Zombie Duck

Can you believe I gave up a weekend in October full of monster movies to go camping with a bunch of little girls? I know, shocking.

And can you believe that the camping trip was smooth as silk with no blood and gut injuries, misbehaving girls or even kids that stayed up too late????

What is up with that?

If I have to miss my movies you would think I could at least come back from the wilds with a true life horror tale right? Not the blood and guts kind -- the crazy kid or misbehaving kind or cool tricks pulled on each other or SOMETHING.

Well, at least with all the hours spent in the sewing office this last week I got my fill of bad monster movies. (AND I finished a quilt I was busting my tail to get done.)

So........

If you like vampire movies, this one was pretty decent.
This one has a twist as it never shows who bite the girl, how or why....just the guy that finds her and helps her. And the story unfolds from there.
Love the old monster movies. There are so many movies from the 50's that are all about mutant animals/insects from atomic accidents. Hence...the giant crabs that eat people and absorb their intelligence and talk to you in their victims voices. Very creep thought!!
Yes, shark movies are one of my very favorite. And I watch Shark Week on Discovery pretty much every year. But this movie??? A dog. The sharks roared like lions. Seriously???? And in one scene a shark comes through the side of the boat and plucks a lady right out. Wow.

Then there was Wicked Little Things..
Crazy little zombie miner children...
It! The Terror from Beyond Space...
A monster that looks like a gorilla with lizard skin. Not very imaginative. And the thing that really bothered me about the movie? The people didn't scream or have fits when being attacked. It was the calmest and quietest monster movie I've ever watched. How can you have a good monster movie without screaming???
This is a British flick. I don't really understand the whole plot of the movie (I was sewing so my attention to detail is not keen.) But, even with that it was a good horror flick. Stuck on a boat out in these reeds with a medical emergency...and something is out there.
Giant spiders being bred on a freighter. Not the people you want to rescue you after a storm. Way too heavy on the computer graphics and rather boring actually. Skip it.
This one is actually really well done and was a good movie. For the time frame the monster was really scary looking...even if it did look like a big caterpillar. Again with the radioactivity.
Not my favorite kind of movie. But the soundtrack was great. This one is people doing horrible things to other people. Not into that so much. So if you like violence and blood and guts due to bad people...this one is for you.


I'd have to say Bitten and The Reeds were my fav from this week.

Another Girls Gone Wild Weekend

So not what you are thinking.

This weekend I'm off on yet another camping trip. This time it is in a lodge. Should feel like a resort after all the tent and platform camping we have done this summer.

But this will be the first weekend Mrs. M and I will be on our own without Super Camper. The Big Boss. I'm going to count it all good if we make it back with all the girls......

Life is funny.

I never expected to be back into Scouts again. Songbird has pretty much walked away from it due to her schedule with school and extra curriculars.

I didn't expect MM to join as she was painfully shy for so long. And she never struck me as the outdoor/camping type of kid. But I was wrong. She wanted it.

And when there was a need for leaders and I had some training already...well, you know how that goes. I did manage to avoid the Daisy age group, I found myself stepping back into the shoes of a Junior leader. Even though I don't have any children in this age group.

And this council has not made it easy for me. But thats a whole other story.

The real crazy thing about this is I have been camping about 6/7 times since March. (I've actually lost count of the number). More camping than I've done all together in my adult life I think.

And its been a blast.

Because we have been camping with a master camper. Someone that makes it look so easy. Someone who shares her knowledge. Someone who encourages and teaches.

And that is the secret to liking camping. Knowing what you are doing. Because so many things can go wrong.

So wish me luck. I expect it will all be just fine. I don't see how I could be better prepared.

But if I'm wrong....

well...

it will make for good blog fodder.

8 Minutes

Time it took me to cut the bindings for two different quilts with the GO!

Have I ever mentioned that I am left handed? And that when I started kindergarten it was in a military/DOD school? Where they did not have left handed scissors? And they forced me to use my right hand?

So cutting is a slow and painful process for me. To this day I use my right hand and look like I'm disabled when I cut things.

Those strips I cut in 8 minutes would have taken me 2 hours minimum even with a rotatory cutter.

Feeling the love for Accuquilt!

The Bully's Mom

I've read a whole lot of posts lately about kids that are dealing with a bully at school. Being that it is a new school year, this is not all that surprising.

Because if you have kids, you will deal with bullying. If not this year, next. Or maybe it will be in a few years...but eventually your number is up.

And with all the sad stories on the news of kids killing themselves over cyber bullying -- you'd better take notice.

And the whole turn the other cheek thing really just does not work.

But all of that really isn't why I'm writing today.

There is plenty of advice and suggestions all over blogland right now on how to deal with bullies.

What is bothering me....

...is all the comments on the bully's mother.

Because if your child is a bully it is your fault mom.

You should be hung, drawn and quartered. You should be called trash. You should have nasty remarks made about you all over town and the internet.


Ummm...kinda sounds like bullying doesn't it?

So now, all you sweet moms with kids who would never bully anyone...

lets talk about those mom's of children with ugly personalities.

