Herding Cats

The term "herding cats" has no better use than being used to describe what the adults in charge of kindergarteners are doing ....especially the first week of school.

Yesterday, as I was leading a group of about 50 kindergarteners from Music to PE through a crowded cafeteria, I was feeling so confident. I was thinking,"Wow...they are really getting this!" I arrive in the gym and PE begins. Suddenly, a little boy who had previously been in my line walked in the door. A few seconds later, in comes another kindergarten boy with a teacher...."I found him in the hall."

So I pull the two aside and begin to lecture them in a very firm voice with my furrowed eyebrows. I let them know how they must NEVER leave a line. "This is a big school and you could get lost." While I am talking they are looking at everything but me. So I ask one of them what I just said. He responds, "I wasn't lost. I was in the bathroom." So he at least heard the "lost" part....but really it didn't apply to him. I am pretty sure he didn't catch the "stay in line" part.

Herding cats and talking to aliens.

Freedom

In my assembly of red, white & blue is a freedom block I made along with all of the crosses that I mentioned in the previous blog. Can't you just imagine how cute Halloween and Christmas and Valentine's blocks could get?

Doojies, all these photos are for your viewing pleasure. I am inspired by you to learn more about this blogging stuff. Maybe I should stick to clogging. Or really I should be jogging.

And I know you KNOW this...but if you click on the picture it enlarges and then you can really see what I am talking about. I learned this by accident but it has come in handy when I want to see you up close and personal....

Look closely....

On this table in my living room is a small block with a cross on it. Look closely. This was given to me by my good friend, Karen. It is simply a cross printed on scrapbook paper, then decoupaged/Mod-Podged onto a piece of wood that has been painted. As a finishing touch the artist glued some fabric scraps tied in a bow and some decorative trim. This one little gift turned into my summer craft project. I made about 45 wood/cross blocks this summer for all of my friends and co-workers. So fun, so easy....so perfect for any decor.

From Memorial Day until Labor Day....

This is my red, white & blue assembly that stays out from Memorial Day until Labor Day on the buffet in my entry way. You can just imagine the dust that has collected. But once you throw the star confetti down you just really can't dust. So here's to freedom, being American and collecting dust.

Whatever it takes to go in there.....

Here is my newly wallpapered utility room. The 4 tiered red cart on wheels was found at the dumpster behind the dollar store in Cleveland, Mississippi, this summer while visiting the inlaws. My sweet Chuck went back and got it after dark. The paper is a little on the wild side but reminds me of Mackenzie Childs with the curtain and the bunny picture. I am begging my family to hurry up and dirty more clothes so I can go in there more often. NOT.

Survival Mode

We went into survival mode at 8:30 this morning as the kindergarteners were allowed into their classrooms. And stayed in that mode until we got them all loaded onto buses or into cars after 3:45 this afternoon. I suspect this whole week will be much the same.

All day I have tried to remember the first day of school last year. I cannot remmeber that day....or really the first week. Perhaps it's like childbirth. If you REALLY remembered it, you'd never do it again.

too late to correct her...

Today I went to get my hair cut and colored by Van. She's a Vietnamese woman who runs her own shop and works harder than anybody I know. When I got there she said, "Hello Jordan." I said, "hi"...then she said, "What color we do your hair today Jordan?" I said, "whatever you think...highlights and low lights....just cover the gray..." Then I picked up a magazine and begin to read up on Brittany while I waited my turn. Then when it was my turn she said, "Okay, Jordan, go get smock."

And on and on it went for the next 2 hours. My name is Julia. My daughter is Jordan. But since I didn't correct her the first or second time....it became too late to correct her. I think I thought the first time it was just a slip. But when it happened again, her customer was looking at me and I didn't want to correct her in front of the girl....not sure why that bothered me. And then the 3rd through 10th time, it just seemed too late.

Oh, well. Speaking of Jordan. She has safely arrived in Scottsdale for her 5 month internship with the Fiesta Bowl. And Cameron is safely back at A&M after traveling with Jordan and flying back to Houston. God is good.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I will be in bed early tonight and early every night this week.

abc's

a - alive, as in "It's good to be alive!"
b - be happy
c - Cameron, my middle child;Carol, my teacher friend;Catha, my dearest sister
d - Dixie, my oldest dog;Debbie
e - excited to be starting a new school year
f - funny, as in "I love funny friends."
g - good....be a good friend
h - Hackney, as in Chuck
i - Ivy....my sister's married name
j - Jordan, my oldest child
k - Karrie and Kerri, my teacher friends
l - laugh
m - Mom...my most important job;Monica
n - new car
o - omg
p - please and thank you
q - It's good to be queen.
r - always do what's RIGHT for the children.
s - Sadie, the chihuahua
t - talk...As in I love to talk and my husband doesn't.
u - The pimple on my nose is making me ugly.
v - I wish I was voluptuous.
w - William, my youngest child.
x - xylophone? xerox? Does anybody use those things anymore?
y - I love to work in my yard.
and z - I wish I knew how to put in a zipper.

The Perfectionist

I have been a perfectionist my whole life....at least as far back as I can remember. Even as a little girl (maybe 4 or 5?)I wanted all my ducks in a row. If I had on a pink shirt, it had to match the bow in my hair and the socks on my feet. I would tie my shoelaces into the prettiest bow....or redo them. This is not to be confused with OCD. I don't think I was ever OCD....but not having things go perfectly did cause me a lot of angst. So when I decided to start a blog, I thought it would just be fun to get my thoughts written down. Then a funny thing happened. I started reading blogs. I mean alot of blogs. And they are really cute. And they are really funny. And the backgrounds have some really cute prints, like black & white toile on them! And what I like about all of these blogs I am reading daily and getting hooked on, is all of the cute photographs imported onto them. And then, I just couldn't blog anymore. My self analysis is that old perfectionist in me just cannot do a blog if it's not the best.

Humm.....maybe that's competitive?