bits to smile over this weekend...

*Annie attended the Rochester Teen Book Festival on Saturday. Eight hours of books and authors and friends and fun left her with a smile plastered on her face! It was positively delightful to listen to her chatter away about it all when she got home. She's been a bit down lately, and it was just such a wonderful thing to see her so excited about something, so chatty and bubbly.

*Gray has a new money-making scheme. He has created a chart to tally every time Rich swears. He's decided that at the end of each week, Rich has to pay him a dime for every cuss word he uttered that week. I said to him, "But Gray, Daddy will end up broke." And he replied with this smug grin, "Yep, I'll never have to work a day in my life."

*I got to hear Chris's voice on the phone! I admit it--I am totally phone phobic, but talking to Chris was a pure delight! He swears to me that I wasn't a bumbling, babbling idiot (but I suspect he's just being kind :P).

*I finished Tender Morsels. Oh my. Seriously, this is just a book that will always reside in my heart. I'm still sort of at a loss as to how to even talk about it...it's beautiful, it's honest, it's heart-pulverizing, it's healing. It's perfection.

*We got the test results from Annie's end of year testing (a homeschooling requirement in NY). I've no idea why I worry about it. I never did before she skipped a grade. And obviously if she wasn't ready for work at a level above where her chronological age would place her in a public school, we never would have skipped her to start with, so why do I worry that she won't test well at that level?!! Add to that the fact, the test results don't really mean squat...unless she scores under the 33rd percentile, and then our homeschooling program would be placed on probation. I guess because I am simply accomplished in the art of needless worry. Anyway, the results arrived...and she had a composite score in the 99th percentile. So, big smiles that another year's testing is over. And the results being well more than we need to continue homeschooling. Now if the school year would just end...

*I had the weirdest dream. Now I assure you that at the time it jarred me into awakedness, I was not finding it at all smile-worthy, but now I can't help but laugh when I think about it. In this dream I'd gone to the library and told them that I wanted to volunteer there. They told me I needed to do two things: get CPR training and let them whack off the fingers of my right hand at the first knuckles. I agreed, and they had me put my hand up on the circulation counter and took a big old cleaver...and whack! This is when I woke up. Guess they wanted to make sure their volunteers were serious, huh? :P

pretending i'm twittering

On Saturday:

*So loving how much Gray is into mythology right now. :D

*Goshdarn weather! Couple days ago--nearly 80 degrees. Tonight and tomorrow--freakin' snow showers! #mothernaturehasasadisticstreak

*Oh lord...sometimes the Maxidoodle does things that are too gross to even talk about. :/ Yes, it's a "He's lucky he's cute" moment.

*Boys requesting pumpkin waffles for supper. #icanlivewiththat

*Title: Zeus's Minion/Artist: Gray Stevens/Medium: Perler Beads http://twitpic.com/1m6ojz

*Me: You sure have a mess there, Gray. Gray: It's part of the creative process, Mom. #whoamitoargue


And Sunday:

*An essay from Gray about why I'm a special mom. #bestmothersdaygiftever

*Funniest line from essay: Whenever I lend her money for lunches or something else she always pays me back.

*I am never going to be ready for school this week if I don't stop goofing off!


And Monday:

*Obviously, I didn't stop goofing off...I'm so not ready for this week.

*Darn near every bk from my Amazon wish list that had a cheap used copy available ended up wrapped in a lovely pile of MD presents. #iamspoiled

*Also got gift card. If B&N doesn't have From Hell, I will sob right there in the store. @Nymeth

*And Ghosts of the Great Highway. I love his voice so much it hurts. In that good way. Obsessing over Lily and Parrots...

*...but Carry Me Ohio is still my favorite. @Nymeth

*Dishes need washed, laundry needs hung, discussion questions need typed, test needs made...yet Tender Morsels keeps calling my name...