Dan Nicholas Park

As John said..."I'm wohhhhnnn out!"

More later, but for now, pictures of a great day.

Assessment

The beach trip was great. Perfect weather, perfect family time...very relaxing. The only storms came at night, with one of them knocking the power out for 5 hours or so...we turned on the flashlights and read stories with the (four) kids. They loved it. After putting them to bed Tom and I sat out on the porch and talked for a long time...it was so quiet, so dark, so peaceful. It made me hope for more power outages...even on vacation it is good to be "forced" to slow down even more.

Since we've been home I've been busier than ever. Catching up on work, and since I was elected to the executive board at Mint Hill Arts (I also handle web duties there) I have been spending a lot of time on that. We just moved into our new gallery space, had a "soft opening" last Friday, and it was beautiful. The new gift shop space there is much nicer - did I mention that I sell beaded items there? Hors d'oeuvre utensils, currently - and hoping to add to that. One of these days I'll post some pictures.

Before we left I went up to the school and registered Sam for kindergarten. Yes, I cried a few tears on the way home. Definitely bittersweet.

So today is "Assessment Day" for Sam at the school. We've been telling him about it for the last two weeks and day by day he has gotten more excited. We told him they would play, ask him questions to see what he knows...etc. As of Monday morning he was counting the days.

This morning, of course, a whole different story. Didn't want to go, wanted me to stay the whole time (we were to drop him off at 10:30 and pick him up at 1:00). We got there a little early, I was hoping that he would ease into it and not be quite so anxious/nervous once he saw all the other kids. Unfortunately he did not see anyone from his preschool, but I don't even know if that would have mattered. He hid behind me and had the most dour unhappy look on his face. I asked him what I could do to make him feel better - "I don't know," he said. So I just waited to see if he'd loosen up a little.

When it came time for him to go back with the teachers, he didn't want to go. Hid behind me again. Thankfully the leader saw that he was having a hard time, and told him she would take him when he was ready (they took the kids back in groups). Two more groups, and he was ready. I was shocked - but he looked at her and smiled, gave her a high five, and away he went with her and about 5 other kids. I watched him walk all the way down the hall and turn the corner.

He never looked back once.

It is hard not to place too much importance on days like this - still so many firsts in his life. I so want kindy to be a good experience for him - I feel like it sets the stage for his entire educational career. Freaking myself out a little bit, as usual...

Overheard

So, I am upstairs in the office, where I can listen to the two boys in their beds...talking to each other from room to room, instead of going to sleep.

John: We're going to the beach tomorrow, Sam?
Sam: No, we're going to the beach on FRIday. Tomorrow is THURSday.
John: Today is Thursday?
Sam: No, we're going to the beach on FRIday.
John: No it isn't. No it isn't. Today is Wednesday.
Sam: It isn't Wednesday anymore.
John: It's Tuesday. It's Poosday.
Sam: You can't make up days, John...only God does that.

Yes, we are headed to the island soon and I can't wait! Although I had hoped to get some beads listed prior to leaving, that's not going to happen...progress in the bead shack is mighty slow with the beads I've been working on. But once I get back...for sure.

P.S. My blog background looks a little different, huh? The people who create these fabulous templates went through an upgrade so I had to pick a new one...just in case you're wondering.

Busy Summer

Yes, we are busy busy busy. Busier than during school. We had a great July 4th and we're getting ready to go to the beach in a few weeks, and then it's time to register Sam for kindergarten, get his physical done, school supplies...that will probably take me the entire month of August!

Working on beads as I can!

I am testing a retweet button with this post, so here goes...

A Mountain Trip

The boys are playing in their playroom at the moment, and this is what I hear from the next room...

Sam: John, I think you have an ear confection.

John: What?

Sam: You have an ear confection!

John: What?

Sam: You have an ear confection, because you can't hear very well!

Earlier in the year John had an ear infection. No outward signs of it for a week or two, other than not hearing well...he started asking "What?" all the time. Now, every time John asks "What?" Sam tells him he must have an ear confection.

We took a little trip this past weekend - to Linville Gorge for a hike and picnic, then up to Blowing Rock for the night Saturday, and "Day Out with Thomas" on Sunday at Tweetsie.

It was a great weekend. There is no comparison to the excitement of seeing Thomas "in person."
 

From the Courthouse

Okay, so it's been seven very busy weeks since my last blog post - just not enough hours in the day. I've heard that April-May-June can be really crazy for parents and that's definitely the case here.

Anyway, today I find myself sitting downtown at the courthouse, waiting to find out if I'll be seated as a juror. And guess what? It's like a one-day vacation. I am able to do work because they have a great business center. But if I wanted, I could go play video games upstairs...go to the cafe...or even watch Avatar, which they are showing in the big-flat-screen "theater" at the moment. I had no idea jury service could be so productive or fun.

So to backtrack just a bit...

I spent a fabulous week out west with my mom and baby brother, visiting Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon...

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my two sweet peas...

And we celebrated Sam's pre-K graduation...

Now that school is out for a bit we are swimming every day, trying to get some fun summertime in before they go back, and generally just having a great time together. They are more fun by the day.

Not quite sure when I'll have a new set of beads for eBay, and I'm considering closing my Etsy shop so I can focus more on my site and eBay...too many irons in too many fires, obviously! We'll see. I've been working on a lot of custom orders and thinking about changes I want to make to "the business." It's all exciting!

Beauty in the Eye of the Five-Year-Old

Sam just walked in from outside, with something in his hand.

"Here, Mommy. This is for you."

I didn't see what he had before he reached up and gently tucked it behind my ear.

