These ladies work so hard. I was sweaty. I was TIRED. I smelled like bleach and grease. My hair-do was more of a hair don’t! They were friendly. They were so organized. It was amazing to be involved. It really was.

     I know that there’s been some new related articles about school cafteria’s being the next the next to get a make over about nutrition and portion control. I know that celebs such as Jamie Oliver (http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution) and others are becoming activists on behalf of the children. I would like to say that what I saw was pretty healthy. I think there may be ways we could “trim the fat” so to speak, but for some kids in the US this is the only hot meal they may have all day with two parents working and healthy eating is costly. It costs in time. It costs in dollars. If you don’t believe it you haven’t really cooked lately. There are economic choices but in a home where time is as valuable as the dollar, those cafeteria ladies make a big dietary difference in children’s lives. I’m not saying that Mr. Oliver and others shouldn’t push for healthy choices. I am saying that active involvement and education of parents as well would help. And honestly, it will have to be made to be worth a working team of parent’s/ grandparents/ guardians’ time.

    My main reason to post however is to thank the ladies who do this faithfully for a group of less than enthusiastic at times children. It is hard work. It requires math skills, higher level thinking, coping skills, patience, observation, science, reading, and memory. Don’t brush over it as being anything less than a serious career!

These ladies have my well….

       Yes, what you are seeing behind Abbey are wall to wall 3rd graders. There was an equally large sea of small fry bodies on the opposite side! Lots of children, dropping and rolling balls, sugar in the form of sodas, brownies, smoothies, and candy were everywhere!

My little chocoholic thought the quarter pound brownie was awesome.

She did proclaim that the PINK balls were too heavy!

     You haven’t lived until you hear an ocean of 3rd grade voices all singing loud and proud Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb”!

       Mathew had his own exciting moments. “The play’s the thing,” said William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Mat would agree. Especially, a Texas History play where there are cowboys, monks, Native Americans, Praire women, tornados, and line dancing!

       I think the next to last Line Dancing number to a Shania Twain tune says it all:

I don’t often repost someone else’s articles, but this article intrigued me. So I’m sharing it for all moms who surf, blog, tweet, Facebook it, myspace it, or in general use the web to stay connected or get connected. The web community is amazing because of it’s access to so many globally. If you’ve wondered why you connect with joansmith@somewhereincyberspace.org better than just about anyone in your real life that you know… well…. you might not be so alone.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Increasingly-Isolated-Moms-bw-510302110.html?x=0&.v=1

Tiny Tim said it best
Category: Life

Every year to prepare for Christmas, we always watch Henson’s Muppet’s Christmas Carol. I love the original Charles Dickens classic and I remember watching the theater production in college. I love the story. But the Muppet version is something as a family we watch and discuss.

We talk about literature and wordsmiths. We talk about the richness of language: “solitary as an oyster” or “the ghost of Christmas present” or “there’s more of gravy than the grave about you”. We talk about a lot more than Christmas. We talk about the sacredness of people. We talk about greed and the disease of “more”. We talk about what it really means to care for others. We talk about making advent last all year long when we live the coming of Christ daily. ” In our prayers and dreams we ask you bless us all”…. from Henson’s Muppet’s Christmas Carol

Currently watching : The Muppet Christmas Carol – Kermit’s 50th Anniversary Edition Release date: 2005-11-29

            I have spent this week combining two of my favorite things – small kids and books! I worked at the Scholastic Book Fair at Mat and Abbey’s school. It was a blast for me.

I had the most fun today. My job this week has been to stock the shelves with TONS of pencils, posters, games, specialty items, and books (yeah, real burden for the bookworm). Then to escort the classes through the process of either buying the items they wanted or creating a wish list to take home to show parents so if they wanted to do so they could purchase them later.

A class came in today and just could not get the price thing for themselves. I showed them individually and corporately about four times where to look on the items and it was just simpler to them to keep asking me how much each item was! They are first and second graders so I didn’t mind. I can’t tell you how many of the kids would look up at me for a second, pause as if asking permission, and hug me. I can’t tell you how many hands I held. I can’t tell you how many “big tough boys” would sneak over shyly and act like they were showing me a football player book just to get as close to my body as possible so that I would put my hand on their shoulder and say “Oh yeah? I see. Wow”! Oh yes, hog heaven for me on so many levels!

I was able to talk about Narnia, Junie B. Jones, Skippy John Jones the Siamese Cat who thinks he’s a super hero Chihuahua, Corduroy the bear, science books, history books, current video gaming stuff, music – Hannah Montana, Raven, Beyonce and more, Barbie, Tinkerbelle, and by the time I’m done I will have a liberal arts degree in High School Musical 1 & 2- and tons more. I was able to hear the kids. I was able to hear visiting parents, tired teachers, tired staff, and more. Very loving words were shared and some complaints (not many actually, but some). I really loved it. It was a sacred moment to grasp.

Some of my favorite memories will be my boy leaning over the second floor rail looking into the open roof of the library nestled in the center of school surrounded by a double decker shell of classrooms calling down as discretely as a second grade boy a story above you can, “Hi, Mom!” and waving. His classmate, a young girl in line behind him, said, “THAT’S yo mama?” “Yeah?” said Mat as they were walking away into their classroom. “Oh yeah, she’s cool, dude.” “Yeah, I know.” says Mat very matter of fact.

Or Abbey seeing me walk into the lunch room to tell her I arrived with a huge grin. Mean while every kid at the table called out, “Abbey, it’s your mama! Look! Turn around and look!”

