Garden Update

Now that we have had almost three full days with no rain, I thought it appropriate to provide an update to the garden. So here is it.....it is growing. Sometimes I make myself laugh....

A reminder of where we started.....

Next is just after planting......





Just above was the end of last week, before the severe thrunderstorms and tonrnadoes (which skipped over my house so the garden does not look much different).

I am hopeful that we will have a plethora of burgundy beans in the next few weeks. I promise to do a blog on the exciting transformation they go through from purple to green!

Happy Tuesday!

Almost

JBM finished his 2009 Little League Season last week. The last game was Thursday evening and JBMs Reds were on the loosing side of the semifinal game. They lost to the Mets (at least one Mets team is capable of winning a game).

The boys handled everything very well and stayed in the game until the very end. JBM had a great play from second to first. I held my breath...and he went two for three at the plate. All in all, not a bad showing.

The championship game was Saturday morning and the Mets won. We were all happy about that since it is easier to loose to the champions.

Two weeks without sports and then camps galore.......

Finally!

The last day of school for the 2008-2009 year has arrived.....I won't tell you I am happy...but I am.

When we (Hope and I) went to wake up JBM this morning, it was tough but took a bit less time. Most likely becuase I shared with Hope that her job for the year was done. With that, she took her paw, placed it on JBM's face and pushed as hard as her 23 lb body would let her. That woke him up with a giggle.

Good way to start the last day of school. Not sure how much blogging I will do during the summer. However, I do plan periodic updates to the garden. Stay tuned.......

Pitching Debut

JBM will make his pitching debut later today.....he will most likely pitch only one inning. This has been an all consuming adventure for JBM and FlyBoy this week. I am staying out of it!
It has been an interesting journey to watch. The season started with a firm..."I don't want to pitch..I know I will not be good at it." Then, watching most of the rest of the team try, it became, "I guess I should think about it." FlyBoy and I decided it needed to his decision. So after the game on Saturday, JBM asked his dad if they could "practice." And practice they have for the past five days...at the field and on the "make shift" pitching mound in our backyard (see below) which was created when we removed a large tree a few years ago. Note the slightly less green area of grass. It was a joke at first and has become a reality.
I will go to the game but will spend most of the time staring at the ground since the stress will be too much for me :) Guess I had better get used to it.

Anyhow, it might not happen because it is raining...stay tuned.

Tattoo

No JBM did not get a tattoo and as long as I have control over him, he will not get one. So enough parental commentary and now to the real reason for this blog.

As you well know from my saga, yesterday was Field Day...finally and thank God! It was a great day. A bit nippy but we did not have to worry about heat exhaustion and the kids still managed to drench each other with the various water games. One of the stations featured a tattoo for all....most got the tattoo on the middle of their foreheads. As you can see from JBM below.

He managed to shower and wash his hair last night and save the tattoo all at the same time. Funny how that happens. FlyBoy questioned his washing techniques but it does not matter to me....it is all in fun afterall.

Three days to go........

Finally.....

With the chance for rain at only 20% today, we should get in our Field Day. Kids look forward to this all year long.....especially the water slide. Here are some photos of the set up.....I hope fun will be had by all and that I am very bored the whole day. That means not major injuries. Jr. Birdman and I will be racing each other in the 25 yard dash.....with my intense (Hah!) training, who do you think will win? I will let you know tomorrow.

Field Day Saga (Part 3)

And the saga continues......today would have been Field Day which has already been rescheduled twice.....in a sleepless night last night, I got out of bed at 3:30 AM and there was thunder...so I thought a quick shower. Fast forward to 5:00 AM, still raining. Thus the message below from the PTA this morning.

FIELD DAY CANCELED
We are canceling field day today due to the rain and the day-long threat of thunderstorms.

We will try again tomorrow.

And in the "out of the mouths of babes" department, as we pulled into the school parking lot this morning, Jr. Bird Man noticed the water slide set up on the hill. His comment, "Mom, today is a great day for the water slide." Yes, it was raining.

Postponed again....

Today was the day for Field Day! It was postponed from last Friday...and guess what? It is raining again! Now we are aiming for Monday.....right now, the weather does not look to be in our favor.

With next week being the last week of school, there are so many activities going on that teachers will be scrambling to fit in those activities around Field Day (whenever it is). Jr. Birdman is prediciting Wednesday. My vote is to wait for Thursday and have the 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony on the water slide. As each student reaches the bottom, they get their certificate. Novel idea?

Have a good weekend everyone!

Drama

I had the dramatic performance of the year on our lovely office the other day. One of the K students who finds her way here almost every day, opened the door and came across the floor dragging her left leg along as if it was being held on by a thread. When she arrived at my desk, she said, "I hurt my leg at home yesterday and it still really hurting." We had a wonderful discussion about how she needs to think about when and why to come to the nurse. I demonstrated for her what she should have said when she arrived WITHOUT the drama..."I hurt my leg at home yesterday and it still hurts, can I have some ice please?"

Once she got the ice bag, she held my hand to the door, said thanks for the ice and as she walked away she said....."I am going to miss you." Do you think that means she is not coming back at all for the next seven days or the next 12 hours?