"See, it goes here right between your ear and your hair."

He straightened it up, just so, and stood back to admire.

"You look beautiful, Mommy."

He flashed that brilliant, sweet smile of his.

"Now you look like a real girl."

Firefighters and Easter

I have been remiss in posting - things are so busy here, with work and Easter break and custom orders...haven't had much time for updating the blog. But today I take a quick break from all that to catch up a little here...

A few weekends ago our little volunteer fire station had a dedication ceremony for its new ladder engine, so we took the boys for 2.5 hours of fire-truck fun! They had a blast.

Easter was a beautiful day here, and by the time the week ended the boys had 4 easter egg hunts - one at the Easter carnival, one at preschool, one at their grandparents' and one here on Sunday afternoon. They acted just as excited the fourth time as the first.

John and his Great Grandmother listening to the ocean

Earring Pairs

Just listed these on Etsy - 23 small (7x10 to 8x11) colorful beads, perfect for earrings.

Let's Eat Lunch

As I was rubbing Sam's back last night at bedtime (a nightly must) we had this conversation:

Sam: "When we went to get ice cream (his treat for successfully counting to 100) I saw a plane and it was pulling a sign."

Me: "What did the sign say?"

Sam: "Daddy couldn't read it. It was moving too fast."

(After some thought)

"I think it said, 'Let's eat lunch!'"

(More thought)

"Or 'Let's go out and play!'"

Me: "I think those are great signs for a plane to pull."

Sam: "Yes."

New Beads

New beads at auction through Friday...ink blue and silvered ivory is always one of my favorite combinations.

Treasures

Growing up I always felt woefully inadequate about the gifts I gave my Mom. Later I felt embarrassed when I would look at something I'd bought for her - embarrassed that I had thought it was such a great gift when I gave it, and embarrassed that she felt she had to keep it because it was a gift from me.

Last week Tom took the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese. When they returned John ran through the door and handed me this silver ring with a big red stone. "Ring for you Mommy!" Tom told me that he *insisted* on getting it for me with his game tickets.

Yesterday Sam came in as I was working and said, "Look Mommy! I got these for you because I know they're your favorite!" He handed me these two dandelions.

And once again I'm reminded of this wonderful secret of being a parent, something I could not fathom when I used to feel that embarrassment. The true gift is that they are thinking of me. The physical representation of that gift is only what serves to remind me of how truly blessed I am.

Mmmm...color!

I don't work in bright colors as often, but all this warm weather has me positively giddy and in the mood for easter eggs, green grass, bright flowers...

I've added a few smaller sets to my gallery today - at hard-to-beat prices - let's celebrate Spring!

New Beads

Ahhhh...basking in warmth again, well relative warmth anyway...highs in the low-to-high 60s, perfect for bead-making!

Very busy with lots of things, and sales are going well at Mint Hill Arts. I am also maintaining their website, a volunteer job I just took over in the past few weeks.

The boys are great, other than one case of pink eye (John) which has mostly subsided now with lots of hated eyedrops!

This set just started at auction and will run through Monday.

Snowy and cold

No, I didn't decide to take a 3-week vacation! Just very busy and still cold since we returned. Too cold for beads, still...and so I am really reevaluating how I'm going to go forward.

This is not a normal winter here, but I can't afford to have the same thing happen in the future (little to no beadmaking from November through February, or will it be March???) and there's no way my other plan - to stock up enough during the year to make it through - will work.

So I am contemplating whether to move the studio into a small room off of our garage. It has everything I need - the right power supply, a built-in bench, pegboard for tool storage, etc. and it is a lot smaller (probably about 6 x 10) - insulated - and with a door I can close. So it would be infinitely easier to heat with a space heater. Trying to heat that shack is like trying to fill a leaky bucket with water. So, we'll see...and hopefully some time in the next few weeks it will get warm enough to return to the shack!

We've had a lot going on since we returned, most notably John's 3rd birthday on February 1. He requested the Cars theme back in November, thank goodness because I'd already bought the cake pan. It was just the four of us and they were off school that day (snow day) and the first thing he said when we awoke was "Party, Mommy, party?" I love the 3rd birthday because it's the first one where they really understand what's going on.

We are going to Dallas next week - I have a meeting on Wednesday so I am taking the boys with me to see Tom's parents, sister and cousins. Sam and John are way excited - it will be John's first plane ride ever, and Sam's first in a long time...first that he remembers, for sure. I am already spending a lot of time preparing them for how to behave on the plane, ha ha. Hopefully between the toys, juice boxes, snacks, and a few movies we can enjoy rather than endure the 2 hours and 21 minutes!

In other news, vacation week was also potty-training week for John - major excitement for all of us! He got the urination part within 2 days, now we just have to work on the other...but I remember with Sam, conquering #2 may take another month or so. But for the first time in 5 years, 2 months...no buying diapers!

You might think that would free up at least $20 per month in the budget, not having to buy diapers and wipes. But Sam's blue-jean budget has increased exponentially. I swear he wears a pair of jeans less than a month before a hole develops in one or both knees. Usually the right knee first. So guess where we are headed today? Sears. We will be buying 6 pairs of size 6, reinforced knee Toughskins. I don't understand why almost everything you see in the stores is "distressed" - acid-washed or whatever - and the knees are always more distressed than any other part. Do little boys really need distressed jeans? You can feel how thin they are to begin with...there is no way they will last. Maybe that's their way of ensuring you have to buy a lot of jeans. If the Toughskins don't work, then I'm going to have to start patching.

In the post below are a few pictures of the birthday, and our front yard this morning.