Yellow? Already?

Today, I had to drop off Tucker at the school in the car line. We were told on Monday that they needed to gain independence and that parents need to let go and allow our children to go into the school alone. WHAT? So, as hard as it was (and how excited he was!) I let him open the door and hop out between the orange cones and walk up the sidewalk and into the school. How badly I wanted to quickly go park and just soft of "follow" him to make sure that he made it to the classroom and remind him one more time to be a good listener, a good friend to everyone, and follow directions. Once I made it to work, I stayed busy enough to keep me from running over there to check things out! We did talk about lunch on the way to school, so I felt confident that we are on the right track.
I go to pick him up from school and today we have the "red" folder which contains the discipline chart. Remember "D-green" is good, "A-red" is bad, and "C-yellow" and "B-blue" follow somewhere in between. To my shock and dismay, we have a YELLOW today. Oh.my.gosh! What in the world could my angel of a child do to make his frog change to a yellow lily pad on the 2nd day of school? So, we had to have our "I know that you may slip up, but don't make this a habit" speech. Of course, Tucker was on the defense and had practiced a really good story as to what happened! Then he proceeds to tell me that he "gets to start fresh and green every day." (I am sure he heard that one from his teacher.) Hopefully this was a 'get the point across' move and while Tucker quickly tested the waters, found out that he isn't getting away with anything. Good for our teacher...she needs to get her bluff in early! Hopefully we will see green from now on! We even brought our teacher a gift today, just imagine what color we would be on without the present? I have a feeling that Kindergarten is going to be expensive. :0)

1st Full day of Kindergarten

Today is the first real day of Kindergarten. We were allowed to walk our children into the school and get them settled. Once Tucker saw his class walking down the hallway, he was pretty much done with me! I tried to give him little hug and smooch bye, but he quickly informed me that "this isn't how I roll, mama." What? Since when does a little lovin from the mama become "not how I roll." (Later, I was informed that I could hug and kiss him at home, just that I wasn't allowed any public displays of affection.)

So off he goes, as I see the vision of the Hulk backpack get smaller and smaller. I couldn't help but be just a little sad that my little man is taking one more step towards independence and growing up to be the little man that he is.

As I get to the car, I hold myself together. Then let out a big sigh, as I remember that we talked about the choices in the cafeteria, but I completely forgot to tell him that I had created an an account in the cafeteria to pay for his lunches! I knew that he was armed with goldfish crackers and bottle water, so he at least had something if the lunch buying fell through!
Tucker had a great day at Kindergarten and is already starting to make some new friends. There were a few times throughout the day that I just stopped working and just wonder what he was doing. I know that he will be fine and he is in great, loving hands at his school.

First Day of Kindergarten -sort of

Today is the "official" first day of school, except that kindergarteners only go from 9:00-10:00 am. Not sure why, but that is just the way our school district works.

We all met in the cafeteria to hear from our principal then our kindergarteners lined up by classes and were led by different staff member to go through specials rotation of PE, Music, Art, and Computer classes. The parents lined up by classes and went to the classroom to listen to an "orientation" by our teacher. As I sit down and our teacher starts talking she says, "Sorry I am at the back of the room, but I don't have a wireless mouse to move the powerpoint, so I am back here stuck to my computer." HMMM, what is the elementary tech coordinator to do? I had lots of things running through my mind, but I just kept reminding myself that I was there as a parent and NOT as a school district employee. It is hard wearing both hats (parent and school district employee), but I am trying my best!

During the powerpoint, we learned about snacks, and discipline charts, and that they eat brunch at 10:25-10:55ish and that she doesn't have a wireless mouse (oops, I tried not to mention that again!). I learned that I could bring cupcakes for Tucker's birthday in a few weeks and that our classroom is NOT a peanut free zone.

Tucker soon returned with his classmates ready to go. He and Peaches went back over to the discipline chart one more time before we left to make sure that we had it down as to what is good behavior and not so good. "D" is a good thing..."A" is notta good! Got to get that one straight.

Overall it was a great first day of school for my little man. He had one hour of kindergarten then it was off to be with Peaches for the rest of the day. We may just get use to this kindergarten stuff, yet.

Hotter N Hell

After going to Meet the Teacher night, Tucker and I headed towards Wichita Falls for the Hotter N Hell bicycle ride. Actually, I dropped Tucker off in my hometown to stay with mom, while I drove on to Wichita Falls to meet up with Dad. Dad and I have this tradition where we ride in the Hotter N Hell together. This year was the 10th year that we have been riding together or at least TRIED to ride together. I didn't ride one year because I was almost 8 months pregnant with Tucker. But, we have the memories and pictures and it is something that I love to do and dread at the same time. We only ride 25 miles, which is fine with us! We just can't seem to figure out why others want to go on and ride 100 miles? We also can't figure out who can carve out enough time to train to ride 100 miles.

The part I hate the worse is not the heat or wind, but the start of the ride. There are 12,000 crazy people trying to start the race at pretty much the same time. Not only are we crammed in the street like sardines, but mix in riders of all different ages and skill/knowledge levels. I have seen some really bad crashes within the first 6 miles of the ride. Here is a picture of the start of the ride. Dad and I are in there somewhere!

