TOGA ANYONE??

Somehow Dan and I have had party after party the last few weeks. We can go months and not do anything and then BAM!! Our school holds an auction every year and this year one of the items was a TOGA party hosted by 6 couples. Dan and I were responsible for dessert. I wish I had pictures of the cute dessert bowls I found at Pier 1. They really have some great serving dishes if your in the market. So here's the pictures I have and I didn't take many because we WOULDN'T want the County Trustee or the Director of Development's pictures to end up on Facebook-NOW WOULD WE??? It was a fun party and by the end of the night-EVERYONE was in the pool. I tried to avoid it but people are not happy until everyone is wet so they throw you in. YEAP!!! Toga and ALL!!!

Rock and Roll

Saturday night was the Annual Avant-Garde Party at the Brooks Museum. The theme was Rock and Roll. I attempted to look like Cyndi Lauper. I said ATTEMPTED!!! I'm a child of the 80's so I adore her!! I know it's weird. More photos will come later as soon as I find the cord to the camera.

This week the girls started back to school. Rachel started 4th grade and Megan started 6th grade. Yes.. Middle School... can you believe it? It's been a roller coaster of emotions the last few months. What should I wear? What if I walk into the wrong classroom? What if by accident, something inappropriate pops up on my laptop? Should I tell the teacher or just delete it? What if I have to sit alone at lunch? I remember all to well those same questions when I was in school. My biggest fear too was sitting alone at lunch. Girls can be so mean. And even as an adult I see how mean they can be. Yesterday, Megan came home and told me that a little girl crushed up pretzels and put them in her purse. You don't know how badly I wanted to call her mother, actually someone I'm very close too. Girls can hate someone one minute and be their best friend the next and sure enough a few hours had passed and she was talking about how cute the same girls locker was decorated. Wanting to feel accepted is normal in Middle School so I'm trying very hard to be understanding to her wants and needs right now. Yesterday, the students were allowed to decorate their lockers. The girls took at least a 1/2 hour while the boys took all of 3 min. They found their lockers, they placed their books inside and ta-da, it's done!! No cute pictures inside, hanging wallpaper or fancy erase boards. The other big excitement of the summer was receiving a laptop. Each student is required to have a laptop. Like many of you, we have computers in our home. More than a few. Our children are very familiar with computers but when Megan and the rest of her grade received their own laptops (we gave Megan one that I had received as a Christmas gift in 2008) you would have thought it was her first time to lay eyes on one. She spent hours during the summer video chatting with her friends. This week, I'm happy to report less activity. Apparently they use it in each class. Crazy how times have changed.
I know I haven't mentioned Rachel much, but she's very happy at school. Every morning she takes pride in picking out the right outfit and making sure her hair is just right. Still not quite as obsessive as her older sister. She got a teacher who everyone believed to be really mean. I told Rachel, lets decide for ourselves if she is mean. So far..no complaints. It probably helps that I'm room mom and I did a little sucking up during our parent meeting.
Well, it's the weekend and tomorrow we can all sleep in-YEAH!!

Swimming Pools

When I was younger very few people had pools. As a matter of fact, I can name them all on one hand. Now it seems like everyone I know has a swimming pool. I can remember begging my mother to call Mr. Joe Griggs. He not only had a pool but he had an INDOOR pool. He was a member of our church and would sometimes invite us over after lunch on Sundays. There was also Mr. Sammy Morris. A distant relative who said we were always welcome but then they either were never home or their pool equipment was broken. My friend Sarah's Aunt Dorris had a pool too and that was a real treat to go over there. 25 years later and now I have a pool but so does everyone else. Almost all of Megan and Rachel's friends have pools. It's not a treat to go swimming anymore. Sure the kids still love it and they always will but I can still remember the excitement that filled my soul when I was invited swimming.

So to all of the children (big and small) out there...please come swim at my pool. You don't have to beg..just ask politely!