I'm Not Gonna Comment On Hannah Montana Channeling Britney Spears.....

Or that freakishly tall dude that she groped with a foam finger.......

Instead. 

I'll just ramble on randomly, as I normally do.

Completely ignoring the fact, that at one point, I ended up sitting through one of her concerts that they turned into a "movie" a few too many moons ago.

Or the fact that just a few short years ago, a majority of the girls on our street donned blonde wigs and microphones in an attempt to mimic her.  Fortunately, my Izzy opted for a Rocky Horror meets Tinker Bell costume that year..........

Score one for the overly cheap mom who was NOT going to go there!

Instead I will leave you with an endearing mental image.

I kind of think the movie Pretty In Pink is appropriate at this moment..... 

I would post an actual photo, if I had been present.  Alas, no carpool for me this afternoon..

Ike's gi has not yet come in.  Actually, Moops' new gi hasn't come in yet.  Meaning Moops is still using his old gi, and Ike is having to deal.

Such is the life of the youngest of four.

But in true Ike fashion, he always knows how to overcome such obstacles.  He opted to wear his Ninja costume from last year's Halloween.....  Along with his cargo shorts and cowboy boots....

He's got all of his bases in the world of cool covered....

I Love You

I Love You....

It is both an understatement.

And a declaration.

Today, it is so much more.

Thirteen years ago, my life changed.

A little girl in my arms.

A whole new world in front of me. 

You are cherished more than any treasure.

You are what dreams are made of.

I Love You.

You know what would be really cool? 

An app that you can select specific criteria for, that then coordinates your calendar and keeps you on track without a constant need to be manually updated. 

Something that can read your mind, and then predict what you will forget and conveniently remind you so you can keep steady and not forget stuff, like what day your kid has PE and they need to wear their PE uniform.

AND bonus, it tells you WHICH kid it is that has PE. 

Or that you bought enough beef to last a month but keep forgetting to stock up on chicken, so then you eat beef 3 days in a row before you get a chance to pick up more chicken. 

Only to encounter a sale for beef...

Something that can quickly locate your keys that are sitting on your dash board in your car because there was a mini crisis involving a super bounce ball, a jolly rancher and a pencil with no MacGiver in sight. 

Or possibly help you find your phone because the "find my phone" app swears your phone is in the house, but can't tell you its sitting next to the keys you can't find either.  And since your car door is closed, you don't hear the really cheesy ringtone you just recently downloaded as your try calling yourself to hone in on your phone's location.

If it could do the dishes and fold the laundry, that would be cool too.

It's That Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

Alex asked me today, if I am going to go out and celebrate the first day of school with The Hubs, like I did last year.  He refers to the first day of school as my "favorite day of the year".

He then mentioned that I tend to get way too excited over buying school supplies.  He even went as far as to refuse to join us on our annual school supply shopping spree.  And, he didn't even flinch when I offered to buy him a bedazzled pink folder for school.  He just smirked and said as long as it matches his shoes, he will be "fine".

We currently have various piles of school supplies through out our front room.  Izzy made an attempt at organizing them for me, which didn't go to well.

This afternoon, while at my neighbors house, I noticed she too has school supplies organized in her front room.

So, that made my brain think. 

And the kids may not appreciate me too much.

Ike may even face palm when he sees what is in store downstairs.....

Because I think, for the first day of school I am going to pull out the Christmas Tree, wrap all of their school supplies, and then surprise them with an extra early reveille to ring in the new school year!

Now, please don't make the mistake in assuming that I don't like having my kids home all day every day.  That is not entirely the case. 

I am totally digging the sleeping in, and not having to make the carpool run 5 days a week.

We have only had to search for gi belts, as all school uniform belts are still put away in storage. 

And the no homework portion of the summer has been, well forget that.  There are book reports due in 12 days.  And Ike is really not diggin' the paragraph a day summer practice......

We got to see more of Texas!  Lots and lots more....

We went to The Alamo with one uncle, and dragged another uncle through a particular mountain in Georgia. 

We have gone swimming.

Izzy sliced the tip off her finger almost all the way off, resulting in a exploratory trip of yet another urgent care center.

I think Alex, Moops and Ike got to feed a giraffe.  But I maybe mistaken, as I wasn't present.  And I can't remember if I am switching memories of conversations of trips to zoos in my head.  I know Moops fed a giraffe with in the last year.  I think.  That could have been Kindergarten.

Anyways, the kids go back to school soon.  We are now at the point in the Summer where they know school is close and they are not happy.  There are not enough hours in the day to meet their quota of summer fun, and because of various vacations, there were many days where there were absent friends that should be made up. 

Oh. We Are At THAT Point In Life Now.....

That would be where your Daughter is attractive to boys.  And then the boys follow them around stores, and get in your way.  And act all stalkerish.

We are at that point, you know the one where you suggest heading into the old lady bra store to peruse the boulder holders in the WAY BACK, until creepy boy leaves.  And your Daughter happily agrees.

I kind of felt bad for the kid.  It was pretty obvious Izzy didn't reciprocate similar emotions for him.  And as a Mom, I can say my heart twinged just a little in the sympathy zone.  But then he did the creepy grin again, and my overwhelming urge to escape with my little girl took over pretty damn quick.

 

She's just foolin'

 

Did you know, in the parking lot across from the Alamo.  They have pony rides....

It's new, according to the horse carriage driver.

 

This is the Alamo. 

Izzy was none too pleased with the line involved.

 

Hey!  There is a canon dedicated to Warren!

Not my Warren.

But a Warren, none the less.

 

Psssssst.  It's not a real Pecan. 

 

 

This Stone Henge is not the original either.

But it was still pretty cool.

 

It's all still erect.

 

 

Hmmmmm.  He looks familiar.

 

 

 

 

Alex found himself a fedora.

 

 

Ike found the rest of the hats.....

And All Is Forgiven

 

This right here, is a very happy little boy. 

 

It didn't start out too happy though.

 

Not only did "Mommy" wake him up extra early on a Saturday morning.  But he then waited a good 4 hours, for this moment to happen. 

 

Once it did happen, there was nothing but simple happiness oozing out of him. 

 

He is feeling just a little bit extra special as well, as he settles in between two of our dojos more experienced members.  Having them on the side of the mat while he grappled with some pretty challenging opponents, made all the difference in the world. 

 

Alex got to grapple too.  Here he is folding his opponent into a paper airplane.  Or at least, in half.