This year the start seemed even more crowded and dangerous than usual, but we manged to make it without being in harm's way. Every year that we finish safely is a good time!
We only have 2 "official" rest stops and they are great. They have volunteers lined up to cheer us on and pass out water, pickle juice (my favorite!), and gatorade. They also have sliced oranges and bananas ready for us, too. The best rest stop is in Shepard Air Force Base. We ride through and see the Air men and women volunteering. This year they had about 250 air men and woman line a street and cheer us on as we rode past them. I must say it was a bit emabarrasing, but it does make you feel good. After we rode through their cheering section, Dad said, "That was a bit embarrasing...You want to ride through them again?" He also mentioned that really we should be cheering them on instead of the other way around! Like always, they are there whether we really know that we need them or not.

The fruit and drinks at the rest stops are nice and all, but what keeps me going at about the halfway mark is thinking about the corn dog and Dr Pepper that is waiting for me when I get finished. I eat corn dogs bascially 2 times a year...at the State Fair and at the Hotter N Hell. I don't know what it is, but there is nothing better at 9:00AM after riding 25 miles than to eat a hot corn dog and drink a cold Dr. Pepper. It just makes me feel better! I wonder Lance Armstrong ate corndogs after each stage of the Tour de France? :0)

Dad and I had a great time riding this year and I am already looking forward to next year!

Meet the Teacher Night

It is official...summer is over and it is time to go back to school. Actually in our case, to start school for the very first time! Tonight was Meet the Teacher night. It was a big night for Tucker and he was really excited to see his new school, new classroom, and new teacher. We ordered supplies from the PTA and as Tucker carried the long box of supplies, it was pretty much as tall as he was.
As we found the classroom, it was colorful and a very friendly classroom. His teacher introduced herself to Tucker and talked to him a little bit. She seems very nice and excited about the new school. year. After Tucker found his spot at a desk, we then took off to the cafeteria to buy tshirts. As soon as we bought t-shirts, Tucker went straight to the bathroom to change into his new school shirt. I am so happy that he is excited tonight about this new adventure!

Wal-mart Sneezer

We had another quiet weekend, which is want I needed after a really busy week at work. Tucker and I did some tax free clothes shopping on Saturday, but that was a crazy as it gets. We went to Wal-Mart on Sunday just to give us something to do, plus we needed groceries.
I had already given my "we are NOT buying a toy" speech to Tucker. So, we skipped the toy section and headed for the fodd. I gave him a mental list of items to help me remember and find when we were shopping. This is sort of a game we play when we go shopping so that he is busy looking for a specific item and not always asking for a million things to buy.
While walking down the coffee/condiment aisle, I heard Tucker say, "mmm, I love the smell of coffee." Being the attentive mother that I am, I just nodded and kept going. I must say that the remark really didn't register with my mommy trouble-radar. I did notice that he had plucked to whole coffee beans from somewhere and was playing with them in his hands. The next aisle over is the bread area, so as we were checking out the buns, I heard a rather loud nose blow/sneezy sound. As I looked at Tucker to see what was going on, I see the two coffee beans shooting out of his nose like bullets! While the coffee beans were not shoved up his nose that long, I am so thankful that they didn't get lodged way up there. I just had "what if" flashes and somehow avoided a trip to the emergency room. I worried about that kind of stuff when Tucker was little, but NEVER thought that we would attempt these kinds of tricks at the ripe ole age of "5 almost 6" years old.

Creature Catcher

Every summer we seem to end up with some kind of random animal in our pool. There is a creek not far from our house so it is not unusual to see a snake or four-legged creature scurrying around. Not that long ago, John and Tucker ran into the house from swimming screaming about a snake in the pool. Now, I am picturing something substantial that is at least the length of my arm. Once I got outside, I thought I would just look out into the pool and see a stick swimming around. Well, thankfully, I was wrong. The SNAKE was actually about the size of a worm. So much for the drama! My only concern was that something so small probably has brothers and sisters close by. Yikes!
I bring this up because we had another visitor on Friday morning. I was getting dressed and trying to actually be at work on time! I guess John had let Willy out to go to the restroom, when I hear John yelling, "There's a rat in the pool". Yep, I looked out the upstairs window and saw the creature swimming around looking for a place to get out. This rat was bigger than the snake visitor! John decides to use his hockey skills and scoop the rat out using a shovel. I leave him to work on this project while I continue to get dressed. About 25 minutes later, he and Tucker and still outside trying to scoop the rat, not really getting anywhere. I decided that they needed my "country girl" knowledge and assistance. I just went and got one of my fancy shmacy wal-mart plastic bags, sauntered outside and told John and Tucker to just watch! In one swoop, I scooped the rat into the wal-mart bag and gently place him outside our fence and close to the creek so that he could return back to his little home. Tucker was amazed at my ability to catch a drowning rat. Tucker gave me the Creature Catcher award for the day!

