Cute Shoes

Warmer weather has finally decided to grace us with its presence and I have treated the higher temperatures as an opportunity to break my shoe collection out of winter hibernation. My co-worker took notice of the cute shoes and made a full week out of posting my feet to Instagram.

She's sort of awesome.

She's also introduced me to all the fun apps available for my iPhone and has patiently coached me through the ins and outs of Voxing, Bumping, and creating my very own virtual voodoo doll; all of which I will be forever grateful.

My shoes, it should be noted, also enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame, courtesy of co-worker.

As an aside, I really hope our supervisor never realizes just how much time I spend with my feet up on my desk; I do not think she would approve.

Weekend? What is This "Weekend" of Which You Speak?

I spent the last two days weeding my flowerbeds (three hours, damn you, bindweed, damn you!), shopping for flowers for my window boxes (four nurseries and the best that I could come up with was petunias, pansies, geraniums, and Candytuft; it was a bit disappointing, to be honest), planting said window boxes, planting my vegetable garden, hosing down the porch in anticipation of The Teenager's annual last-day-of-school slip'n'slide party, and spray-painting a couple of wicker pieces for the porch.

I am so sore I can't believe it, and, this is despite a two-hour soak in the tub last night (with glass of wine, naturally).

On the bright side, I also got to enjoy a thrift-store sojourn with my friends from work (score: a vintage wicker table and an antique hand-wringer, which; made an excellent planter for the Candytuft I purchased), and, Hugh and I made time to take in a performance of 1776, a Musical at our local community theater, so; it wasn't all drudgery and sweat.

Just, you know, most of it.

Which, is why I am really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow; I need the rest.

Nothing is Truly Lost Until Mom Can't Find It

So, it's probably a wee bit late to be writing about Mother's Day, but, as a mother, I have the perfect defense for my tardiness: I was BUSY.

And, by busy, I mean that I was working. And cleaning. And doing laundry. And trying to decide what to plant in my porch planters this year. And, cooking. And, you know, doing mom things.

Plus, to be perfectly honest, my legs were killing me from standing up for over an hour on Friday night, handing out leis to the incoming Freshmen on heels that were totally inappropriate for the task, although, cute as Hell....

...and I digress.

So, Mother's Day...

The Man-Cub presented me with a memory book that he had been working on in school for at least the last month. I know this because I spent the last month digging through boxes of photos and scanning pictures from scrapbooks at his request. I also spent precious brain cells debating whether Mrs. Wilson was his second grade teacher or his first  grade teacher before unearthing photographic evidence that proved me wrong on both counts (Third grade! Who knew?).

Anyway, the memory book was entirely adorable; it provided me a trip down memory lane and a glimpse into the Man-Cub's fevered imagination, both of which I enjoyed, thoroughly.

I do, however,  blame the book for the resulting lingering feeling of melancholy that I have since been experiencing. I mean, my baby isn't such a baby, anymore. Neither of my babies are still babies, actually. And, that makes for a bit of sentimentality no matter how you cut it.

On the bright side, my memories of the time when they were babies are awesome and heartwarming, and, I fully intend to indulge myself in flipping through my mental Rolodex as frequently as I can....

...days spent poolside, the sound of childrens' laughter echoing from the walls of the building and skipping over the water....

...the smell of sunscreen, generously applied to chubby thighs and dimpled elbows....

...Popsicle stains on white onesies...

...fingers, arms, legs and faces, coated in a thick layer of colorful sidewalk chalk following the reveal of the latest driveway masterpiece...

...a damp, sun-warmed body curled up next to mine as we gently sway to and fro on the big wooden swing-a swing purchased mere days prior to learning that I was going to be a mother for the first time...

...the first lost tooth and the wonder at the discover of glittering dust, carelessly tracing the Tooth Fairy's path from the windowsill to pillow...

...butterfly kisses, Eskimo kisses, fishy kisses, and the promise of loving each other to infinity and beyond...

...these aren't things that will be easily forgotten. Nor should they be.

So, yes, I missed a post on Mother's Day.

Because I was busy being a mother.

Introducing the Class of 2017

Best. Continuation. EVER!

That's the word on the street, anyway. And, by street, I of course mean Facebook.

So, the reviews are in and the kids report having had the best time, ever. The teachers and administration have had nothing but glowing praise for our efforts, and, the committee left the event with hugs, high-fives, and the promise of an evening of wine and relaxation on my porch at a date to be determined, later, and; my feet are almost 100% recovered.

Almost.


The decorations were the talk of the school and our Pirates in Paradise theme was a huge hit. I bitch about my sore feet and exhaustion, but, truth-be-told, it really didn't take all that much to pull it all off.

