Hallelujah and Amen

They're DONE!!!!!!!

Okay...if you are asking, "What's done?!?" you are obviously guilty of not reading my blog enough. So, I won't tell you outright. But I will give you some hints. It involves several used-up red pens, lots of bad grammar, and many doses of Tylenol. Oh, and seven weeks of my life that I can never get back! But I am so happy they are done!

P.S. I know at this point, you may be worried about me and wonder, "What will she do with all her free time now? Will she be able to handle having weekends free of red ink?" Never fear, my dear blog readers. You see, now I have the opportunity to catch up on all that work I assigned but didn't get a chance to grade and enter every assignment for every student individually into our convenient online grading system. Oh, and final exams started today, so I get to grade hundreds of those, too. Oh, and then I can ease my pain by computing yearly grade averages for each student. And don't even get me started on the fun I plan to have packing up my classroom. So, don't worry! And did I mention that I get a whole week to do all of this? Piece of cake after the past seven weeks.

No Autographs, Please

Okay, I have teased you just long enough...

Time for some healthy laughter!

(You will understand the significance if you read the below descriptions from yesterday.)

It's Just Not Nice to Tease

This posting is just to establish content for tomorrow's posting...just to explain some important likes in this family. I know that many of you have been extremely patient; my posts have been infrequent and not too thrilling. Well, if you want to be entertained, tomorrow's posting may just deliver if you want a good laugh.

So here are your teasers...

Teaser #1: For those of you that don't know...I am a singer and I have a degree in music as well as English. Growing up, since the moment I saw the film Grease at age seven, I was in love with Olivia Newton-John. In love. As in, every time I saved up enough of my allowance, I would but a new Olivia album at Drug Fair, a store that had several older albums for as low as $3.77. In my earliest fantasies, I wanted to be Olivia. I memorized all of her songs, and every time I was asked to sing a solo, I chose an Olivia song. Naturally, my first solo in front of the entire elementary school was "Xanadu." And when I won a statewide essay contest at age ten, the local paper's headline read: She'd Like to Sing Like Olivia. I adored the purity of Olivia's voice and her wholesome demeanor (that is, until the whole "Physical" era arrived; it's hard to believe that song was ever considered scandalous compared with today's standards). As I grew older, I respected the woman she had become even more; she supports many philanthropic and environmental causes, and her fight with breast cancer was nothing less than inspiring. You can just imagine what I was like the first time Eric took me to see her in concert; she actually entered the stage to "Xanadu," and I couldn't see or speak for the first several songs through my tears. So, that is your teaser #1.

Teaser #2 is much less emotional but still fun. Cameron is really into the old-school versions of Scooby-Doo right now, and he recently borrowed Scooby-Doo Meets Batman from our library. He can talk in Scooby-speak, and knows more trivia from the shows than I ever did (and I watched them the first time around). And sometimes he even pretends to be a part of the Scooby clan and ride around in the Mystery Machine. Which takes us to...

...Teaser #3. If you read my previous post regarding Connor's babyhood, you know that I was holding my breath in case he was as colicky as his brother. But then a funny thing happened. He wasn't! In fact, I deemed him my "angel baby" those first few months because he was so good. And what a fantasy-come-true that was!

Okay, friends...those are your only clues. You will have to wait until tomorrow to see the reason for this preview of sorts. But until then? Feel free to guess!

P.S. No, my research papers are not all graded yet, but thanks for asking.

That's not what my high school friends would say...

18% Geek

According to this online quiz, I am only 18% Geek. Hmmmm. That must only be because the questions never asked if I ever wore a hat with a plume in the marching band, if I used to own socks that matched every shirt in my wardrobe, if I know every Barry Manilow song by heart, if I correct people's grammar (in my head, of course) ad nauseum, or if I cry whenever one of my boys outgrows his cute clothing and I have to pack it away. I guess those things only make me a 100% dork.

