Horse World

So we had a little 6 year old bday party to go to this weekend and it happened to be a horse party. A little background information: where we live is horse country - A LOT of kids take riding lessons and horses are everywhere. We get to the equestrian center and CJ starts worrying he is going to fall off the horse -the other 10 kids are all arriving and I try to calm him down. As expected Casey is all about the horses and grabs a brush and starts brushing the nearest horse- 10 min later she is outfitted in a helmet and riding gear and on a horse- CJ not so much. One thing I love about our little school is that the kids in his class have such a strong sense of camaraderie- (there's only 13 of them and they have been together in most cases since they were 3)- one of his classmates grabs CJ hand and whispers in his ear some words of encouragement (I asked the little boy what he said "I told Christopher it will be okay and don't be scared I'll show you how to ride." (imagine witha cute little accent) Perfect example of how 2 kids (mine) could need such different methods of parenting -CJ's case- "Get on the Horse and Go"- Casey's Case- "Whoa horsey-slow down". Seriously- Casey is fearless- she was off and riding and she would not get off the horse until a pretty pink rosette pin was presented to her. CJ- through the tears got on the horse and had fun. The kids that are in the "horse world" are pretty amazing little riders. It was a very different "English" sort of birthday party. Now I just hope our letter to Santa from Casey does not include a request for a Horse.

Random

1- Dragged the entire family to see a local production of "The Nutcracker"- realized 15 min in it had no words- just a ballet to music with a lot of men in white tights dancing. Chris and CJ almost didn't make it back at intermission ( CJ kept whispering to me " Mom when are they going to say something")- casey liked it okay but it was kind of a complete bust.

2- On the subject of tights- there is a dad who is taking a work sabbatical and training for a triathlon who now does school drop off. Please oh please stop wearing tights with a with a too short Nike shirt- I don't need to see that at 8am ( and yes all the Moms are talking about ) - wear a longer shirt for lord sake its not like you are in the Olympics.


3- The battle of the school nativity plays- this year casey has a lead role for her class's play (mary) - CJ has a bit part (passerby)- poor kid is smart enough to know he has a bit part- "Mom, I just pass on by the stable and then I'm gone." Casey of course likes to add "That she is Jesus's mommy and on stage ALOT"

4-New Moon- yes, I went opening day- yes, I got an Edward poster- yes, I loved the whole thing- and I have to hand it to Jacob he looked pretty good- and the English crowd did not disappoint the crowd of teeny boppers screamed like raving lunatics every time Edward came on screen or Jacob showed off his 6 pack. Man, I love 13 year olds- I am still considering teaching 8th graders.


5- Thanksgiving-here- making all the dishes by myself for 12 people- stressed already but alas the food sucks here so anything I serve will be better ( how's that for positive thinking)- so me martha can handle it!!!

Bootylicious

Okay- so we had a little ticket snafu where instead of Sat Beyonce tix we had Monday- which in the scheme of things was no big deal but at the time I wasn't too keen on partying like a rockstar on a Monday and then doing 8am carpool.(I am dragging a little bit today- we did go for the caffeine route so we could stay up later on a Monday). Our tix were awesome literally saw everything.

But Beyonce delivered- AWESOME show- helped that our box was next to a 12 year old girls bday party ( I know who gets a box to have 20 friends for a 12 year old)- but these little teeny boppers were SO excited that they made us so excited (please note for a few songs all the 12 year olds were texting at the same time- it was a tad scary). Plus they had some sweet telephoto lenses so we saw JAYZ and some other English celebs. I love Beyonce she changed outfits a million times, she is so pretty, and that voice (kind like a funky cool angel). She did sing "AT Last" and had a photo montage of Mr Obama-( and of course all of London went nuts for our president ( he can do wrong for European eyes)- glad our world relations are better now -hopefully he can fix our economy-(sorry I had to)- She ended with Single Ladies and Halo and it was AMAZING. Tshirt purchased and being worn as I type (yes I bought the same one as the 12 year olds). I am SO going to be the mom taking the kids to the concert and embarrassing them by dancing and singing all the lyrics. I cant't wait!!!!!

