Funny Story I Already Forgot About...

I was scanning through my Myspace blogs and came across this one - you might enjoy it, too. It's from February 27, 2008.

Deja Vu all over again...
Category: Life

I still remember that day vividly. I was in kindergarten. I loved my teacher, Mrs. Hurst, and was happy to be at school. Back then, in kindergarten you learned the alphabet - a letter a week or so. My teacher had blow-up letters and each week it was a new one. We had learning centers, and you never knew which one you would end up in...just had to wait and see which shape was on the necklace Mrs. Hurst gave you. And kindergarten was only half-days. I went in the morning for part of the year; the afternoon for the remainder.

So I was sitting on the floor that day when my mom came to the door. It wasn't time to go home yet, but there she was. With my sister in tow.

"Holly, I need Amy's shoe. You have one of hers on and one of yours on." I was so embarrassed! We took care of the shoe mix-up and I went about my business.

I've shared the story with my kids and they got a great laugh out of it. I never expected it to happen to us, though. Until today.

As usual, instead of getting ready, they were killing time this morning and when I started out the door there was a scramble to get shoes and jackets on. Chloe grabbed a pair of shoes and ran to get in the car.

About a block down the road, she points out that there is a knot in the shoelace that she can't get out. Edie passes the shoe to me and as I'm sitting at a red light, I realize that the shoe belongs to Edie, not Chloe, and point that out to Chloe. "Looks like you get to wear Edie's shoes today," I say as we head to school. Not nice, but I wasn't feeling especially nice after having to fuss at them for the third day this week and 4th week this month and 6th month this school year to "hurry up and get ready for school."

So around 10:30, I get a call from the school. Chloe is asking me to take her shoes to her - they're about to go outside. I figured a couple of hours of ill-fitting shoes are enough punishment and take the shoes to her on my way to lunch.

I hope she learns a lesson and keeps a memory from today. I know I did.

Let the Good Times Roll!

Some of you know this; some of you don't. I love cars. I guess I came by it naturally, with dad being a mechanic.

Over the years, I've owned many cars, from the Mustang that started it all to the Civic that was a compromise back before we had kids, to the Odyssey that I chose just before Edie was born. They've all represented different times in my life and in mine and Wayne's lives.

I've been intrigued by the MINI Cooper since I saw the first ones several years ago. I built one on the MINI website; I pointed them out to Wayne each time we saw one; I discussed at length with Wayne the options I wanted on the car and debated the fun factor of the Cooper against the Volkswagen Beetle. I'll admit - I was a little obsessed with MINI's, but it was all in good fun.

Then came the test drive last July. Totally unexpected and so much fun! Driving that car with the top down was so exhilarating! Sadly, the test drive ended and the adult gene kicked back in. I didn't need a car just for fun, and we had other things we needed to spend the money on. Things done to the house, bills to pay. So the idea of the MINI went back on the shelf. I was okay with waiting a few more years for the car - it would make a great 40th birthday present, right?

Wayne changed the plan and ordered my car for my Christmas present. Saying that I was surprised would be an understatement. I really had no idea that he was planning that! So I looked over the order and made a couple of quick changes before the car went into production. Then the waiting began. When you buy a MINI, you can personalize the car from the get-go. You don't usually just go down to the dealership and buy what's on the lot - you go online and build car after car until you get to the one you want. Then it goes into production and you can track your car's progress.

My car didn't go into production until the 6th week of 2008, and it didn't arrive in South Carolina until early March. I took possession of it last Wednesday afternoon and haven't been able to remove the perma-grin from my face since then. Oh, and the kids love it, too!



I always knew Wayne was a great guy, and he didn't have to buy me a fun car to prove it to me. But the fact that he went to that length to give something so unique to me makes it that much more special. I sure do love him!

Easy Reader...

Yes, folks, we have another reader in the house. Edie is on her fourth book in about a week and a half. We were a little unsure of how she was going to do two weeks ago, based on some confusion between "b" and "d." But she visited the library with Wyatt and me and we went ahead and checked out the first "Max" book for her to practice with. She brought the same book home from school the next day and was ready to return it within 1 day.

So in the last week, she has finished "Max the Cat", "Sam and Al", and "Six Kids." Her latest book is "Jim Wins" and she'll probably be returning it Monday or Tuesday. It's like someone switched on the power to her reading, and she's loving it!



I'm loving it, too.

Happy Day After Valentine's Day!!

We had a nice Valentine's Day yesterday. I got up a little early and made pink heart-shaped pancakes and gave the kids mailboxes full of goodies. Here are the girls' mailboxes:





Wyatt took his mailbox to school yesterday and today, so I guess he liked his, too. It's a Spiderman one, so that was perfect for him.

It's amazing how much candy and junk the kids get at their parties! They sat for a good hour after school, going through their loot and making trades.

Wayne and I had a nice Valentine's Day. Mom was nice enough to watch the kids, so we could run out for dinner and a movie.

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day with your loved ones!

We do have daughters, too!

It looks like Wyatt's been super-busy lately, and he has. The girls have been busy, too - just not on things I have taken photos of.

Chloe has graduated from easy reader books to chapter books!! She had been doing well with her reading up through the Christmas holidays, but once the new year rolled around, we kicked it into high gear. She sped through the rest of the required sets of books and brought home her first "Junie B. Jones" book. She has since finished a new chapter book every couple of days.

Edie can now identify all of the letters in the alphabet and can tell you what each letter "says." We sat down last night and she did a great job of sounding out simple words: cat, Max, tab, pat, etc. She should be bringing home her first book to work on any day now. I know she'll be very excited.

Here is a sweet photo of the girls with Ariel from our trip to Disney World in November. Edie was really looking forward to meeting Ariel, and Chloe was pretty happy about it, too!

Look! 2 posts in one day!

Wyatt participated in his Cub Scout troop's Pinewood Derby last month and was very excited about it. He decided to have Pikachu drive his car:



He was surprised to get 2nd place for his age division:

Not so great at this blogging thing...

So I was going to make this blog and post photos and stories about what's going on with the family. Then a month (or more) went by! Ack! Let's try this again.

Since I last "blogged", Wyatt had his birthday. He turned 8 December 28th and we celebrated with a party at the local inflatable jump house joint. He had a fun time, even though I was a dork and planned it right smack-dab in the middle of the Christmas/New Year's holidays and not many kids from class attended. Here he is with the kids who did attend:



We had a good New Year's Eve - none of us was able to stay awake until midnight, but Wayne and I did have a chance to enjoy a movie together (one of my favorites - When Harry Met Sally) before we passed out.

A couple of weeks later, Wayne had some free time and the weather was cooperating, so Wyatt had a chance to try out his birthday present from Uncle Mark & Aunt Sybil - a rocket! He was very excited about it and had a great time setting it off in an empty field near our house.



I'll post more later - apparently the photos I need for the next update are on my laptop, and not on the desk computer. So check back tomorrow for more!