{not my fault!!}

Dear Blogger,

Please fix whatever problem you are having that is not allowing me to upload pictures. My mother and Arleen have been harrassing me for pictures and I'm not sure how much longer they'll wait. You don't want to mess with them. They have connections.

Sincerely,
Amy

{i need an assistant!}

Wow, I'm sure you've all been wondering where the heck I've been. It's been a busy couple of weeks. In case you don't believe me....

I go to the gym every morning after Gerard gets on the bus. Morgan loves the "Stay-and-play".

Mondays and Wednesdays I volunteer for "Mileage Club" at Gerard's school. The kids run around a 1/4 mile track and get "punches" on a card for each lap. When they run a mile (4 punches) they get a charm that looks like a foot (called a toe token) to put on a necklace that they earn once they've run 5 miles. I bring Morgan with me and she runs/walks with Gerard or Ashley M. or one of Gerard's other friends. Morgan has 3 toe tokens already and Gerard has 9.

Wednesdays after the gym I run home and shower as fast as humanly possible. Then we go to story time at the library. Then we run home and eat as fast as humanly possible so we can make it to Mileage Club.

Last Tuesday I got my hair cut and highlighted. Morgan ran around the salon for 2 hours. That was interesting.

This Tuesday Gerard had his 6-year-old well visit at the dr. All's well! He got his 2nd Hep A shot and his Flu-mist.

Thursdays after I take my super-human-speed shower we have a neighborhood playdate. That's actually really fun and Morgan totally looks forward to playing with her friends Levi, Gavin, Taylor and Addison.

Gerard was out of town for his Dad's 60th birthday party last weekend. (Happy birthday, Granpa G!) While he was gone, Gerard had a cub scout activity at the fire department on Saturday morning. Then he had hockey "try-outs" Saturday afternoon. I'm sure you can imagine how much fun it was getting him all suited up with Morgan running around the locker room.

Today I volunteered in Gerard's classroom. We counted pennies that the kids had collected as a fundraiser for "Pennies for Peace". Morgan played with Savannah while I was at school.

Tomorrow I have a PTO meeting at school.

Saturday Gerard has hockey at 12:15. Then little Gerard and I are going out to dinner and then to the Mother/Son dance at school while Morgan stays home with Daddy.

Sunday is hockey at 11:15 and then a cub scout hike at 2:30.

Oh, and did I mention that I am the parent in charge of the "Reading Club" for Gerard's class? Yup. The kids have to keep track of all the books that they read at home and how many pages they read. They turn in their slips and I have to figure their totals, report them to his teacher, and distribute prizes based on how many pages they read. Every week. All year. For 22 students.

I'm tired just thinking about it all! So please don't punish me for my infrequent posting!

Oh... speaking of punishments, I saw this comic strip in my paper a few weeks ago and couldn't help but laugh. This one's for you Dad! (All my friends from back home should understand this one. There's a bit of history here!)

click to enlarge

{cub scouts}

Gerard is officially a Tiger Cub Scout! With that title comes some pretty serious expectations, including honesty, helping others, respect, and of course SELLING POPCORN.

I scanned the order form so you can see what is available to order. Gerard and his den would really appreciate your support!

click on the image to enlarge it

By the way, for those of you who would like to contribute but really don't want any popcorn, you can choose the "Military Donation" which includes a mix of 3 popcorn flavors that are sent overseas to the men and women serving our country. How noble!

Also, if you would like to support Gerard's troop, I'll e-mail you his troop number so you know who to make the check out to. You know me....I can't put that on the blog!

{sound bytes}

We took the kids to their first Hibachi restaurant where the chefs cook in front of you and you sit with other people. Overall they loved the "show" and the food, although Morgan was a bit freaked out by the big flames at the beginning. At one point Gerard yelled "What the shell!?" Of course, the two other couples sitting with us heard only "What the hell!?" While trying to conceal my complete embarrassment, I had to explain that it was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle saying and then I had to explain to Gerard that it was NOT appropriate for a soon-to-be-6-year-old to utter. (He also told everyone at the table that "These shrimp are better than the ones Mommy makes!")

* * * * * * * * *

Gerard was in the basement playing the Wii. I went to check on him and asked if he was OK down there, to which he replied "I am thoroughly entertained." "Thoroughly entertained?" I said. "Yes. Thoroughly entertained."

* * * * * * * * *

After picking a scab, Morgan said, "My boo-boo is leaking!"

* * * * * * * * *

Morgan can't say her "f's". While watching a fly buzz around the kitchen, she kept calling it a "sly". I asked her if it was a FLY or a SLY. She thought for a moment and answered "Um....a BUG."

{hello, cupcake!}

THANK YOU for all the compliments on the cupcakes I made for Gerard's birthday party. YES, I made them, and NO they were not difficult. In fact, they were MUCH easier than the Lightning McQueen cake I made 2 years ago and the Sonic the Hedgehog cake for last year. But I also cannot take the creative credit here -- I got the idea out of this FABULOUS book, Hello, Cupcake.

First I tinted the frosting with yellow food coloring and unsweetened cocoa powder and lightly frosted each cupcake (I used store-bought frosting).



Then I used a piping bag to make the frosting look like spaghetti, although you could also use a ziploc bag with a corner snipped off.



The meatballs are Ferrero Rocher chocolates, the sauce is low sugar strawberry preserves (the low sugar kind has the best color, according to the cookbook), and the grated parmesan cheese on top is grated white chocolate. Easy peasy!

{aprons, cub scouts, & picture day!}

I only have a few minutes, so I'll make this post short....

Grandma Andrea made Morgan an apron. She's just starting to want to help me cook, and she LOVES to play in her play kitchen, so the apron was right up her alley. PLUS, it's reversible -- one side has Minnie Mouse and the other has the Disney Princesses. It just screams MORGAN!










Gerard joined Cub Scouts and last night was their second meeting. Here he is all decked out (although I haven't had time to sew all his patches on yet):






And today is picture day at school. He's such a cutie, isn't he? (And YES, I know I'm biased!)

{read-a-thon}

You remember those crummy catalog fundraisers where you're asked to buy overpriced wrapping paper and bad chocolates? Well..... NOT THIS TIME!!! Gerard's school does only one fundraiser and it is a pledge-based Read-a-Thon. Here's how it works:

• Students obtain pledges for reading based on per-page or a flat donation. Early readers can have parents read to them.
  
  
• Students read and record pages read from September 21 - September 27. Money must be turned in by Friday, October 2. (Make checks payable to [*our town name*] Elementary PTO.)
  
  
• Students will receive a bookmark just for participating and one "Book Buck" for every $15 raised. The "Book Bucks" can be used like cash to purchase books during their Winter Book Fair.
  
  
• Students can earn prizes based on how much money they raise.
  
  

If you'd like to make a pledge, please let me know. Gerard will really appreciate it!