A Tree Grows in Phoenix

Remember this tipu tree?

It is so ginormous.

Seriously, it shades most of the house.

I love it.

I made Love Man put Christmas lights on it for first two winters we had it.

I wanted to keep it warm.

We lost two trees due to near freezing temperatures.

They usually occur during the week between Christmas and New Years.

It worked.

Laugh all you want.

It is a proven fact to save non-established trees from the lower temperatures.

Just ask the nice folks at MV Nursery,

that is their advice.

Sun Day

We went up and stayed in Payson for a couple of days.
It was fun.
The girls had a great time.
Love Man had to introduce us to everybody.
We walked around,
bought this elaborate doll house at a yard sale.
Blonde Girl has spent hours setting it up.
Why is that more fun than playing with it.
TTYL.
But, there is no place like home.

My Post Mortem

I could seriously write a book about these pool parties.
I have had mothers call and want to know exactly what kind of food we were serving.
Then,
her children failed to show up.
All of this after about three phone calls!
I have children refuse the party favor,
which was a Dollar Store noodle,
However, they would take one of our super noodles.
I have had people bring other children.
I have had people bring other children that were boys.
It is a girl party.
Poor boys looked miserable.
One time a girl came who could not swim at all,
despite her mother claiming she was practically an Olympian.
We also have one friend who is out of town every year for the party.
I know all is right with the world when their out-of-town trip coincides with our party.

We usually have children who have a fabulous time.

It is always good for a laugh.

Next

The party did go well.
It was just for Miss Brunette and her friends.
She was uncharacteristically helpful.
Her great friend did not come due to and I am quoting her mother,
"her psychotic behavior towards her sister."
She is grounded for two weeks.
She phoned to hear about the party,
a post mortem,
as I call it.
I always call up my friends after a party and we do a post mortem of the event.
It is kind of fun.
After the NCL luncheon, I
failed to call Mrs. A. and she phoned me for the post m.
Of course,
our grounded girl got in trouble for phoning Blonde Girl.
Been there,
done that.

Pool Party

It went well.
A little crazy at the end.
Sadie got out and we had to stop traffic to get her.
We are not crazy enough.

A Few Thoughts

We are good and getting ready for pool party tomorrow.

OMG

We got off on the last day of school with some complications.

First of all, around 6ish I was awakened by Neighbor John cutting down a tree.

When the branches crashed on our storage side yard fence, I got up.

Then, the son climbed over our block fence and put a ladder down to help get the branches.

I took a photograph of this on the sly for forensic evidence.

I called Love Man and reported all of the events.

They have some nerve.

I did not say anything because I did not have time to scream at them,

which is what I feel like doing.

So, I had to get Miss B up to walk the dogs in the front.

I knew they would bark and raise a fuss and I did not want any more trouble.

Then, we had to schelp books, Abraham Lincoln costume, backpack and Blonde Girl to LOM Elementary.

Blonde Girl wore her class t-shirt as all of the kids sign them.

I did have time to put rollers in Miss B's hair.

She wore a dress.

She is basically going to have a party all day.

Love Man called back, really mad at the neighbors.

I told him, "I am going to have to talk to you later."

The funny thing is I normally fold clothes on Sunday, do or die.

I thought I would have all this time.
I still have not folded the clothes.

It is next on my list.

And, check out the comments from yesterday's post.

Classic.

Today

Today, I went to a meeting at MSJH about Miss Brunette's progress.
It might as well as been called the ofiicial LOVE FEST of Miss B.
It was great.
We are so proud of her.

It is also the End of Year luncheon at my preschool and always fun.
The year ends on a positve note.

Blonde Girl has her biography book report representation.
Tomorrow she is part of the 4th grade Wax Museum.
She is Abraham Lincoln.
Parents are invited to attend.
I am going.

It is also their last day of school.
HURRAY.

Sunday Post

We had a nice weekend.
Blonde Girl had her last two soccer games.
We hung out on Saturday night.
On Sunday,
Blonde Girl and Daddy went to see "Shrek" and Miss B and I saw "Letters to Juliet".
Miss Brunette,
a romanic at heart,
was HOT to see that movie.
She had been asking about it for weeks.
It was cute.
I would "red box" it.

Woodpecker

This nice woodpecker keeps pecking on our chimney grate.
I guess it is a grate.
It is the screeny thing that keeps the ciders from flying out.
What is that called?
I am going with grate.
If you know, tell me in the comments section.
The woodpecker pecks and it seriously reverberates through the entire house.
At least, our side of the house.
we have a split floor plan.
The master bedroom is on one side of the house and the other rooms are on the other side.

