Ode to the Foundation Brush

Oh, Foundation Brush!
How I have under appreciated your awesomeness all these years.
Thinking you were simply a paint brush for schlacking foundation
Upon One's face.
Never realizing that you are really a great tool of smoothness,
a master of creaminess and a cannot live without arsenal of Perfection.

Thank you, kind, kind, Estee' Lauder artist.
Thank you for your patience with my children
And the introduction of the Holy Grail of
Make-up.
I am forever in your debt.

Second Grade

Oh, Second Grade! You are so big all of the sudden. So independent. No mothers needed in the classroom. You are responsible for writing your homework down and making sure it is completed. You think you need me until you see your friends and then off you go.

Your teacher seems nice, Second Grade, but I don't think she will take any nonsense. She keeps talking about procedures and I'm beginning to wonder if you will actually be obtaining your medical degree this year, which would be cool cause mamma needs new shoes.

And speaking of shoes, we've discussed the size of yours previously. Stop growing, Second Grade!

When I took your photo this morning in front of the door like all other years, the change in you from last year was amazing.



Second Grade, you are turning into a little man and I am so proud of you.

Edited to add: For comparison, here he is first day of kindergarten.

The Wedding

So, Saturday I was able to check a life experience off of my list that I didn't even know had been there before: Officiate a Wedding.

That really sounds weird. In the great State of Florida, all one needs to legally join a man and woman in marriage is to be a notary public and I just happen to be one. My boss, Jim, and his fiance' asked me about a month or so to do the honors and I happily accepted.

If you remember, Jim went in for routine hip surgery last April and almost died, so it is a miracle that he is around, much less getting married. I've worked for the same company for almost 10 years and Jim and I have gotten close over the years. I always joke that he is my Florida dad and his fiance', Linda, is just great. She is so much fun and loves life.

To say I was honored that they asked me to marry them would be an understatement. I just didn't want to cry through the whole thing. I was really happy with how the ceremony turned out. I nearly lost it in the beginning, but pulled it together and made it through without any more almost hysterics. haha

Everyone was so complimentary afterwards. It was cool that they actually seemed to pay attention. I kept the actual ceremony to about 10 minutes, so it was long enough to have some meaning, but not too long and everyone, including the bride and groom thought it was perfect timing.

We had a great party/reception afterwards and my feet still hurt from dancing so much.

Cheers to the happy couple!

My Child, The Giant

I know I have commented before on how tall Peyton is growing, but it is starting to get out of hand. I took him Sunday afternoon to buy some new flip flops as the rubber sole had separated from his continuous foot dragging. We went into the store and I asked the salesman for kids' sizes and he advised that the store didn't really carry that many. So, I took a shot and said what's the smallest men's size do you have?

He thought for a moment and said, I think we have some 5's.

I had just bought Peyton some 4.5 tennis shoes the week before for school, so I thought the 5 would probably work. We started getting out the 5's, but the band was a little tight across his foot, so I pulled down a 6.

A 6!

It fit. He did have some room to grow, but they really didn't look that big on him.

My foot can fit in his flip flop now and I do not have small feet for a woman. I normally wear a 8.5 or 9. Granted, my feet just fit, but the do fit.

I can wear my 7 year old's flip flops.

The kid is going to be towering over me before I know it.

The Things Kids Say

A few weeks ago, some friends of ours kept the boys while Larry and I attended the Rascall Flatts concert. When we picked them up the next morning, our friend Jeff regaled us with the following story.

He said the boys had been upstairs playing, and he was sitting on the couch minding his own business when Peyton wandered down the stairs. Out of nowhere, Peyton looked at Jeff and said, "Jeff, do you ever feel alone." Jeff, quite taken aback by the seriousness of the question and thinking he and Peyton were about to engage in a deep philosophical discussion, thought carefully and replied, "Well, Peyton, yes. Sometimes I do feel alone. Do you?"

Peyton shrugged and said, "No, not really." and then the conversation was over and he went back to playing.

Along a similar vein of discussions out of nowhere, Shey's teacher stopped me the other morning to fill me in on Shey's random thoughts. She said they were in the middle of a lesson when Shey raised his hand and asked very politely, "May I say something?" His teacher replied, "Of course." and Shey responded with, "Our cat ate our fish."

Had the class been talking about cats or fish? nooooooo
Did our cat eat our fish? nooooooooo

Shey's teacher looked at him and asked, "well, how did that make you feel?"
Shey answered, "I don't like the cats anymore."

Well, ok then.

Camera

I really want this camera here. For the longest time I wanted an SLR, but let's be honest, I will never learn how to properly use it and this camera is 1/4 the price with plenty of features.

Starting a collection fund.

Getting rid of the smell

Just an FYI, this is the easiest, cheapest and best working recipe for removing any kind of urine smell . . . The Recipe.

Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most.