most excited I’ve ever been about an actual candidate (close second: Bob Dole!). If you’re not already convinced, hopefully this will help: 

For a little more background on why I decided to start the blog, go here.