Over the years,
the dogs have gotten used to the pecking.
It also used to wake Blonde Girl up.
We have all adjusted.
Except me,
my friend woke me up at 5:00 am and now today,
at 6:15 am.
I am going to try to get a picture.

End of Year Highlights

Washing the chairs on Water Day.



Cleaning tables with shaving cream.



Cleaning together is more fun.




The more shaving cream the better.

Last Day of School

Today is my last day of school.
I think we are done.
We have the scrapbooks finished,
the pictures assembled,
the cubby tags in their special bag of loot.
I told my teaching partner, "we are done.
Oh, except for the fact that we have to move every single thing from this room to another."
LOL.
It is always something.
We are moving to a room I was in for two years.
It is a nice room,
but does not have the view we had.
That we will miss.

Un-Neighbor John

If you can unfriend someone on Facebook,
then I am un-neighboring John.
No, he hasn't squirted me or the dogs anymore.
No, he is not speaking to us.
No, his wife is not speaking to us.
No, I don't think he is antagonizing the dogs.
In fact, the dogs have been quite good, calm and quiet.
I keep waving and saying hello.
I figure when he dies,
it would be awkward at the funeral.
I hate awkward silences.

Going to the Dogs

After Miss Brunette and I dropped Blonde Girl at soccer,
we were driving to return non-fitting girl's clothes to Old Navy.
There was this dog in the street.
A guy driving a mustang stopped in the road to help the dog.
The dog was in the middle of a busy, busy street.
Miss Brunette started to cry,
our girls are so sensitive about dog stuff.
I pulled over.
MB got the dog to come up to her.
No tags.
The dog started to walk up a sidewalk to the house.
I followed the dog.
The guy in the mustang pulled over and got out.
The dog stood in front of the house's gate.
It was latched, but open.
Me and this guy (very handsome by the way) opened the gate and the dog went in the yard.
Another good samaritan hovered in their car,
but did not get out.
Yes, we rang the doorbell and no one was home.
I came up with the bright idea of putting the dumpster in front of the gate to secure it.
I rang the front doorbell again and had my hand on the door handle,
the damn door was unlocked.
OMG, I accidentally opened the front door.
I yelled 'hello" because I am not crazy enough.
I went to the car and got some paper.
I swear to God, I wrote the following note:
Your dog was out.
Wanted back in at the gate.
Gate was latched but open,
now secured by dumpster.
Hope this is your dog,
if not - sorry.
NO TAGS!

The handsome stranger read my note and started laughing hysterically.
He got in his car and waved good-bye.

All I can say is,
I hope the dog lives there.
Can you just imagine????

My House Stinks

My house really does stink,
first I thought it was the garbage.
I took every last piece out.
I even put some newspapers in the recycling can.
Then, I thought it was the refrigerator.
I did throw out a chicken two days past its expiration date.
Don't tell Love Man,
I rarely waste food,
but forgot at the time that I had meat balls made for the Mother's Day/Birthday feast.
Then, I mopped my floors with Fabuloso.
If you have never purchased Fabuloso,
you must.
It is as they say fabuloso, fabulous!
Really it is.
Then, I lit some candles.
It seems better.
Two days prior to all of this investigation for the offending odors,
I moved all the the furniture in my house and vacuumed behind it.
Seriously, behind my dresser in my bedroom were two dust bunnies the size of a loaf of bread.
They made me jump.
I thought they were alive.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

The girls have 7 days of school left,
I have 3!!
I am tired and keep falling asleep on the sofa.
I put my feet up for the 10 or so minutes that I wait until it is time to get that youngest child.
In that short amount of time,
I fall asleep.

We are walking to school,
as we always do.
Blonde Girl,
previously referred as that youngest child,
says, "oh no, today is the baby shower for my teacher."
"Are you kidding me, today! Why didn't you tell me!"
I racked my
brain to see if I had something we could give but didn't have a thing.
I told her, "I will go to Target when it opens at 8:00 and drop it off in the office."
Really, I should have let her stew in her own juices and I told her so,
but I didn't want her to be the only kid not giving their teacher a gift.
The shower was a surprise,
really both to me and her teacher.

I am at Target and really all the baby clothes were gender specific.
I think the only two people left in the world who wanted to be surprised about the sex of their baby is my friend, Miss G and Blonde Girl's teacher.

So, I am just wondering around.
The teacher is moving to Korea and I didn't know what to get her.
Then, I spied this Fisher Price glow worm.
It makes noise and lights up,
a perfect gift from my child who really does the same thing.
By now a Target representative was helping me.
She started adding socks and blocks and maybe even a clock.
I said, "hold it, this is all I am giving.
I have contributed and given a separate Christmas gift,
contributed and given a Teacher Appreciation gift,
contributed to her birthday gift and
I am sure they will hit me up for the End of the Year gift."