By the way...since I'm still grading research papers in my "spare" moments (which I am certain -- despite these quiz results -- is a tremendously geeky way to spend my weekends), and I don't have as much time to devote to my blog, feel free to entertain me with your thoughts: What do you do that is geeky (or dorky)?

"Happy Mudder's Day"...

...as my little boys say. In all honesty, my Mother's Day was spent grading research papers. As have all my weekends for the past month. And the month to come. And the rest of my life -- oh, so maybe that is going a bit too far, but that is what it feels like. Please bear with me through this time of research papers (or rather "R.P.," which eerily looks a bit like "R.I.P." Coincidence?). My posts may be lame, few and far between, and unfunny. But it's all for a good cause, right? I mean, I'm sure that my students will exhibit the utmost respect and appreciation when they receive their papers back with all of my terrific suggestions for improvement. At least I have had enough sense to make up one important rule in the past: no throwing your graded research paper in the trash in my presence.

All that aside, I did receive some pretty wonderful acknowledgements this time around. So I will post them for all to see (and for me to see when I am at work and would rather be with my little men).

Cameron came home from preschool Friday and said that this time I was not allowed in his bookbag. This morning, I received my big surprise:

That is me and Cameron in the drawing (I guess I was having a bad hair day in this picture).

And this was wrapped up with the card; his picture is inside the flower. How cute!

Daddy took Cameron to the park last weekend for a Mother's Day craft, and he painted this pot, decorated it, and planted it all by himself.

And these came yesterday from all my men. It was a lovely gesture since I am not even Eric's mom, and I have a feeling Connor didn't call the florist all by himself. In fact, I also got a new CD I have been wishing for (yes, some people still buy CDs...in a store! Shhhh....), a book by one of my favorite authors, and even a card from the kitty! This morning, Cameron asked me if today was "Mudder's Day," and when I said, "yes," he asked, "But when is Children's Day?" I used that one when I was a kid, too. So I told him the same thing my parents told me: "EVERY DAY is Children's Day!" :)

Little Pumpkin, Full of Grace

My parents taught my brother and me to say grace before every meal as little kids, so I naturally wanted to pass that tradition on to my children. Until last week, Connor's involvement was a resounding "A-men!" in unison with us at the end of the prayer. But he surprised us the other day with this, so I had to ask for an encore and catch it on tape.

By the way, don't be embarrassed to tell me that you can't understand what he is saying. And also, don't be embarrassed to tell me that this isn't the most original of dinnertime prayers. I am totally aware that that is probably the case on both accounts. But we know what he's saying, and I am just thrilled that he is learning good habits early. However, if you have a great prayer to pass on, feel free to share! In the meantime, here is a translation (in case you don't already know it by heart):

God is great; God is good, and we thank him for our food.

By his grace must all be fed; give us, Lord, our daily bread.

Amen.

My Little Star

Connor has become quite the little singer/songwriter. He sings songs often (especially in his crib when he wakes in the morning) and throughout the day. Sometimes they are obvious songs we all know...sometimes, not so much. But I prefer to think of him as our little budding songwriter. It's not nonsense singing. It's "experimental."

Anyway, here's one I am sure you can identify. Feel free to sing along!

Go Down Swingin'

We recently took a trip to a nearby playground when I was home with the boys. We had a good time, and I certainly burned off some much-needed calories chasing Connor all around the area. But I would particularly like to say:

1) Thank you to the boy Cameron met under one of the slides. He was hiding, and Cameron shyly went over to him and said, "Can I hide with you?" The boy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Ummm...okay." Cameron was his shadow from that point forward, running all over the grounds and stopping every few minutes to shriek and hide from "the bad guys." When we were leaving, I met his mom and told her how sweet her son was to allow Cameron to play with him, especially because he was a few years older than my son. She laughed and said, "I'm glad he is being nice to someone. I set up a playdate with his friends and he's been hiding from them since the minute we got here."

