Just ahead of Mother’s Day, Fred took the boys out to dinner to decide on a gift for me (YES! MAJOR POINTS FOR HIM!). As they ate, he asked them to think of things I like, and he wrote them down as they rattled them off. He said he started to filter what they were saying but then thought better of it and just wrote it all, so I could see the list and enjoy it later.

He was right. I got as much enjoyment out of the list as I did out of the actual gifts (a cappucino maker and some coffee – Guatemalan, of course!):

Gonna have to go with “Windex” as my personal favorite.  What?!

While “helping” me with garden-edging, “we” got a little distracted by all the cool creatures we dug up.  [Note to Mamacita:  next science unit = "How Most Effectively to Use Magnifying Glasses."  On second thought, nah... this is cuter.]

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Cherry blossoms, daffodils, post-Easter Spring weather, and the twins and I are getting our butts kicked by allergies.  I had to stop school mid-session today because MY brain was too foggy, and the boys sounded worse than I did.

So instead of doing Math and Social Studies, we watched The Princess and the Frog.  (Reason # 13467 why I love homeschooling, by the way – we’ve long-since hit the Kindergarten requirements, so if we need a sick day, we’re in great shape to take one)

As if I needed more confirmation that the boys were JUST the kids God meant for Fred and me to parent, every Spring and Fall, they become every bit as debilitated by seasonal allergies as I do.  Couldn’t have done “better” by passing my own Dna down.  (So sorry boys.)

Please pass the tissues.  x 3.

photo credit: http://psychonappy.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/the-princess-and-the-frog.jpg

…two small outfits require their own trip through the wash…

I’ve been assured that it’s “normal for boys” – though I have certainly met a few exceptions to that stereotype.  But my two HATE to color.  And just in case I was starting to think it might be time to reintroduce the concept, I got two great reminders, this past week, of what happens when they’re “made” to.

Our Russia-study wrap-up party was last Thursday. (Every time we study a country, we get together with four other families and have a party.) And one of the Russia-party activities was to color (shudder) a set of matryoshka (nesting) dolls.  While I watched my friend’s same-aged daughter not only neatly color in the lines but also embellish the front of her dolls dresses with a hand-drawn flower on each (and yes, she matched all her dolls), here’s what one of my guys came up with.  (Apparently, in addition to a general ignoring of lines, he also believes women should be seen and not heard?  Where’d their mouths go?)

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It’s been quite the snow storm here in Maryland, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get out of our driveway, let alone on a plane to El Salvador tomorrow morning, but turns out I will!

This blessing has been brought to me by some heavy construction equipment and one very stubborn airline that refused to cancel its flights even though almost all the others did, and BWI airport is supposedly “closed.”

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For those who have or plan to donate to Haiti-relief organizations, the IRS has issued a special tax provision to allow you to deduct your cash donations on your 2009 Tax Return.  The provision includes those texted-in donations the Red Cross and many other organizations collected.  The law does not apply to property or goods donations.

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One of the things the boys have to do in their co-op class every Wednesday is give a brief oral presentation to the class.  The general category is assigned, but they can pick anything that fits.  So for “Favorite Things” week: Read the rest of this entry

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Well it’s been nearly 3 weeks since my last post, but I would like to beg “good excuse.”  Not so much “the holidays” as “Fred and I undertook a bit of a large home-project, and I’m only just recovering.”

Since we knew he’d be off the week between Christmas and New Years, we decided we’d use that time to paint the first floor of our house all one neutral color.   

That, of course (if you know us at all well), led to “well why don’t we just take out the walls and bulkheads we want to remove before we bother to paint the whole place?”

‘Cause that’s not over-committing or anything.

And so we did. Read the rest of this entry