I am drawing a line in the sand.

Bunco Recipe

We had this at drunco, I mean bunco the other night.
It was great.
The hostess also made strong margaritas.
My forehead was numb after a 1/2 a glass



CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

1 medium onion
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cans (10 3/4oz) condensed cream of
chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 8oz. container of plain fat free yogurt
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon salsa verde
1 can (4oz.) chopped green chilies
1 (2 to 3 pounds) chicken, cooked,
skinned, boned and shredded
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot pepper
sauce
18 corn tortillas

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

In a large pan, sauté onion in butter.

Add soup, broth, yogurt, salsa verde, green chilies and hot sauce and mix well. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, place a layer of corn tortillas, a layer of sauced chicken and layer of cheese. Repeat until casserole is filled.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Catching Rays

I've shown this picture before,

but we DO have the cutest dogs in the world.

Making a Pointe

All I am saying,is that I need a bit of time at the Pointe.
Just a day, maybe.
A brief, relaxing moment in the sun,
covered in sunscreen,
complete with a wait staff.

More Pictures to Show You

Here is Miss Brunette,

in one of her costumes from "Singing in the Rain".

Our friend, Amy, came to one of the performances.

Miss Brunette and Blonde Girl LOVE Amy.

Pictures I Couldn't Show You

Here are some of the pictures I was unable to show you while my computer was being repaired.
It is soooo nice to have it back,
although I have gotten used to the speed of Love Man's laptop.

Here is Blonde Girl's birthday cake.

Winding Down

Next week is my last week of school.
Today, was the last of my enrichment classes.
We have been doing "How does Your Garden Grow".
It was fun.
One girl said, "when I come to your classes, my mother wants me to wear old clothes cause we get messy."
Smart Mother.

Day of the Mother

We also celebrated Blonde Girl's birthday,
who was born on Mother's Day.
"Mom, I'm 11."
"I know."
"I was thinking that my pool party could also be my birthday party."
"Oh".
"Wouldn't that be fun, they could bring me presents."
She always has an angle.
"So, it would be a pool party/birthday party and you would get presents."
"Yes," she rejoiced at me seeing the sheer genius of her plan.
"I'll have to think about it," I said.
The classic mother response next to "you'll shoot your eye out."

Happy Mother's Day

The Ban

Blonde Girl is a bit mad at me about the birthday present thing.
She did, however, forget about this little thing called birthday money.
She got $11 for her great aunt,
one for every year.
And, some money from Grandpa and Grandma.
And, from her other Grandma, my mother.
There is hope.

Blonde Girl

Blonde Girl was so great last night.
The 4th grade band performed and she had a drum solo.
She really has the beat.
I had so many people predict that she will be in a girl band or a band in college.

Today, I went with the 4th grade as a chaperone on their field trip.
We went to a play about a giant.
It was fun.

It's Back

My computer is back.
Love Man hooked it back up for me.
It,evidentially, had about a thousand viruses.
I knew it was sick.

That Girl

Blonde Girl went a little crazy at the Scholastic Book Fair.
I stupidly gave her a blank check with the instructions of spending $10 or $15.
I wrote on a piece of paper the check number and the amount with a spot for her to fill it in.
She came home with a lot of books.
And, a back pack type purse with a lot of zippers.
And, a purple pen.
I told she she could get one pen.
But, I have this rule about trinkets and trash.
I don't allow it.
Ask Love Man.
She spent nearly $50.
It took three phone calls to find that out.
Bless her, she wrote $15 in the spot on the paper I gave her.
So, I told her I was wrapping all of this up for her birthday.
These are her presents for her birthday on Sunday.

The Daily Grind

The girl's are busy doing reports and projects.
I don't know about them,
but I am done.

Recovering at Home

I need to recover from the weekend.
In addition to our other stuff,
Blonde Girl had to go to urgent care because of an impacted ear and ear drum infection.
Her allergies were also bad,
which led her to receive a shot.

Miss Brunette got her braces on today.
I think she may have trouble adjusting to them.
They are pink.
We just keep rolling along.

TTYL.

Gone Again

The musical ended last night.
It got better every night.
Miss Brunette and I are off to the NCL luncheon.
We went to church first,
as it was MB last confirmation class for the year.
She had to have 24 hour of community service
and a minimum of 10 times of attending church.

Registration

Registration for swimming and tennis is today.
We are getting our summer sorted out.

The musical goes through Saturday.
I don't know what we will do with our extra time.
We have two concerts next week.

May Mania has begun.