Eight Days

There are eight days left to this school year.....they are counting down slowly...oh so slowly. Lots of paperwork this time of year. I thought that computers were supposed to cut down on the amount of paper we use...NOT.

Oh well....that is my weak political statement for the day. As you can tell, my creative mind is a bit sleepy today.

Pictures!

As promised, here are a few pictures from our weekend. First the recital......





JBM playing his most complex piece. Sorry that I am so far away but I have to believe that flashing lights in your eyes while playing would be a big distraction.

This is the whole group that played....JBM takes lessons right before the boy in the striped shirt and they both play baseball and hockey. They also performed together in the Young Musicians Festival this year. They enjoy each other's company.

JBM and his Nonnie.....the piano behind them cost $74,000. Nonnie had a hard time with that concept....me too!

On to Sunday and hockey...JBM is in the white helmet. He is wating for a pass...took the picture right before he scored a goal and at the same time the battery died on my camera....as MPM would say, GAH!

The busy weekend took its toll last night, JBM had a baseball game. Flyboy looked totally dejected when I got home from work last night. Comment from both parties...."we had an off game today....everyone was off and it was pure torture!" Oh well, not activities until Saturday so plenty of time to catch up on sleep etc.

Guess what, it is raining here today....what a surprise. Happy Tuesday.

Recital

As is common this time of year, many activities overlap. This weekend we had a piano recital and a baseball game which we thought were at the same time.....but Mom did not do a good job at reading the schedules without her glasses and got the times wrong! At first, we thought Jr. Birdman would have to choose between the two activities. Those of you that know our family well might assume that the athletic even won out.... Well, you would be wrong. Jr. Birdman chose the recital over baseball. The reason? "I have plenty more games to play Mom but we only have a few recitals a year." Good logic.
As it turned out, the game was in the morning and the recital in the afternoon. Nonnie was able to come the recital becuase it was held in a local Steinway Gallery and was handicap accessible. The kids played on a grand piano (which cost more than the new car we purchased last summer).
A good time was had by all.....including the dinner and ice cream with Nonnie afterwards! Thanks fo dinner Nonnie!

On a side note, with the addition of a piano in his life, Jr. Birdman has decided to try his hand at writing his own music. He has composed two pieces so far and played them for his teacher. They are recording them on his "tape" this week and she is going to incorporate how to write music in his lessons over the summer. Maybe we have the next Billy Joel in our midst.

On another side note, I had pictures to go along with this post but came to work with my camera but NOT the USB port to allow me to download the pics....guess I know what the subject of tomorrow's blog will be. Happy Monday!

Postponed

Today would have been Field Day....but it has been postponed for a week. Do you think it has something to do with the weather forecast?

Friday - Rain. High in the low 60's. East winds 15-20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Let's hope for better (and warmer) weather next Friday.

Have a great weekend!

It's Here!

We had our first case of confirmed swine flu this week in our school. Had to send a communication to all parents and all the staff. Staff have been reasonable and surprisingly parents have been too! Only one call from one teacher looking for information on classroom and student....did not understand why I could not supply that....ever hear of patient confidentiality?

I hope this is as bad as it gets.....the final countdown continues.

Bug Bites!

The final phase of the school year has begun....only 12 days left until summer vacation (but whose counting)! With this time of year, come the bug bites.....I think that our fine town grows the biggest mosquitos in the whole world and they are voracious. We use lot of Rhuligel this time of year and hear lots of ouches (since it is made mostly of alcohol). Works like a charm to get the itch out and we don't get any repeat visits! Maybe I should change my name to Nurse Ratchet....and this should be my new torture tool.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my beautiful Mom's 91st birthday. While her life has more physical challenges than a few years ago, she is doing remarkably well. We had a wonderful family dinner on Sunday and her whole family was with her.....at my house, of course. When I called her on the way to work this morning, she told me she woke up with the image of all of us celebrating her around the dining room table. That is what I had hoped for......so a very happy birthday to Mom and many more!!!! (She would not like that second part, she does not want to move way into the 90s but I really want her around that long or longer) :)

Christmas in May

After a year of searching, bargaining and contemplating the decision, Christmas has come early to our home. Jr. Birdman has been taking piano lessons for two years and has come a very long way using an electronic keyboard. Over the past six months, it has become very clear that he needed more.....so we purchased a piano. When the search began, I never considered that a piano is more than just an instrument....it is a significant piece of furniture being added to our home. A piece of furniture we did not plan for.....a piece of furniture we have no room for....a piece of furniture that comes with requirements.......it cannot be placed against a heating element. We have baseboard heat in our home and there is only one wall in the house that the piano will fit against! That wall happens to house my favorite piece in the whole house and I have nowhere to move it. After much deliberation and negotiation, the piano was delivered and resides in the living room. Not the best location but it works and the sound is magnificent.

The biggest part of the negotiation......where is the Christmas tree going to go this year. Our tree is 9 feet tall so it is somewhat limiting as well....we will worry about that in November :)

p.s. The scarf on his head is from a Field Trip that included a visit to a sushi restaurant. We are trying to have him say sushi chef five times fast....give it a try. It is impossible.