Tuesday, September 27, 2011

OK.... I 'm back. The feverish illness turned into a coughing illness which turned into pneumonia! So, after about 8 days in bed (mostly), some really good antibiotics and a very slow, but deliberate forward motion, I'm back. You can only imagine how much laundry could accumulate in 8 days and how much dog hair could accumulate in 8 days.

After getting the nest back in order, I went back to work at the office, started a new adminstrative gig and got the fall softball gang all signed up and dental appointments out of the way. All the while, my mind is dancing with all sorts of fun projects and new ideas for painting and jewelry making. This weekend will be Art Weekend!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Results on Purple Day

I am always amazed when I sort of "wake up" and realize that I'm a grown up.  That sounds awful, I'm sure.. but there are a few things in life that happen to me and I just don't bounce back quite as quickly as I used to.  Really simple things can be a huge barrier.  For example.....  this FEVER has knocked me FLAT!  I've been in bed all weekend and have been totally unproductive.  Fevers are no fun for kids either, of course, but as an adult, it really took the wind out of my sails.  Falling down after tripping on something in the yard is totally another scenario that is hard to describe.  The results of me falling down as an adult  tend to not only be emotionally startling, but my muscles remember it for days.  Thankfully, it's hard to fall down when in bed with a fever, so I can count my blessings on that front, I suppose.

So, as a result, I haven't posted the follow up on the PURPLE situation.

Well, you won't believe it, but my beautiful purple 6th grader was "honored" (her words) to have been recognized at the pep rally among about thirty other really outlandishly dressed purple middle school people as "Most Sprited"!  From this amazing assortment of purple beehive hairdos, painted faces, tutus and boas, three were chosen as the top winners.  I don't know that I could have chosen the winners from that bunch.  They were all magnificent.   It was truly wonderful for this to happen to Sweet Sarah.... especially because when her dad was dropping her off at school that morning she had slightly cold feet.  There was apparently a scarcity of purple-ness at the time of the drop off and she was nervous.  After seeing someone dressed as a large purple chicken, she felt more comfortable though.

I surprised the Littles that day and checked them out of school early to take them to the pep rally... Yes, despite my fever.  It seemed to be a good idea at the time.  The Littles and I dressed up in purple from head to toe and we headed into the gymnasium.  It was absolutely wonderful to be there among all of the middle schoolers... and there were a lot of them.  This all reminded me of just one of the many reasons why I truly loved working in the schools.  And, I did have a fairly major flashback of my cheerleader days (don't tell anyone about that) and how exciting it all was to be there leading chants in front of crazed students.

It was purple everywhere.  There were cheerleaders dancing and cheering and bouncing around, loud music by the school band, a student/faculty basketball game, students playing dance music over the speakers, screaming contests among the grades, chanting and cheering, introductions of the athletes, and other general mayhem. The big wrap up was an enormous 8th grade conga line around the gym, a rousing school wide singing and dancing of "YMCA" by the Village People with the motions, and an 8th grade and faculty Cupid Shuffle on the gym floor.

What fun!.... even with a fever.  And if you are wondering, yes, I danced to the YMCA song.


Friday, September 9, 2011

Purple Panther Pride!

SURPRISE!  I never get a fever.... but I did last night and it totally wiped me out.   So, we abandoned the plan to work on dying Sarah's hair for Panther Pride day.  Next time....   But, we did have some fun assembling the outfit and playing with the purple strips of human hair I found at Sally's.  She was purple from head to toe when she left for school today.  We are all wearing purple today in honor of school spirit day.  I hope other kids dressed up too.  Now, there are purple feathers everywhere.......


 Yes, that really is a crocheted flower tied to her flip flops.  I made them this
morning while nursing my sick self.

 Typical Sarah.... after getting dressed, the first thing she did was dance around in her own awesomeness and ring her cowbell a lot (which I squelched due to my headache) and ride up and down our street on her rip stick waving her purple boa around triumphantly.  She's definitely circus material.
 Super cool purple human hair attachments.  I'm totally gonna borrow these....


Thursday, September 8, 2011

Panther Day at Middle School

My oldest daughter, Sarah, has just entered middle school.  She is, of course, at the local middle school for the ARTS.  Knowing what I know about the developmental challenges, the sexually loaded content of middle schools as well as the rigorous curriculum, I was pretty nervous about her starting middle school.  But, I very clearly remember that moment when Sarah took off on her tricycle for the first time on Braman Avenue's sidewalk.  I was nervous then, too.... and she never looked back until she was almost a block away.  So, in typical Sarah style, she has cleverly navigated the first three weeks of middle school with all of the enthusiasm, smarts and confidence that she did when she peddled down the sidewalk for the first time.  That's my girl!

Well, this photo isn't my girl... but she and I totally dig her hair.  I found this on pintrest and stole it so we could copy it.  Tomorrow, Sarah will experience her first "Panther Pride Day".  This is a wonderful day of celebration for the students to show their school spirit.  I am THRILLED that the colors of the school are PURPLE and white.  So, the dress code will slide a bit to the side and the students will adorn themselves with PURPLE stuff.  Sarah's long blonde hair will be integrated into our artistic endeavors tomorrow morning.  I wonder what the best way to do this would be???
OK.... It's way past time for me to do this! I've actually been a blogger all of my life, but I didn't know what to call it. I've always written emails to friends and family, documented funny events in my life, photographed every unusual or beautiful think I've come across (including my children) and have found inspiration and energy and joy in everything. So, thanks to Kelly Rae and the other Flyers, I'm leaping in and consolidating on a BLOG!!!! Stay tuned for more......