Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

So yesterday my girls informed me that it is College Week at school. This means that one day they get to wear a hat with a college logo on it, one day a shirt- you get the idea. This is the conversation that took place:

Cali: Mom- we need to get some shirts and hats and stuff for college week.
Me: Ok. I'll have Dad take you later.
Macey: Mom- what college did you go to?
Cali: Mom didn't finish college.
Macey: Really?
Cali: Yeah. And besides, the school she did go to for a little bit doesn't even have shirts or hats. It wasn't a real college.
Me: (sad face)

And after sad face I proceeded to prove to my kids that I am still smart even though I may not have finished college. There is nothing worse than your own kids making you feel dumb.

It wouldn't have mattered if I had college shirts for my kids to wear anyway because apparently my kids are total kiss butts at school and HAD to have shirts and hats from schools that their teachers went to.

Just the Beginning

At 7:04 pm there was a knock on our door. It wasn't a salesman. And it wasn't the weird little girl that lives next door that watches us from her bedroom window while we swim hoping she can come over and swim too. No. It was worse. It was a boy from Cali's class that lives in our neighborhood. He wanted to know if Cali and Macey could come out and play! Like actually go outside and play. Without me. It was a gorgeous night and there were lots of kids outside playing. But why do mine have to be out there? They are nice and safe in my house- with me. I just wasn't expecting to have to make this kind of decision tonight. A little heads up would have been nice. Then I could have come up with an excuse as to why they need to stay home and play in the backyard. At what age should kids be aloud to play alone outside? I don't have a good answer. I've decided I don't want to be a responsible adult any more. But since I don't have a choice here is what I did. I walked the girls down to where everyone was playing and scoped out the scene. It was only 6 houses down, but it felt like a world away. It appeared to be innocent enough. I hung out for a little bit trying to act cool. Like I fit in or something. And then I took a deep breath and turned to the girls, at which time I threatened to take away all of their Webkinz if they even thought about leaving that area, or talking to a stranger, or going in the street, or going in some one's house. And then I told them that they had 15minutes to play and that I would be back to walk them home. And I walked away without looking back. Actually, I spied on them from the upstairs bedroom. When their 15 minutes was up I went and got them. I think it went pretty well. Maybe next time they can stay for 16 minutes.

Mother's Day

My favorite part of Mother's Day is reading the cards my kids make me at school. This year may have exceeded my expectations. I got 3 cards from Macey. The first one is a story titled "Me and My Amazing Mom". Don't let the title confuse you. It's really a story about shopping for a Father's Day gift for Ben. The second card is a fill in the blank page called "Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Mom". Apparently my job consists of shopping and taking care of Fletcher. That's about right. And the third card is called "My Mother's Portrait". It has a computer drawn picture of me on the top and then underneath it has my stats. Name: Sharalyn, age: 32, height: 5.8 feet 5 inches, weight: 84 pounds (love this kid), hair: brown, likes: to clean the house, job: take care of Fletcher, favorite drink: diet coke, food: chicken pot pie and salad (I throw up at the smell of a chicken pot pie), favorite TV show: America's Next Top Model (never watch it), More likes: again, clean the house, cook, and go shopping. I think I need to cut back on cleaning the house so much.
Cali's cards were the best. I got a book of poems that she wrote. I need to share two of them:

Mommy

My mom is very sweet.
She is super neat.

I am her biggest fan.
She will never hit a man.

She is a runner girl.
She likes it when I twirl.

She does not like it when I crunch and munch.
My mother loves flowers in a bunch.


And the second one:

My Mom Is

My mom is caring and loving.
But she is not evil.
She likes coke and pedicures.
But does not like skydiving.
She is happy when we will not fight and we give her things.
But, she is not happy when we lie.
She loves her family and her parents.
But she does not love cats.
If my mom could do anything she would run and cook.
But she would not punish me by throwing a ball at my face.

I love my kids and I love being their mom. There is nothing I would rather do.

