Non-Insomniac Blogging: Part Deux

--The countdown is on to the end of the school year!

--Middle school is a shark tank, and 6th graders are guppies.  Also, being a parent of a going-to-middle-school kid is quickly becoming a full-time job.

--Goliath chose band as his elective for next year.  At the instrument introduction, he was to make a list of his top 3 choices of what he wants to play.  In the #3 spot:  tuba (who didn't see that coming?!?).  #2:  clarinet, and his #1 instrument choice was.....the bassoon.  Up until that day, I'm pretty sure he didn't even know what a bassoon is!

--To bassoon or not to bassoon?  That is the question that has consumed my son and me (but mostly me) for the last two weeks.  After some research, a face-to-face meeting with the MS band director, and a pros and cons list, the decision is made.  He will play the clarinet.  Ah, that boy!

--Just on the heels of the Great Instrument Debate was a fun little evening event entitled "Middle School Parent University."  This is how I know that MS is scary, and how I came to finally understand why in the world people homeschool their kids.

--Imagine a police officer who has an espresso with every meal and no volume control.  Then imagine him walking the perimeter of a classroom filled with wide-eyed parents, pointing his laser beam at a screen filled with pictures of narcotics and drug paraphernalia that is commonplace among middle school and high school students.  THEN imagine him hollering this command:  "Parents!  Repeat after me:  We have heroin in our town."  and that same wide-eyed group of adults stammering, "We have heroin in our town."  That, my friends, Freaked. Me. Out.

--Sonic has half-price shakes after 8:00 p.m.  A milkshake is sometimes the only thing that can help calm you down.

--Seriously....who orders a peanut butter & bacon milkshake?!?

--I am also wondering why we have Teacher Appreciation week at the end of the school year.  Several teachers at our school asked for--and received--school supplies. But what good does it do them now?  Seems like we would all be better off if we appreciated our teachers in February.

--The buttercups that have carpeted the sides of I-35 for the last month are beginning to wither.  That can mean only one thing:  summer is a'comin.

--I have learned that if I make a Starbucks run for Coach Hubby and Coach Scott before our boys' Saturday morning soccer game, the kids play much better.

--If your mother says you shouldn't slide down the banister of the stairs, there is probably a very good reason.

 

--I got to read to my boys' 1st and 3rd grade classes last week.  For my book, I chose Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.  On the first day of my assignment, I accidentally turned off my alarm and overslept by an hour.  The book was more than appropriate.

--Gus the Terrible has been out of town.  Ahhhh.

--Willie Nelson turned 80.  I love that guy.

--Authenticity in relationships is important.  It can also be draining.

--I had a Girls' Night Out with my little friend Kathryn and her mommy.  Kathryn and I agree on a few important things:

• The rolls at Texas Roadhouse are delicious.
• California is shaped like a banana on a map.
• 2-year-olds are kind of crazy.
• Reading yourself to sleep is the best!

--Greek yogurt is a weird food fad.  What was wrong with plain 'ol Yoplait?

--There is nothing like a baby shower to bring out the Pinterester within.

--I paid my son $10 to wash my car and clean out the inside.  Best money I ever spent.

--Silver Linings Playbook is a good, but tough, movie. 

--I got a new dishwasher for Mother's Day.  Yes, it was a necessity, but it still reminded me of this scene from "Father of the Bride":

 

"I mean, I didn't want to act thrown or anything, but inside I was. I mean, I thought something for the apartment...maybe a new clock, or a cool phone, or a great art book, or something...but a blender? I mean, what is this? 1958? Give the little wife a blender?!" 

 

--Quiet is one of my favorite sounds.

--There have been an abundance of blue jays, squirrels, and lizards in our yard lately.

--Two jobs I would never ever be able to do:  funeral director and dentist.

--Baby's class is working on a "Then and Now" project, which includes a "museum" of items from way back when.  Two of the items make me feel particularly old:  a floppy disk and a non-digital camera.  My kid can not grasp the concept of a roll of film, nor can he understand not being able to see your pictures the instant you take them.  Very old.