Mountain Climbing

We took our annual trip to Disney World at the beginning of March and had a fabulous time.  My 6 year old son kept urging me to go with him on Big Thunder Mountain from the moment we entered the "Welcome to Walt Disney World" sign (better known to our family as the "Disney Bubble").  I told him I would think about it. I hate roller coasters and the thought of going on this one nearly gave me a panic attack.  But was I about to let my 6 year old down?  What kind of mother do you think I am????  Of course NOT!  He kept telling me I would have so much fun and not to worry because he'd be right beside me, holding my hand.  Ever so reluctantly, and yet determined to show my boys how to not only overcome your fears, but also look them square in the eye and say "I'm not afraid of YOU anymore," I walked to the entrance of Big Thunder Mountain.  I put on my brave face, heart pounding, hands trembling.  I swear to you, God is so awesome and good and places the people in your life just when you need them because there was this woman who was in the adjacent line with a little stuffed Minnie Mouse, using the stuffed Minnie to give everyone a "high five".  Most people would find this annoying, especially since she did this not once, not twice but quite a few times while we wound around, passing each other in line.  I, on the other hand, am not like most people and almost hugged the woman because each time I high fived that stuffed mouse, I felt like I'd be ok.  I finally got on the ride and actually enjoyed it.  I did scream and when I got off my legs felt like jell-o.  My 6 year old said "See, I told you you'd like it."  "What made you think I enjoyed it?", I teased, "I was screaming the whole time!"  He said "That was you enjoying it!"  The next day, we realized that my 3 year old daughter was tall enough to ride the ride, so all 5 of us rode it 3 times in a row.  My daughter LOVED it!  She even copied her 9 year old brother by putting her little hands in the air throughout the ride.  We had so much fun!  I'm so glad my 6 year old got me to "climb" that mountain!

The Scream

My oldest son brought home a piece of artwork he made in art class at school.  I thought it was so good that I wanted to include it on the blog.  His assignment was to create a drawing, using Edvard Munch's The Scream as inspiration.  Here's Munch's:

Here is my son's version:

His teacher printed out digital black and white photos of the students and they pasted the pictures on their paper, using oil pastels to emphasize the photos and create the background.  What do you think?

Margarita Week

So, I'm not really a drinking person but I have been known to indulge in some beverages of the alcohol persuasion every now and then.  Margaritas, strawberry maragaritas, mamosas....just about anything mixed and fruity is my personal preference.  Margaritas are usually the first thing that come to mind.  Though I don't actually (usually) drink them, I usually refer to a hard day as a "Margarita day" meaning if I had the stuff in the house and the stamina to make one, I'd have a margarita in my hand to end the day.  Well, this week has been a margarita week.

The boys are tracked out this week (and the following 2 weeks).  So, we've done dentist appointments (me and all 3 kids), cubscout pack meeting  along with work and grocery shopping (3 different stores).  We are going on vacation soon, so my younger 2 are doing make-up gymnastics classes (for the ones they're going to miss) as well as their regular classes (total of 4 times at The Little Gym this week).  My Grandmother's birthday is the 19th so we're meeting for lunch to celebrate.  My husband had the 8 :00 am shift this week, so I had to take the boys to their track-out camp, meaning I wasn't able to get in to work early or stay late so I wasn't ready with my materials this week during preschool, which makes me feel incredibly disorganized.  We also got 2 new students this week (as well as 1 new this month and 1 new last month) so that makes 8 kids (age ranges from 19 months to 3 years) on Mondays and Wednesdays and 10 kids (age ranges 22 months-3 years) on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The only saving grace to this is not having to worry about planning for preschool next month.  My teaching partner and I take turns switching off month to month with planning.

It's weeks like this I feel like I'm treading water, trying desperately to keep my head above it before I sink in.  Perhaps, instead, I should just learn to ride the waves.  Surfing lessons, anyone?

Quilt

The quilt for my almost 6 year old is FINALLY completed! Woo hoo! It's about time too, considering I started it when I was pregnant with him! I'm slowly but surely cleaning off my back burner. Here's a picture of the quilt:



Now a Nicholas Sparks book is calling my name....

Lump

My Bible study Mom's group has been watching these Nooma series short videos. This was one we recently viewed and I was inspired to share it on my blog. This one is titled "Lump" and it discusses the love God has for all of us. It reminded me of when I became a mother and how intensely in love with my newborn baby I was (and still am with all of my children). It's amazing how you can just meet a person and immediately feel this powerful unconditional love for this person.....for no other reason than he/she is your child. That baby didn't do anything but be born into this world. And then it hit me. How much more must God love me? I believe becoming a parent has given me a small glimpse into how much God must love me and everyone...for no other reason than we are His children. Please take the time to watch the short video that I have linked in this post. May all who read this post have someone in their lives who has shown them a glimpse of the enormous amount of love God has for them.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYWGmGc6-kQ

Wish List

My oldest son's 9th birthday is coming soon. We asked him to make out a wish list. This was too good not to share. Googey, by the way, is his favorite Webkinz.

My Birthday Wish list

1. Paper recycling kit (craft section at Wal-Mart)

2.(book series)DK's “Ask Me Anything”

3.Garfield books, any 2 except 1,2,3,13,14, and 15 4.”Webkinz” lava dragon 5.Nintendo DS with “Mariokart” game

6. 2 wii remotes

7. something for Googey

8. 75 erasers, assorted

9. a gem

10.carrot seeds and a large pot

11. fish (at bent tree plaza on falls of neuse Rd.,please. With 2 packages of fish food

12. 2010 through 2012 calender

13. something strange

14. something solar powered

15.College dictionary

16.SMALL remote-controlled car

17.every state quarter

18. a good watch

19.Spanish,French, and Italian dictionary

20.Webkinz signature panda

21. a world atlas book

He also had at the bottom of his list to "choose 3" but my husband made him delete it. Too cute!