Pretty soon people get tired of supporting you so you either go to work or you starve.

first day of school

i have been dreading this year...
three girls...
three different schools

we are spread out all over the city now...but they are kinda cute :)

 elise had to go first.  she is very proud of the outfit she picked out herself :)

 lilli was not feeling so hot...little warm and sniffly.  but it's the first day of school and she didn't want to miss it!

 high school!

kaely's day got even better...

her origami owl new designer kit was waiting for her on the front porch :)

and lilli was sent home with a fever of 102 on the first day of school.  but at least she tried!

um

"the good thing about us jews..."
-c.g.


so...yeah

labels are important

so sad to say that we had to help a woman out yesterday.  she was trying to leave through the utility closet.  this morning i added a label to prevent further confusion.  we tested the new system to make sure it would work...

reminds of this fun time with labels...

and i quote

"we can talk about it while we watch tv in the car"
random "parent"

it's gonna be a great day when one is rendered speechless before 9 am

as i walked to the copier this morning i saw, on the floor, in front of the copier, this:

i was a little grr at the laziness of prying open the paper box for one ream of paper and then leaving the rest like, well...that.

but it gets better...

i cut the strap to properly open the box and put the paper away and saw this:

yes, the opened ream of paper had been shoved back into the pried open box.

but then it gets even better...

i opened the cabinet under the copier and saw this:

yeah...that's an unopened ream of paper in the cabinet.  i do not often run out of words, but there you have it...

 who says dinosaurs are extinct?  check out that magical copier...

"I am too much of a lady to stab you in the eyeball with this fork."
K.C.

"She was the most hatefullest woman..."

hubba bubba

"Your meanness right now is taking you down the noodle notch..."

a.w.

"now hold on...I want to tell you about my feelings of upsetness..."

l.b.

i don't remember reading a chapter in any of the parenting books that would prepare a mother for this:

lilli found them in the backyard a couple of Saturdays ago.  she had gone out to play with the dog and they were in the grass, next to a toy.  there were three, but only these two were still breathing.  the dog left them alone.  what do you do when your daughter comes to you with tears and leads you to this?
sigh
I don't know what the books would say, but I looked at lilli and decided that we would try to help them.  nature can be cruel and that's hard to explain, but we couldn't sit by and let it happen and I didn't want to model that attitude for the girls.  we're helpers.
I plucked the dangling nest from the tree (yeah...climbed up the ladder and everything) and oh so carefully picked up first one and then the other and put them back in their nest.  lilli was shaking and still tearful, but she had more purpose.  she watched them...monitored their vital signs and reported their every move.
we got in the car and headed for the vet.
Ryan, at the Petsmart in Matthews was awesome.  he treated lilli with professionalism, but he wasn't detached.  he and I had words with our eyes over lilli's head.  he quickly adopted an air of serious purpose and announced that he would take them back to the vet.  lilli wouldn't say goodbye to them...she leaned against me and sobbed.  there was a lady at the desk, too and she gave lilli a hug.
we went home and buried the third.  lilli kept telling it she was sorry.
the plan was to call wildlife rescue, but the odds were not in the their favor.  i'm not sure they made it...they fell pretty far.  but as far as lilli needs to know, they are safe and in a better place.

at least i amuse myself

i came across an old email and laughed out loud at my own nonsense:

"If I was in a wagon train, I would have pulled to the side by now. I'm tired of driving...I'll live here now. Heh...
We are in macon at the crackle barrow. I have a lovely salad in front of me, all I lack is a fork. The girls are doing pretty good. They are tired and hungry and bored, but behaving better than the child at the table next to us."

Two things:

May 16th is sea monkey day.  My assistant was going to pick some up at petsmart but she ran out of time yesterday.  I'm glad she did.  Apparently, she doesn't know what sea monkeys are, exactly.  She was shocked when I ordered some at toys r us.

A director friend of mine has had some trouble with her freezer.  It seems to be dying a rattling wheezy slow death.  She talked about getting some dry ice, but then asked if I would stop by and check it after I picked up the girls from Girl Scouts.  I have the key and code to her school, so...sure.  I got to the school, let myself in, and checked the freezer.  It was still rattling...and locked.
Hope the food stays cold...

drawn for me, by elise :)

this morning, i walked in on a conversation between teacher and parent.  parent was telling teacher about status of other parent, who is recovering from a car accident.  the other parent almost lost a finger due to the damage it recieved.  so the parent is telling the teacher about the 9 pins in the finger, that the hand really can't be used right now, and that another surgery will likely be needed.  thankfully, it looks like the finger will not need to be amputated, as previously thought.

teacher did a superb job of listening actively, nodding and making appropriate comments of support. 

as the conversation came to a close and parent was leaving, teacher says...


"we'll keep our fingers crossed..."