Top of the Mornin to Ya!

We love St. Patty's day at our house. It was a big deal in my house growing up, mostly because my Dad went on his mission to Ireland!! He would get so excited about it and wear St. Patrick's ties, pins, talk with an accent all day and we had traditional Irish dinners. I look back now and it makes me smile, laugh and I really appreciate it, but during my teenage years I was more annoyed with the "weird" dinners, silly blinking pins and pinching if I wasn't wearing green! My goal as my kids get older- ANNOY them just the same way!!!!
As for now I am lucky that my kids love the silliness!
Here are the kids in their Holiday attire....

OH I will- all day long buddy!


For lunch we had Shamrock sandwhich's with Leprechaun brew
For dinner we had green pasta with garlic bread and sparkling Leprechaun's brew.

Dessert was mint ice cream cookie sandwich's!

Tiny as a bird!

We were driving in the car today doing errands when my sweet Dawson told me what I think was the cutest thing. It made me smile at least!!
D-Mom isn't weird that I am littler than Addy but I weigh more?
M-Yes you are younger than Addy and you do weigh more, but that is just because you are a strong boy!
D-Mom how much do you weigh?
M-I don't know because we don't have a scale but I would say about 115 pounds.
D-You weigh in the 100's!
M-Yup I do.
D-I don't think you weigh in the 100's.
M-You don't? What do you think I weigh?
D-Um like in the 90's!
M-Oh why do you think that?
D-Because you are tiny like a bird!
I smiled, chuckled a little and then told him thank you for the compliment.(I am taking it as one!) To which he said, "your also tiny like a puppy." OK! So apparently I have all sorts of animal equivalents! Oh I love that kid!

Seop's

Today we had the kids SEOP's- parent teacher conferences. We started off with Mrs. Werber, Dawson's teacher. She had nothing but really nice things to say about Dawson. He is really smart and his scores show that. He is well past the end of the year goal! Yeah Bud!!! I am so glad he loves school. He never argues or complains about doing his homework. He is a great reader and we are sure trying to encourage him and build his reading confidence! So proud of ya Buddy!! Keep up the great work!

Addy's was a little different then any other SEOP I have been to for her. Mr. Perkins started off by discussing her academic scores as well. Diebels Goal-which is a reading and comprehension test- is 86. Addy got 189! Nearly double-no surprise there! She is an amazing reader. The end of year goal is 100, so she is doing just fine! In the math dept she is excelling as well. He was explaining how well she is doing and how well she actually understands the fundamentals. He went on to explain that the fact that she gets it so well now, will only make algebra, geometry and future math classes easier for her. "She just gets it and it just clicks for her." To which I replied, "Yeah she gets it from her Dad." To which my sweet Addy replied, "Yeah I got my Dad's brain!" I laughed trying not to be totally offended and then said(like a 3rd grader), "well I am not dumb ya know Addy!" Good come back I know!
This is where it all changed. What Mr. Perkins said next was something that as a Mother, got me emotional. He had talked about how smart she is and then continued on to say what a joy she is to be around- minus the occasional outbursts he could live with out( well fewer). He then looked at me and said, "Addy has something I have struggled with my whole life, Confidence! She is so smart and has the confidence to back it up." Then he looked at Addy and said," You can do anything that you want in this life. You need to set your bar high and you can accomplish anything you want. You can be a Doctor, Lawyer, Nurse anything you want." Addy then piped in, "I want to be a Dolphin trainer and I want to go to San Diego State." Mr. Perkins-"You can do it, that is a lot of biology and chemistry and you can do it! I believe you can! She is fun and animated, which I love but could do with a few less outbursts. I really enjoy her but do tell her at times she is invading my" bubble" and needs to chill out." I then pipped in and said, "Oh it sounds like you have a similar relationship with her as I do! I love her but at times she can be a bit much." (we all chuckled,even Addy) He then looked back at me, "I have never had to worry about her. She is a kind and honest student I have never had to question her integrity or worry about her cheating. She is caring and just a joy to have in my class! " Wow. Not only is my mind racing but I am literally trying to hold back tears. In my mind I went from, confidence is an understatement she could use a slice of humble pie-to-I could not be prouder of the young little lady she is. He sees the same potential I see. I have never had one of her teachers compliment her character like that before! As a Mom I want a teacher to truly inspire and encourage my child like he did.
I asked Addy, "What do you think Mr. Perkins said that I am most proud of?" Addy without hesitation said, " that I have confidence and that I am honest and he doesn't question my integrity." At that point there was no holding back the tears. I turned to her and said, "The fact that you are honest, kind, confident, and he doesn't question your integrity means more to mean than your grades. I am so proud of you and the girl that you are! I love you!"
I know her future is bright, but I am the Mom, of course I think so. It means so much when someone else sees that and then expresses it to you! I am so grateful she is in my life. I am grateful for the things that all my children have taught me! There is NOTHING more gratifying than being a Mom!

Truck

Today on the way home from picking Addy up from dance, Dawson was sitting in the front seat and this was the conversation we had..........
D-Mom how do you buy a car?
M- Well there is a couple ways you can buy a car. You can pay cash, you can do what they call lease which is like renting a car for a couple years and pay a monthly amount, or you can get a car loan to buy a car and have a monthly payment.
D-Oh well how much is a car?
M-Well that depends on the kind of car you buy. This car (our Sequoia) costs more than our Honda.
D-Oh. Well how much is a truck?
M-That also depends-do you want a big truck, medium sized truck or a small truck.
D-A small truck. How much would that cost?
M-Do you want to buy it new or used?
D-I want a used one.
M-Oh maybe like 10 thousand dollars.
D-Oh (with a change in his voice) then I want a new one. How much would that be?
M-Oh maybe more like 15-20 thousand
His face totally changed and he got a look I wished I could have captured. His brows furrowed and he just looked like a little sad puppy. He looked at me as we pulled in to the driveway and said
D-Mom I don't have that much money. I can't ever have that much. (Almost a little teary eyed)
M-Oh Dawson. By the time you can drive you will be old enough to have a job bud, and you can save your money. And maybe Dad and I can help you.
D-Oh! With a little giggle!
The excitement back in his voice and a smile back on his face!
So cute. It just tugged at my heart and made me chuckle a little that at 6 he is already thinking and worried about getting his own wheels! Wow-good thing he is giving us plenty of time to prepare!

Who sleeps like this...........

Ky does!!! Crazy kid!

Zit

I did my motherly duties today! Not sure how I should feel about it...... I helped little Miss Addy pop her very 1st ZIT! Seriously! She is 9!!! AAAAHHHHH! I did however respect her enough to not get a picture but this day surely has to be remembered!!