Me and Miss B

So while you are attending a youth soccer game, raking leaves, or hitting the gym on Saturday- I will be shaking my booty at the Beyonce concert. Yes, an outfit has been chosen, yes, glitter will be worn, and yes my sweet dance moves will make an appearance. The last 4 nights I have performed My "Put a Ring On it" (minus the black leotard) for the family. ( got work the cardio before the big night) I'm ready for Miss B!!!!!! Will post photos from the concert- and yes I am buying a bootylicious tshirt

Back in the Saddle

So our house is back from the flu- sanity is restored. I visited my friend in the local hospital who got hit hard by the flu. I have to tell you the hospital scared the hell out of me. People shoved into wards- patients screaming in pain-mass confusion and waiting times that were ridiculous if your were in a life threatening situation. I am not going to use this blog to push my political agenda. I am praying that the approved "health care reform" is going to give healthcare to the folks that need it and not serve up some socialized mediocre medicine based on any model over here. Okay I feel better - but seriously our President has to stop leaning to European modeling- as someone that is "living it" -the model here is not a decent one to copy.

Other news- We headed to watch the fireworks last night at a friend from school's house. They own a horse farm so the kids loved running around the farm. The horses were put in the stables for the fireworks . The riding grounds are covered by a low voltage electric fence. Of course when I heard about it I freaked out since it was ON and we have a mass group of 5 year olds running rampant. Now here in lies the difference in parenting philosophy between us and the English- A quote from one of the parents, " Stop worrying about it Marina- once they hit the fence a few times they will learn not to touch it." And yes, kids hit the fence and received a mild shock and maybe they learned not to touch it again- But in truth I found the whole thing RIDICULOUS and scary. My mind is so wired to TV- I crafted a whole "House" episode about a child hitting the fence and going into heart arrhythmia. I knew I belong in Lalaland.

letter

Dear Stomach Flu Bug,

Could u please not infect anyone else in our house or circle of friends?
Just when I get one kid back on his feet u hit my other child. My little circle of friends all have u- so none of us can help each other out. I am mad at u. I have done a gazillion loads of laundry and am tired of being stuck in the house - except when I go to the grocery store to get Sprite and Crackers (and yes they don't have saltines here- mean country). I would hate to have anyone we know get this bug but there is an annoying mum at school who called to ask me if I was worried that CJ missed his spelling test yesterday. "Yeah lady, I am worried about a 5 year old missing spelling words like lick and deck"- crazy woman- there is spell check on computers and right now I need my kiddos to make it 2 hours without throwing up!
Don't even think of messing with me or Chris- or you really meet my mad side.

Leave now-

Marina

To mongram or not.......

So- I wasn't going to blog about because its sort of ridiculous but what the hey . So we got a note sent home from school with CJ the other day- ( I am on my laptop) or I would scan it for maximum impact). Basically the note said that CJ did not have the proper attire for soccer afterschool and that would we please rectify the situation as soon as possible. Not a super big deal except I had purchased an entire duplicate secondary uniform from the school shop for soccer (shorts/shirt)- and the only item that was different was a plain navy sweatshirt (school colors) with his initials ( I love me some monograms). I saw other boys running in Arsenal and Chelsea jerseys and no notes sent home. So yes, I am little MAD that for a tiny monogram we get a note sent home- and yes I am wasting 10 min of her and my time for a little pow wow to "rectify the situation" (a little sarcasm). So yes our dear teacher seems to have our number -no idea why- perhaps she is from an alternative universe where folks don't like monograms. Other new we had Casey's conference last night- went very well -so well- we had to make sure we were talking about our daughter. (very helpful (at tearing up brother lego projects), always in a great mood (have u woken her for school), wants to try everything (not last night dinner), really only likes to play with the girls (okay that casey), etc:)