So I Was Just Thinking

...That's what I love about my creative girl. She is smart and funny and pretty. But most of all, she's unique. When I was in high school, we would have special dress up days where you wore kooky clothes or dressed to a theme. I was so unsure of myself back then that, often, I would take the kooky outfit in my bag and change at school when I saw that everyone else was doing it, too. But Caitlin?? Not this girl. She goes all out. I wish I had the sense to photograph them all but you will have to settle for two. Back in October, the school had a special day to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness. If they paid a dollar they could wear a hat and then one of the clubs sold pink accessories, but you could also win a prize if you were dressed in the most pink. Can you believe she didn't win? Her pink shoes were still on the moving van. Then, this week, the band had their annual banquet. Now don't start dreaming of ball gowns and tuxedos. The band director told t...

{this moment} - A weekly ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' at SouleMama and here in the comments for all to find and see. This moment required a series of photos.  

As I was waiting for the award ceremony at Caitlin's art show yesterday, I had a moment to people watch. I enjoyed seeing parents dote on their children and their work. I thought it was cute how my son glommed onto some unknown little girl who had a hand held video game, and she likewise took to him. But what caught my attention the most was how Caitlin was freely interacting with her peers, mostly girls. There were a few boys who would come around and try to get her attention and she was mostly (thankfully) oblivious to their attempts. My favorite was this boy who bears a striking resemblance to another teddy bear I know. It was funny to watch him hover around Caitlin everywhere she turned. Usually he stood behind her while she chit chatted with her girlfriends. But one time he became bolder and actually put himself into the middle of the conversation, but to no avail. He and other boys are going to have to try harder. As far as I am concerned, however, they can just keep hovering...

I love this girl! It doesn't take an outside jury to tell me she's the best, but it sure is nice to hear it every so often. Today was the art show at her school where two junior high school art departments were represented. There was a wide variety of work there. I am impressed with what the art teachers at the two schools are able to accomplish with limited resources and schools cutting back on the fine arts. Without this art program, Caitlin would never have been able to try her hand at the so many different media. Clay Mask (self portrait) Glazed Pottery Foil Collage Hammered Pendant and Earrings Charcoal Self Portrait - Best in Show!!! The funny thing is she had homework and I suggested she ask her teacher if she could leave the show after 30 minutes. The teacher said it was important that she stay for the award ceremony and that she should dress up. When she was awarded 4th place for the glazed pottery, I thought she was done and put the camera away. Imagine my surprise wh...

...She Rocks! ...And Strolls. And Twirls. And Kicks. And Leaps. She is amazing. If I do so say so myself. ( Photos by Take2OK.com - They are a wonderful dance photo company. These are a little fuzzy because of the way I downloaded them for this post. )

Today we took our third trip to Sweet Berry Farm . We love going there for strawberries in the spring and to take pictures around the pumpkins and gourds in the fall . This year we made our trip early enough to get to see everything fresh and bright and picture worthy. On the tractor ride. A rare group photo - of course my eyes had to be closed. We wandered around through the different types of pumpkins. This variety is called "Cinderella" Lumina These are actually gourds, Apple Gourds to be precise. These are called "Lunch Lady." Click to enlarge these and you will see why they are called Peanuts. The closest are called "Knuckleheads" and the gray ones are "Jarrahdale." Who knew there were so many? Taking goofy pictures is always at the top of our list. So is wandering through the different "corn" field mazes (it isn't really corn.) Trying to capture the sun through the stalks. (Picnik'ed) James got to ring the bell when they ...

I just realized how much time I waste on Facebook when I could be crafting or blogging or reading or exercising. Does that mean I am going to change? Who knows, but I thought it was time for some of my random thoughts to hit the blog page. Other than the computer, what else has been taking up my time? Let see: School started over a month ago. We are well into the swing of things. There are still some school provided programs not in place yet, but I make do with what I have. My students are sweet, generally well behaved kids. It takes many of them much longer to learn things than the kids I taught last year. I am learning how to help them. When they make certain mistakes in math, it makes my head swirl because it is so beyond me how you couldn't get it after a week of daily tutoring and a week of lessons and teacher's aide coming around to help them individually whenever they are stuck. My coworker said, "You must have asked God to give you patience." I must have. C...

We made pizzas this week. My blog friend Hilde Iren posted on Facebook that she was enjoying her Saturday and that she would be making pizza. It made me want to make pizzas, too. So when Caitlin and I came home from dance practice, we stopped at the grocery store for pizza fixings. The kids had a nice time making dinner. James doesn't care for cheese decided that he didn't want to have any on his part of the pizza. It made the final result look funny, but he ate it and that's the important part. Now if I can just get him to like some veggies. I, on the other hand, had a veggie pizza. I also limited the amount of cheese that went on my pizza. James helped make mine, too. The kids' pizza went in first. It was only after I was putting mine in the oven that I realized that Caitlin had only put the temperature up to 400°F instead of 425°F. This made the center of theirs a little softer than I would like, but they ate it. James wants to make an...

Today is the first time I have ever sent my oldest over state lines without her father. Today is the first day of summer youth camp. We have been planning for this since last year when she went to the local children's camp . She went without incident, and that was quite an important step in this Aspie girl's life towards autonomy. As I got her ready for this day, I counted socks, underwear, swimsuits, towels, etc. We talked about the dangers of going places alone and the importance of the buddy system. I even explained the ever present topic of "Few people are interested in Pokemon," and what is a good topic to strike up with other girls in junior high and high school. Unfortunately, there was one thing I didn't plan for and it ruined my morning. The youth director wanted the kids to be there by 7:30. My summer school director was kind enough to let me arrive late to work. I got my daughter to church at exactly 7:30, unloaded her gear, got her things onto a pull ...

...But to a Texan, that doesn't mean much. We have been having close to 95-100F temperatures for over a month. Nonetheless, it doesn't keep us inside. We continue our daily routines and go on excursions armed with hats, water and sunscreen. Like this past weekend where we ventured out to our annual trip to Holland (TX) for the corn festival. In a recent post, I shared with you some Team Brandi pics, but there still more photos to share from our excursion. So sit right back, get a glass of Texas Tea and cool off while I share our day. This is what I look like after a day in the heat. It isn't sunburn and I am don't feel bad. It is just what happens to me. People get worried, but I am hydrated and don't feel terribly hot. My poor son has the same affliction. His is far worse as he can't even get in the hot car without immediately sweating. We live with it and try to allay people's fears that we are having heat stroke. Most Central Texas parades begin with the ...