a circus performer

So, here's our bareback rider! She was so excited for the circus that she barely slept the night before. We don't really have anything that could be considered real "cowgirl wear" but she was supposed to come in costume so we ransacked her closet for anything that looked western. And found the hat at Walmart the morning before -- thanks Kendra!!
They decorated the classroom like a Big Top . . . and who doesn't love parachutes!!! . . . and marched in a parade to begin the event. She was crazy nervous and didn't smile until they came around again and she saw me.

The bare-back riders were the last to perform and Josiah was pretty much done with the circus by then . . . they had pushed all the play equipment into the corner to make room for the parents but he still spotted the slide and demanded that he get a turn. My dad got to come with us so he kept Josiah busy while I took pictures. But since I didn't think he'd last the whole time (Josiah, not my dad) I didn't bring my big camera so these are a little blurrier than I like. Still cute, tho.

She got her face painted, too, so that really made the day. And there was popcorn and lemonade afterwards . . . can't beat it. Oh, and they charged admission to pay the performers -- she made a whole $3 and can't wait to get to the store to spend it. There's been talk of getting a horse-head-on-a-stick for the house . . . doesn't every household need one?

Grad photos to come!

overheard recently. . .

"Josiah, you don't look so steady on that bike. Why don't you come over here to my restaurant and have some of this wine? Then you won't fall off so much."


Incidentally, the "wine" was a giant empty water bottle and I'm not sure where this whole idea came from as we don't usually keep wine in the house.

But funny, nonetheless.

catching up

So, I finished the aforementioned blanket at 3:50pm for a 5pm shower. I had just enough time to take a photo of it . . . for posterity, of course . . . change my clothes, throw Gennie in the car and drive to RS. Somewhere in there I picked up my mom, too, I think. She was at the shower so I assume I stopped to get her.

After that I began work on the end-of-the-year thank-you gifts for Gennie's teachers. Kev said now that he's a fellow teacher I have to make sure the gifts are something that teachers will actually use, thus sparing them the hassle of re-gifting useless crap. Ahh, so eloquent, my husband. Anyway, I saw a picture of something like this and decided to do it myself -

They are the tiny 6x9 inch clipboards from Staples (only $1.50 each!!!) that I spray painted white and covered in scrap paper. Then I found tablets that fit (and they are eco-friendly sugarcane paper, too!) and added the little patterned paper to make them match. And yes, they met Kev's requirements. I was very tempted to keep one for myself . . . but I'll just have to make another one sometime.

That's it for now. Preschool circus and graduation photos to come, I promise, as soon as I get them edited and can look at them without . . . sniff sniff . . . crying. And believe me, it's the ugly cry.

back soon.

So, Gennie's preschool year is winding down - only this week and MW of next then she's done. I'll have plenty to say then, but for now you'll just have to be patient. Currently I'm completely entwined in three skeins of yarn, trying desperately to finish this blanket for a baby shower this weekend. I found out about it last Sunday at church and started the blanket when we got home . . . it's about 1/3 done now so I'm not letting myself do anything else until it's done. Kids, fend for yourselves. It's time you learned to hunt and gather on your own.

Oh, and this Friday is the end of the year Circus at the preschool. All the kids are performers and Gennie chose to be a Bare-back Rider. Ah, those undiscovered talents. Photos of that to follow.

For now it's back to the yarn pile for me. I'll crawl out now and again to make sure the kids are at least still on the premises.

Wish me luck.

josiah's new toy.

So, owing to his complete and utter fascination with cleaning in general and vaccuum cleaners specifically, we bought him one for his very own last night. We had been wanting to get one that actually looked like the real thing, not some toy version that sings with lights flashing and is altogether annoying, so we searched high and low to find this gem. By high and low, of course I mean on every toy aisle in Walmart, because that's really all we have here. We had all but given up when we rounded the corner and spotted this beauty, a Dirt Devil Jr., stuffed onto the bottom shelf between the kid-sized ironing boards and laundry baskets . . . and all that was missing were the spotlights and the angel choir radiating the Hallelujah Chorus.

We got it home and made him sit thru supper before he could try it out and of course it was an adventure to get it out of the box . . . do toy manufacturers really think we could sneak this out of the store tucked up inside our jackets? A DVD or some books I can understand, but who wouldn't see this coming? Anyway, as soon as it was wrestled free of its box Josiah was on it, trying out all the knobs and switches and hoses. The front part detaches to be a Hand Vac and it actually sucks up dust just like the packaging said, as he ran it into Kopper and was rewarded with a tuft of fur swirling around inside the window.

When it was bedtime the theatrics were legendary, rivaling the fit he threw after the Easter Breakfast when Jared was done vaccuuming the sanctuary of the church . . . those of you who were there will never forget that performance, I'm sure. I finally got it away from him and while I stripped him down and got him into his pajamas, Kev hid it in the closet. He finally fell asleep from the shear exhaustion of crying and repeating the word Vaccuum!!! again and again. And as you can see, this morning he couldn't be bothered to get dressed, let alone eat, before he was banging on the closet door and demanding to see if it was still there. At least my floors will always be clean, between this and the broom he got for Christmas. Teach 'em early, I say.

Oh, and did I mention that he woke up crying in the night and when I picked him up he looked pointedly at me and asked, "Vaccuum?" Go crazy, kid.

three more...

. . .because I can't keep a secret.