Life, Foliage and the Pursuit of Identity

Yes, I realize it has been two weeks. Yes, I know I had a goal of writing something at least once, hopefully twice a week. All I can say is . . .best laid plans.

I felt that since she was the one who denuded our spring flowers of their buds, that it was only appropriate Sadie be the one to help me return our flowers beds to their flowered state. So, we set off to the store to appropriate some more bloomage. I expected and even welcomed input from said 5 year old. At the end, we had a cartful of flowers and plants in various states of blooming. I did however, notice a theme. "Sadie" I said, "These are ALL pink!" She gave me a look as if to say "But of course. What did you expect?" I did manage to convince her that some other colors might look nice and we returned home with some tulips in reds, pinks and purples; Lilies in pink and red; Hydrangeas in pinks and purply blues and lastly, my favorites, Calla Lilies in white. I picked up a couple of rosebushes as well - white and blush pink. Yes, still a bit of thematic pink going on, but I could live with it. We made the trek home and began digging and planting. For our efforts we ended up with dirt under our nails (and "dirt in my skirt" said Sadie) and a flowery showy bed more appropriate to spring. Sadie wisely steered clear of the roses and I bear the scratchy scars of wrestling with that pair. We have been well pleased with our efforts. All last week I have felt a small swelling of pride when driving in and out of our driveway. Last Thursday night however, I returned home from Sadie's preschool graduation and found one of my Hydrangea bushes (though bush might be an ambitious term at this stage) lying mournfully, roots exposed in a ball, at the end of the driveway. I picked it up and gently returned it to its proper place noting the small tricycle lying on its side very nearby. Adam apparantly had "escaped" and caused a bit of mayhem while Sadie and I were gone.

Once I find my camera and put the batteries back in it (don't ask - just one word, kids) I will try and get some pictures up of our flowers before the little ones succeed in killing them all off or removing all their petals.

Jessi had a very busy week the week prior to last with a Spelling Bee and a Talent Show. She spelled out on "meant" - not realizing there was an "a". She knew though, that it was not "mint". I was able to define it better for her afterward and she will probably forever remember how it is spelled now. She did well though. I was very impressed with some of the words the kids were spelling. For fifth graders, they were doing remarkably well with some tricky words. For the Talent Show, Jessi sang with a friend of hers. They had some technical issues with the music but managed to get through fairly well. I think just getting up there on that stage in front of the school and so many other people at this age is pretty darn impressive. She is already planning next year's act.

The kids are all getting very excited for the upcoming family reunion. I found a little program online that you can download to make Kid ID's on. I thought they might be fun (and a little useful if one of my kids decided to wander off - not that any of MY kids would EVER do THAT!). I thumbtacked a black piece of fabric to the wall and lined up the little ones snapping their ID photos. Then I weighed and measured them. I had the three youngest done before the others got home from school. Garrett noted the fabric tacked to the wall and inquired as to what I was trying to do with it. He is anxious to have his picture taken and as soon as I find my camera I am going to be happy to accommodate him.

I am including the link to the ID program at the end of this post. One, they asked me to "share" it and two, I was rather pleased with it and thought others might find it useful. They recommend updating your child's info yearly. I found that when you print the id, its not very clear on your options for size. I found that by putting a "4" in the field for the printer (you'll understand when you get there) I ended up with an ID roughly the size of a driver's license. The smaller the number you put in that field, the smaller the id and the larger number, well, the larger the ID will print out. I printed them on glossy photo paper and they came out pretty good.

FREE Child's ID from BillyBear4Kids.com