Simi Pride

I was explaining this whole blogging thing to a friend of mine and it got me thinking about how lucky I am to have grown up in a place like Simi Valley. It is crazy how a town of 100,000 plus has such a small town feel. Even though I moved away a long time ago I still feel this sense of loyalty to to anyone from there. It's like an exclusive club. There is a sense of humor that only people from Simi get. So it is at this time I would like to introduce another member to our blogging family. Please welcome home Jeff Barlow and his wife Amy. Amy is cool just for marrying someone from Simi. They have lived here in the Plano area for the last 4 or 5 years, and Amy and I were immediate friends. She even laughed the first time I explained to her how intertwined all of our lives are. You see, Jeff used to stalk me in high school (you know you did, Jeff), but dated Shannon for a while in college. And Jeff and Robbie are friends even though they had not been introduced to the famous Robbie Blog yet. Don't worry- I filled them in. I guess they are all friends with a guy named Garrett who I don't know (but maybe he could swing by the Mixer so I can put a face to him because I hear about him a lot), and I believe Garrett is also friends with Justin. Anyway, you can find them at jeffandamybarlow@blogspot.com and if you're feeling friendly drop by and give them a shout out. It warms my heart to reunite lost members of our dysfunctional family.

Ode to Cool Whip

Every morning when I ask Fletcher what he wants for breakfast he inevitably answers "Cream". That means whipped cream for those of you who do not speak Fletcher. And every morning I say "Cream is not breakfast. Pick something else." This morning though, against my better judgement, I caved and let him eat cream for breakfast. Have you had the new Cool Whip in a can?! It's delicious!!!! Anyway, after squirting out a bowl for him I decided to make one for myself. He and I sat at the table just talking and eating cream. He told me that I needed to try his because it tastes different than mine, and then he needed a bite of mine to make sure it really did taste different than his. We talked about how he thinks he is a real fireman and that he puts out fires at night when I am sleeping. We also talked about how he doesn't like to go to swim class because he doesn't like water in his ears. And apparently he likes Macey way more than he likes Cali because Cali hits him. 3 bowls later we were stuffed. I loved having this moment with him. Not only does he love me more than Daddy now because I let him eat something bad for breakfast, but we probably wouldn't have just sat here and talked like we did if I didn't "break the rules" for a day. I am such a planner and like for things to run as scheduled (I blame it on OCD), but this morning taught me that being a little more flexible would probably not be a bad thing. Life will go on even if Fletcher eats cream for breakfast.

Just a Little Bit Crazy

I believe I may have reached a new level of OCD. I caught myself this morning vacuuming my vacuum.

God must love me...

God finally heard my prayers. I am so overcome with joy at the mere sight of these 5 individuals on a stage together at the same time. Who's going to the concert with me? I might possibly still have NKOTB paraphernalia in my memory box at home. I wonder if the jacket still fits? Actually, seeing this photo got me thinking back to some of the concerts I have been to. The first, and quite possibly the best, was to go see Milli Vanilli. Let me paint the picture for you. I must have been 14. It was me and Colleen, and Steven on a date with Rachel Poppleton. Either Steven didn't have his license yet or my parents didn't trust him to drive to Hollywood, but my Dad drove us and he slept in the car while we enjoyed the concert. I screamed "I love you Fab and Rob!!" until I could scream no more. I can remember exactly what I was wearing, too. White jeans with an orange shirt. I had a perm with bangs (my signature look). After the concert we got back in the station wagon and went home. I'm pretty sure Steven did not get any action that night. It's hard to go in for the good night kiss when your Dad is shining the brights at the front door. It was a magical night for me. One I will never forget. There is something about seeing live music- no matter who it is. Some of my most favorite memories are from experiences at concerts. Nothing compares to seeing N Sync with Shannon right after giving birth to Macey. Did I mention that we were wearing head to toe glitter? And then there was the time that we saw O-Town in Santa Barbara. We were 3rd row center and I touched Jacob. We also chased the tour bus all the way out of the venue. Good times with Nickio. On my 30th birthday I went with a bunch of friends to go see Gavin Degraw and Avril Lavigne. I had my picture taken with Gavin. I heart him. That is also the concert I almost got in my first fist fight with a teenage girl. Luckily Shannon was there because I knew she would have had my back. Did I mention she is freakishly strong? My favorite concert in college was Steve Miller Band with Pat Benatar. We got there a little late and had to hear "We Belong" in the parking lot. It was still awesome all the way out there. It's crazy how a song can immediately take us back to a time or place in our past. That is why I am so excited about NKOTB. They take me back to a time when life was simple and fun. I WILL be at their concert. So I ask the question again- who's in?