2) A shout-out to the nice grandparents I met while running back and forth between pushing Connor on the toddler swings and Cameron on the regular swings. They were taking turns pushing their adorably quiet, petite grandson next to us while my animated Connor yelled play-by-play descriptions of everything he saw: "Dat's a red coat!" "Dere's a ball!" "Mama, we're swingin'!" After further small talk, I asked how old their grandson was. Just had a birthday? Huh, Connor, too. Just turned two? Hey, Connor, too. On March 29th? Seriously? Connor, too! The couple was just as surprised as I was that these boys were exactly the same age. But here's the kicker; as we were leaving the swings, they mentioned it was a shame they didn't have a pen or paper to write down my name and number for their daughter...(wait for it)...named KRISTIN! No, I am not kidding!

3) And lastly, I would like to thank anyone who chooses to create a playground. But may I suggest, in the future, that you consider the parents of toddlers the next time your blueprints get a green light? I almost lost a fight to that playground equipment since it was only meant for people less than three feet tall to run under. Ouch!

Connor peeks around to look for his brother

Then he spies him above his head

Hi, Mama!

Cameron, before meeting his playmate


In case you were wondering if Connor had a good time, click on the video below. You'll have to let me know what you think because I really couldn't tell... (wink, wink).

For the Love of Gemma and Pop

Today marks the 40th Anniversary of Gemma and Pop!

You both joke that "they said it would never last," but your children knew it would. We hope to be the proud example of loving parents for our boys that you have been to your boys. Hope you are having a great getaway, and we look forward to celebrating many, many more anniversaries with you.

Stuck Up

And you thought you were having a bad hair day!

Smarty Pants!

So, I either have really smart friends (and relatives), or my quizzes are just way too easy (which is contrary to popular belief around my students). Kristen, Sarah, Gemma, Kelly, and Kristin, you were ALL right in that Cameron is "painting" his toenails (with a red Blue's Clues crayon, for you sticklers).

When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "I'm making my toenails red so I can be just like you, Mommy." Sigh.

This Little Piggy

Take a guess...what do you think my sweet peanut is doing in this picture?

All those with the right answer will receive effusive praise right on this very blog!

So guess away!

Clearing the Fog in My Blog

It has recently come to my attention that readers of this blog's comments may be just a tad bit confused, and I need to clear things up. Some people may believe that I am making some rather strange observations about my own children in the comments section, but the truth is, there are several similar names popping up here. So, some introductions seem to be in order.

Hi, I'm Kristin. You might remember me from such blogs as...ummm, well, this one. You probably know who I am since you are visiting my blog. So, let's move on. But I am not to be confused with ...

Kristin, who has her own very nice blog, and just happens to have a really great name, parents with really great spelling skills, and who also lives in the same great state I do. She is not to be confused with...

Kristen, who is a terrific friend of mine from work, has registered for a blog but doesn't have one yet (is that pressure enough?), and also has a great name (although the spelling is questionable). And none of us are to be confused with...

Peanuts and Pumpkins, who used to have a blog with a great title (Peanuts and Pumkins without the second "p"), but who has now changed the name to A Day in the Life.

Now that we have made all of the proper introductions, carry on. :)

When Good Easter Baskets Go Bad

Guess what happens when Easter baskets are left out too long and go unattended?

I am still finding green Easter basket "grass" all over our house.

Portrait Preview

We had the boys' annual birthday portraits taken a few weeks ago. We usually take them to a great independent professional photographer, but with having two children and twice as many portraits that I would (of course) not be able to leave the studio without, the total cost is a bit out of our budget right now. So, we settled on commercial mall photography.* (Luckily, the photographer there this time was helpful, knowledgeable, and had an actual degree in photography! That made a definite difference!) And because they are pictures of my children, naturally, I love them regardless of their artistic merit. This is a collage of the many faces of my little men. Let me know what you think!

*However, if my amazing photographer bloggie friends Kelly or MckMama are ever in the area, you are instantly hired!