Tucker-free Weekend

Tucker and I met my mom and dad for dinner Thursday night. After dinner, Tucker went home with them. He was so excited to go home with them and have them all to himself! All he wanted to know was how many nights did he get to spend with Peaches and Papaw. He loves to visit the grandparents "without a mama and daddy" as Tucker calls it. You can tell in the picture that he is really upset about going, right? :0)

Let me just say that Tucker loves going home with my parents just because it is like Six Flags. They just do "Tucker stuff" all day every day while he is with them. From what I gathered from Tucker, they ended up at the lake jet skiing, went to a birthday part for a great aunt, and played with the cousins at the lake, too.

I had all kinds of big ideas that I was going to do with the little man gone for the weekend, but spent Saturday laying down due to a migraine. Fun stuff! While I missed him dearly, Sunday came pretty quickly and I gladly met them to get my child back. I really don't think that Tucker was ready to come home, but all good things must come to an end!

Mamasita?

Tonight after ice hockey lessons, we went to a restaurant for dinner. It was nice to just hang out with Tucker and John. It seems like these past few days, I have been busy with work, so even when I am home, my mind is racing. Also, after spending most of the weekend fighting/arguing with Tucker, it was nice for us to just be together in a different atmosphere and be a little bit silly. We were in separate cars, so John left Tucker and me to pay the check. He was going to Wal-mart to buy a few items and it is ALWAYS cheaper to shop without Tucker!
As Tucker and I was started to leave, I stood at our table to get one last drink of tea. All of a sudden I hear from across a few tables, "Let's roll out, Mamasita." I looked around, thinking surely there was another person this child-like voice was calling? But then I focused on my sweet, little boy and saw him grinning as he turned back around and started walking. He has such a way with words. :0)

Getting Ready

I have been shopping a little bit throughout the summer to get Tucker ready for Kindergarten. Ok, well, maybe I have been trying to get myself ready for Tucker GOING to Kindergarten. One minute I am excited for the new adventures that he will have, then the next I am sick to my stomache with worry.

I have been checking out the "back to school supplies" wondering which kind of backpack will he want? Which lunchbox will he choose or even will he need a lunchbox? (We already have our school supplies like crayons and stuffed ordered through the school PTA!) I have never been a big fan of "character" clothes and items, but Tucker is a big fan of superhero stuff. So, I guessed that we would end up with Spiderman, Superman, or even something with a Transformer on it. Right now, the superhero of the second, seems to be the Incredible Hulk. My mom found a Hulk backpack at Target and decided to buy it for the boy. He, of course, loved it. So, what do you do with a Hulk backpack that you will use the first day of school? You rip the tags off of it and then you stuff it full with Transformers!

A few days later, Tucker and I are walking another back to school aisle, now scoping out the lunchboxes. We once again look up and down and see all kinds of character lunchboxes, even some metal ones like I had when I was in school. This time he decides on a more basic camo lunchbox. Now, I can only hope that I can get up early enough to figure out what to put in it!

Easy Weekend

I don't know about you all, but I don't mind a lazy weekend every once in a while. Come to think of it, this is the first weekend in quite a while that we have spent at our house. We did manage to ride bicycles to What-a-burger and eat taquitos for breakfast. Afterwards, Tucker and John went swimming, while I started washing clothes and cleaning the kitchen.

The rest of Saturday was spent watching TV, finishing chores, and arguing with Tucker. How I get trapped into arguing with my 5 year old is beyond me! Being in education for 14 years...you would think that I would know better. :0)

We finally settled our differences long enough to go to Wal-mart. I wanted to try to make a Mississippi Mud Cake and needed to get a few items before Tucker and I could bake it. Have you ever eaten a Mississippi Mud Cake?

I can remember my grandmother and mom baking it. I can also remember my aunt Becky making it and bringing it to the lake a few times. I really didn't like it too much when I was younger, but I was a really picky eater. I hated anything with nuts, so I am guessing that is why I wouldn't eat the cake.

But today, looking at the picture in the cookbook, it looked really yummy and I wanted to try it! Tucker has a big sweet tooth, so I figured he would enjoy helping me make the cake and eating it. Tucker helped me make the cake, but it just about killed him waiting for it to cook. Patience is not something that you can use to describe this child! He was so excited when I finally took the cake out of the oven, only to be disappointed again when I poured on the marshmellows and slipped the cake back into the oven. After being asked, "mama, is it ready yet?" about twenty more times, the dessert was READY. Tucker claimed that is was the best thing we had every made. He also made sure that I knew that he was positive that it would be great for breakfast Sunday morning!


















Here is the recipe:

Mississippi Mud Cake
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 (10.5-ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
Preparation for Mississippi Mud CakeWhisk together melted butter and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in flour and chopped pecans. Pour batter into a greased and floured 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; top warm cake evenly with marshmallows. Return to oven, and bake 5 minutes. Drizzle Chocolate Frosting over warm cake. Cool completely.


Chocolate Frosting
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Preparation for Chocolate Frosting
Beat all ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.