New Developments in J-Town

So, I'm trying a new approach in light of my sloppy blogging practices over the past months... Instead of setting aside a certain time every day to write a complete entry, I'm going to try opening a new post in the morning and just working on it as I get time during the day.

I figure it'll be either wildly successful... or my ADD will kick in and nothing will make any sense. :)

The school year is winding down, so this time of year is always crazy. Throw in tball, K.'s ballgames, end of year programs, birthdays, and 574 social commitments, and you have one crazy-A mom.

I will throw out a High-5 to K for an excellent Mother's Day. Yesterday was lovely. My house is a complete disaster, but we spent the entire day doing nothing but what we wanted. K. even got up early (a Mother's Day miracle) so we could go to breakfast before church. Spent the afternoon with the fam... went to get ice cream (my favorite) last night... Awesome. I'm coming to value the minutes spent relaxing more and more. Does this mean I'm getting old?

On another note, my kids are becoming more and more bizarre. Laney has started growling... as in "grrr." at people. I'm not sure what this is all about.... maybe she's spent too much time with the family dogs. Last week at Chick-Fil-A, she started baring her (two teeth -- both on the bottom) at the man in the booth behind us and making a growling noise. ?!?!? Should I be alarmed? She's cute as can be, but is this baby aggression?

Ethan, on the other hand, is way dramatic... like he's constantly auditioning for a spot on a sitcom. Over-exaggerated faces, fully-inflected voices, running stream-of-consciousness commentary on everything. We ask him, on a regular basis, to stop talking, but thus far, it's been to no avail. A couple of weeks ago, he was in TeamKid with my cousin Jennifer. I laughed out loud as I walked by the room and heard her say, "Ethan. Wow. You talk a lot."

Yes. Yes, he does. Hoping 4K will help him learn some control over this. K. says I've created the little monster because I talk to him all the time... like carry on adult conversations with him. It's just that his answers are so funny. Recently, he's started saying that God tells him to do things or that God said he could do something.... i.e "Mommy, you know who said I could have M&Ms? God!"

How do you argue with that?

Oh, and more exciting news... we have a new dog. Zelda, the faithful family pet, brought home a friend. He stayed. He's a boxer named Boudreaux... a little shout out to K's bayou roots. No one has claimed him, but he has staked a claim on our couch, on Zelda's bed... and pretty much wherever else he so desires. He is seriously one of the best natured dogs I've ever met, but he has no sense of personal space, which sometimes causes a problem for me, who is a little anal about retention of personal space.

Zelda is regretting her decision, as he also has no regard for her seniority as Queen B. of the House. She is becoming quite ill-tempered, but we just keep reminding her that she's the one who brought him home...

Shoot me now...

I hate the last few weeks of school. Not only do I have a ton of stuff to do, but my kids act like they have been locked in the Final Frontier Looney Bin with permission to do whatever they'd like.

I took a kid out in the hall today to discuss his sudden preoccupation with zinging fellow students with paperback novels... and do you know what his response was?

"Mrs. J., you're sexy."

What?!?!?! Cuss me, threaten me, whatever. Who says stuff like that when in trouble?

And, no, it didn't work. The thought of any of my students thinking I'm sexy makes me want to vomit. He still got in trouble.

OMG

I cannot believe it's almost been a month since I've written!

Can I just say that I have an entirely new respect for my mom and dad? Between K's ball games and Ethan's ball games and my other activities, I feel like I barely eat dinner before it's time to go to bed and start all over again the next day?!?!

I think about all the times my dad or mom would have to leave work or go out of their way to help me out, and I wonder how we'll balance when Laney gets old enough to have "stuff" to do!

I also have been thinking a lot lately about the fact that this time last year, Laney hadn't even been born! What a difference a year makes! She's already walking and talking -- 1st word was DaDa, but her first real word that she consciously connected to something was dog... probably because our dogs see her as a moving, lickable toy. She throws in "DOG!" amidst lots of baby curses.

Ethan just turned 4, which makes me sad because I remember when he was Laney's age. He's all but grown and is very bossy. He told me today that I can't call my dad "Daddy"; I have to call him "Papa" because that's his name. Whatever, kid. I'm your mom, and I'm still right!

On the other hand, the year is winding down, and so are my nerves... but more about that later. I just wanted to post something, although not too witty or funny, so I wouldn't be a complete slacker. :)