Or a small red haired freckled boy clasping my hand softly (I have a terrible weakness for red heads. Always have. It’s horrible.) and looking up at me with bright blue eyes, “You got a dollar, Miss? I would do anything for just a dollar.” I could have cried on sight at his sincerity. “I’m sorry, honey,” pulling out my empty pockets to show him, “I don’t have anything with me.” He sighs and walks away. I help a few girls and he comes back with a small cute grin and sidles up to me tenderly grasping my hand. “Miss, I found this.” Pressing a dime in my hand. “It’s not much but you’re broker than I am!”  We both laugh so hard and I immediately go to the locker and and pull 50 cents from my purse and buy a big heart shaped eraser and sneak it to his teacher with the story and ask her to discretely give it to him for his giving heart. (But you knew I would do something didn’t you. That is a little man who know the value of “You had me at hello” power!) There was a small girl who kept coming over and asking me a million questions about various things and I finally after petting her, “Very cool, smart girl!” She ran off telling every kid in her class, “She said I was smart! She called me smart girl I’m a smart kid!” There was a little boy named David and off the cuff while working with him I said, “Did you know that there was a great king of Israel named David? He didn’t start out as a king, but just a kid.” “What did he do to work his way up?”

It has been a really fun experience. I have one more afternoon tomorrow to relish. I can’t think of anything I have enjoyed as much in a while.

The Further Adventures of Hero Guy and the Precious Princess Who Am I? I’m Matman other wise known in these parts as ’Hero Guy’!

 This is my sidekick the Precious Princess, but her friends call her Ladybug! We are on a secret mission. We are trying to locate missing funds from the Secret Society of Superheroes! Better known as Triple S.

The Precious One set up a stake out…

while I consulted our faithful butler, Floyd, to discuss operatives with whom I could confer .

Floyd immediately put me hot on the tail…I mean trail of our first operative, Mr. Ed.

He seemed uncooperative until I gave him the green stuff. Rolling in clover he quickly spilled the beans and put us on to our lead. We agreed to meet Mr. X at a local Burger stand.

I thought the Precious Princess had found a clue, but she said, “No they’re just pretty don’t you think?” While inside the burger café I gathered intelligence and kept busy during the long wait.

The Precious one stood watch.

Freeze, Hero Guy!” she firmly whispered. “I think they are just behind you!”

Being the brave and valiant Hero Guy I reacted calmly as usual.

As it turned out it was only Floyd and his doll. “Rat’s, I said, “it looks like the crook won’t show.”

“Hurry, Precious, let’s make like a smoke and disappear!”

We went back to the Matcave and I interfaced with my private and personally built supercomputer. Triangulating the hints from Mr. Ed I thought maybe just maybe I had a location of the goods.

The layout looked busy, but I found a secret entrance where we could enter unnoticed.

It was grate!

The Precious one refused to get her costume dirty so Floyd’s doll escorted her to the front where she overwhelmed the guards with her super “cuddle charm” power.

I made my way to the ronde vous. I knew it wouldn’t take the Ladybug long to get there.

That clever gal had the entire case sewn up and in the bag when I arrived.

“Now can I drive the Matmobile home?”

Umm. No.

Join us next time for the further adventures of Hero Guy and the Precious Princess!

Currently listening : Batman: Original Motion Picture Score By Danny Elfman Release date: 02 August, 1989

Hurried poetic tongue in cheek musings from April’s perspective… These are a bit of a rush job in passing as we go to a park for Spring Break.

Thoughts about our youth pastor’s dog….

A weenie dog is walking art

I dig his groovy symmetry

He is as tall as wide and deep

He waddles like a duck at sea

Before this topic

I disembark

One thing more

They loudly bark??

Feminine Lamentations in tongue and cheek fashion….

Oh my sisters who were so graced

With manly inheritance in the Lord

I with envy green compose this ode to thee

Never shall you have to explain

That socks come as a match set for purposes

Contrived before time and yes, they are meant

To be so sported in public forums

Never shall you have to suffer the stings

And pains of forcing the pin of ear adornment

Into the wriggling squirming hole

You were blamed for suggesting they endure

Because it will look pretty

Never shall you have to reckon with fate

And fury to set properly “the do” so that

Future pursuers of portraits wild notice

that she is in fact the gentler fairer sex

Never shall topics such as bras, PMS,

And loads of hair removal be surprise topics

Of general public conversation in the restaurants

In the town where you dine with many who know your name

Ah fair sisters, in very truth, today I envy you who

Birthed sons only!

I should not change my shining star and darling of her father’s eye

For any thing in the world

However, it would be very convenient to pass the buck of explanations

His direction!

Currently reading :
Wiener Dog Art
By Gary Larson
Release date: 01 January, 1990

Billy Graham was returning to Charlotte after a speaking engagement. When his plane
arrived there was a limousine there to transport him to his home in Montreat.

As he prepared to get into the limo, he stopped, and spoke to the driver.

“You know” he said, “I am 87 years old and I have never driven a limousine. Would
you mind if I drove it for a while?”

The driver said, “No problem, sir. Have at it.”
Billy gets into the driver’s seat and they head off down the highway.

A short distance away sat a rookie State Trooper operating his first speed trap.

The long black limo went by him doing 70 in a 55 mph zone.

The trooper pulled out and easily caught the limo and got out of his patrol car to
begin the procedure.

The young trooper walked up to the driver’s door and when the glass was rolled down
he was surprised to see who was driving.

He immediately excused himself and went back to his car and called his supervisor.

He told the supervisor, “I know we are supposed to enforce the law but I also know
that important people are sometimes given certain courtesies. I need to know what I should do because I have stopped a very important person.”

“The supervisor asked, “Is it the governor?”

The young trooper said, “No, he’s more important than that.”

The supervisor said, “Oh, so it’s the president.”

The young trooper said, “Not, he’s even more important than that.”

The supervisor finally asked, “Well then, who is it?”

The young trooper said, “I think it’s Jesus because he’s got Billy Graham
for a chauffeur!”