Of course, the kids were the best decoration of all.

After all my decorating duties were complete, I had the pleasure of chauffeuring the Man-Cub and his date to their dinner destination where they joined several other couples for a steak dinner prepared for them by an actual chef.

The kids were a tad bit overwhelmed by the fanciness of the gesture and by the whole "date" experience, but they gradually warmed up and I think they had a good time. Plus, they looked adorable.

The boys cleaned up especially well, I thought.

And, it didn't take too long before they were acting just as normally as usual, which, isn't to say very much but, they are kids.

And, they continued to be kids once we got back to the school for the ceremony. Or, that's what I told myself right up until the Man-Cub walked across the stage to receive his achievement certificate.

Then, I cried.

But, I wasn't alone in that, so, I didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed.

In fact, there were at least 72 other moms crying their eyes out in the audience. 72 out of 88 incoming Freshmen (just threw up in my mouth a little) attending the continuation was unheard of at the school (we had been told to prepare for less than half of the class showing up), and, I can't help but think that it is a very good omen for the coming four years.

After weeping over the ceremony, we all got a chance to weep during the first parent-student dance, and, while I was still pretty emotional, I managed to hide it. You know, for the sake of the Man-Cub. Then, we took a few family pictures (during which The Teenager actually wept over the fact that her little brother is now taller than her) before releasing the parents to return to their homes and the teenagers to return to their partying.

And, boy did they ever party.

Before the DJ announced the last dance at 10:00, those kids had danced to all their favorite songs, eaten their way through numerous bags of chips, guzzled 21 gallons of Hawaiian Punch, posed for probably a thousand pictures and swapped leis at least five or six times.

It was magical.

And, it goes without saying, we are super-proud of those kids.

The Fearsome Foursome, who are now Freshmen.

God help us all.

My Dogs Are Barking

I just got back from decorating for tonight's Continuation ceremony and my feet are KILLING me. That will teach me to wear platform sandals on a day when I have to run around with fake surfboards, tiki torches, inflatable palm trees, and silk leis for three hours, now, won't it?

On the bright side, the Middle School cafeteria looks AMAZING. We really outdid ourselves as a committee.

Now, I am off to take pictures of the Man-Cub and his date before the dance; they are meeting a group of friends at the home of one of their classmates (the son of a Porch Night Lady) for a steak dinner and we can't miss this opportunity to heckle them until they blush.

After all, rosy cheeks look ever so lovely in photos.

Before I go, though, I am totally changing into a pair of shoes that doesn't make me want to cut my own feet off with a rusty knife, because; rusty knives and bloodshed do NOT feature in our Pirates in Paradise theme.

It Beats Two Tin Cans and a Piece of String

The Teenager, the Man-Cub and I just got our new iPhones, which officially brings us into the current century.

Despite its' similarity to my iPod, the phone is presenting somewhat of a learning curve for me, and, will clearly take some getting used to, but I'm totally up for the challenge.

The Teenager, it should be noted, required no such learning curve, in fact, she was the one to set up our phones. She has also shown a great deal of patience in walking me through the features with which I am unfamiliar and has refrained from too much eye-rolling and deep sighing.

Now, I just have to get used to typing on a screen rather than on a keypad, and, really; how hard can that be?

There's probably an app for that, right?

The Winter That Would Not End

Some parts of our state saw six inches of new snow yesterday. Here in Petticoat Junction, it has been raining for four straight days, with temperatures hovering in the high 40's.

I have no flowers of which to speak, which is really unusual for this time of year. Our grass is not exactly what I would call "green", and the leaves on the trees in the yard have only just started to show any indication of buds.

I'm bummed by all of the above.

Generally, by this time in May, I am laboring over the flower boxes that line the railing on my porch.

I usually have a few vegetable plants stored in the garage, awaiting transplant in my garden.

Hugh has generally retrieved the Sea Chelle from winter storage and we are usually planning for her return to the lake by stocking up on sunscreen, new beach towels, and, tiny bottles of wine.

Most importantly, I have usually planned the inaugural Porch Night festivities for the current year.

This year?

Not feeling it.

Not feeling it at all.

On the bright side, I have been planning the tropical-themed party for the Man-Cub's Continuation, and, seeing the beach-themed props and brightly-colored decorations has gone a long way to keep me from just curling into a ball and rocking in the corner.

On the not-so-bright side, Continuation is tomorrow night, so, the weather better damn well improve over the weekend or I will have nothing to look forward to and might very well find myself in that corner.

And, we can't have that.