If weird things make you laugh...

... and you know they do....

May I just send a delicious shout-out to my sister-in-law for appreciating my sense of humor?
please please please go here to see what I mean.

the ensuing giggles made my day.
THAT, people, was $1 well spent. (well, plus shipping and handling....and what's handling anyway? Am I paying someone to feel up my boxes? creepers....)
SO... have a good day.

What we need now

What we need now is a new post so that the 'pictures of me' post will get shuffled down a little. Am I right??

Ok- that being said. I cut Grape's hair yesterday. It is very layer-y and very curly, and still long (the middle of her back). I'll take pictures and add them today after school.  That is a scary job, by the way. You goof up a boy's hair and oh-well. It'll grow back in a month. Goof up Grape's curls and curls, and be the infamous bush-whacker for the 4 years (or more!!) it takes to grow long again. (and right as the moody pre-teens begin, too?!? No thank-you!)
And it was a struggle. I'm having a hard time watching that little monkey grow up. And she is SO excited to grow up. Her favorite question is this: Does this make me look older? And she does look older than 7. (not that I'm telling her that!)
How do I teach her that childhood is a gift? How do I help her enjoy the years of 'little' before 'big' smacks her in the face?!

I'm afraid to think about what comes next: Boys. Cars. Cell phones. Curfews.
 
Why can't they stay little? 

Grapes, 4

A Tribute to.... Me.

So, I had a birthday.
For other family members I have put together a collection of pictures and celebrated the day they entered the world.
I feel awkward doing so for myself. (hello, narcissist?!)

But I know most of you know me, and know I'm not that vain. (vain, maybe... but that vain?!?) And if you're like me, you love reading about other people and learning random tidbits, so I'll compromise with a small picture collage.

Conversation with a Monkey

Said Monkey the First:
"Mom, my friend at school has a new friend. Her name is Madison. And she is a good digger."
Said Me:
"Oh. Oh? A Digger?"
Said Socks:
"He a diggo wif he hand o wif a suv-vo?" (a good question, I might add!)
Grapes responded:
"Oh, with her hands. Except when the sand is dry. Wet sand is always easier to dig, you know. AND there is always wet sand by the trees, so that's where we dig."
And, no, I did not ask what they were digging for. on the second day of school. in the just-pulled-the-tag-off-new new school clothes. I didn't want to know.

Identity Theifed

(sorry, when I was little I remember my neighbor saying 'theifed' instead of stolen. It stuck with me.)

and, Yes, somehow, our identity has been stolen.
We got a letter in the mail from our bank saying that there had been some suspicious activity on our bank account. When the Doctor called we found out that someone (apparently some large entity that is unidentifiable) ordered 4 boxes of checks from our account. (ps- we're the barely finish one box after years sort of people)
There is no way to know who ordered them, or where they went....
The bank, bless them, caught things early, and we're in the process of getting things switched to a new account.
Then today I got a random call from a 707 number. (that's Georgia, turns out) It was from a banker who had a check in her hand that was written for $2000 and she wanted to know if I had written it because it was suspicious. (because the number was WAY out of sequence) I said NO WAY! it wasn't me! and please press charges!

Playing Games at the end of summer

We had an afternoon of games around the table. Grapes mastered Mancala. 

 "Mom! I beat you again! Just like usual!"

Socks and Pencil played with the Rumikub numbers. Then we played with the Upwords letters.

 Socks put all the black nummos on his tray and then asked me to read them. Then he'd switch them around and have me read them again. He especially loved throwing in the face to goof me up.

English Brain

Oi, Mates, there is so much on my mind.
Just to get it out of the way, I have a British accent rolling through the cerebrum today. (and sometimes out loud. Is that just a me thing, that what you think just falls right out of your mouth? Perhaps it's just because I talk too much... )
Anywho, love, here's two thinks I'm giddy to be thinking:

                                 #1

Self Explanatory!! The theme has also been my soundtrack today.

Sadly, the Doctor is on call, and I have three monkeys, so there will be no midnight showing in my future.

Yigh yigh yo

We're having mammal week at our house. Mammals.... it was Grape's pick. We're not really learning too much new stuff, but we're having fun identifying mammals everywhere and in everything.
School starts in one week, and I am struggling to feel like it is time to get ready.
I think of school time more like "You've Got Mail" with beautiful fall colors, crisp air and bouquets of sharpened pencils. I guess for this year we'll have to settle for sweltering 100+ degrees and a few Monsoon storms to go with our pencils.

Happy 4th of July!

The Monsoons showed up today. I've joked that I thought the Monsoons were just an Arizona myth, but today the wind and rain came and proved me wrong. It was over cast, and then really windy, and then it rained and poured, and I loved it! (when the weather is sunny and clear 300+ days a year, any variation gets exciting!)