You see, it just might be, that they are as upset by their child's actions as you are.

Couldn't be you say?

Well, I say you are wrong.

Some parents have children with difficult personalities.

Maybe it is a child that is beyond selfish and you struggle daily to teach them to share. There is no reason they should not understand all the teaching you are doing on a daily basis...but while the other kids are getting it.....yours just WILL NOT share. No teaching, no preaching, no punishment, reward chart or being isolated works. So mom tries everything, reads every book, asks every friend for advice....and still the child will not share toys, takes things from others in a group and hordes. They even hit. Which horrifies mom and brings punishment. Every time.

See, that was an easy one. You understand that don't you?

It can be the exact same with bullying.

I have one child that had a difficult personality for years. Like 12 years.

We struggled. We punished. We praised. We warned that there would be no friends as you don't treat people that way. We PARENTED through the whole 12 years.

And it took 12 YEARS for the kid to finally get it.

When there were parent complaints we always took them very seriously and handled it.

But it would happen again.

And again.

And I was mortified and embarrassed by the child's behavior on practically a weekly basis. I cried tears over it. I actually did not even like my child very much and was angry at being put in such positions. (Which is not the same as not loving your child. You can not like a childs personality and still love them.)

This child was NOTHING like my other children.

I have another child that was everyone's best friend. Everyone who even met the child for a few minutes loved the child.

Same family. Same rules. Very different behavior.

You guys are getting this right?

Because all the name calling and finger shaking going on towards mothers of difficult children -- its just another form of bad behavior ladies. Think about it.

NOW - that is not to say that this is true in every case.

There are bad parents. Absent parents. Abusive parents. Racist parents. Inattentive parents. Noneffective parents. And parents you don't want to deal with in any way.

But don't assume.

Because one day it might be your child that pulls the mother of all stupid tricks. And when it happens -- that is exactly how you are going to be treated. Regardless of the truth. Because so many moms are willing to point fingers and assume bad kid action = sucky parenting.

And its not a fun place to be if you are a caring, teaching, parenting type of parent.

What I am not saying here is that because you give the parent the benefit of the doubt, that you deal directly with them when in a bully situation.

I have been attacked IN FRONT OF THE cops by a bully's mom when her son was being a bully and my son was one of the ones that fingered her kid. Her innocent kid. (Yes, 100% of the kids interviewed on the entire bus were lying -- but my little kid was somehow responsible for that because he was the one bloodied. Huh???) So, even when I give the other parent the benefit of the doubt, I still have the authorities in that situation handle the issue.

So I'm NOT saying mom IS a nice lady. I'm saying she just might be.

I'm saying don't take out the boxing gloves until you know she boxes.

I'm saying don't murder her good name until you know SHE is guilty.

I'm saying parents don't actually have full control over their children once they are out of sight.

We can teach.

But its up to the child to apply the teaching.

And some won't.

And I'm saying that if you are the mother of a young child and standing in judgment......you are most likely going to look back one day when the shoe is on the other foot and feel foolish.

Because kids make mistakes. Kids do wrong things. Kids make poor decisions. And kids pull stupid kid tricks.

Even your precious angel that would never.......(lie, steal, cheat) could do something you totally disapprove of one day.

Really.

It could happen.

So do unto others............................

Snapshot Saturday

Zombie Duck

Because my sister-in-law loves me that much.

And she's one of the very very few people in life that can related to my love of Zombie movies.

So, yes, she got me a glow-in-the-dark, brains and bones showing, rubber duckie.

Glow-in-the-dark ya'll!

AND NOW ITS OCTOBER!

My favorite month!

No, no, its not because its my birthday month, or because my name is Autumn. It's because its the 31 days of monster movies month.

Now, I understand that only about 1% of my family and friends understand this love of mine. I can respect that. So, out of love for the other 99% of you, I will NOT post about my movie fest every day this month. I'll save it for Friday or probably Saturday actually. Most people don't read their blogs on the weekend so it will be totally easy to skip right over on Monday mornings. And I'll head the post with my friend Zombie Duck so you know to just click the "read" button without even looking.

Unless its like passing a car wreck.....you just gotta look.

But hey - at least I'm giving you every opportunity to skip right by it without polluting your eyes or brains.

Cause I love you like that.

So stop reading right now.

Because October started yesterday and I've already enjoyed several movies. Gotta love Netflix streaming and a laptop in the quilt room.

And this year I am trying to watch stuff I've never seen or don't remember only (please forgive me Aliens and Resident Evil movies!!) because my wish list on scary movies is so long I have no choice but to sacrifice the favs.

So -- here goes!
Mega Piranha!!
Made for the Sci-fi channel so it is everything cheesy and computer generated you can imagine! Crazy unreal looking mega fish that grow to the size of a whale by the time they reach the ocean. Not kidding. And when they were still small they would even bite and eat the boats. Hah. Now that's nutritious. Only redeeming quality to this flick is the six-pack abs and shirtless shots of the hero. Great stuff as long as he didn't open his mouth. His voice so got on my nerves.
And does anyone remember Tiffany from the 80's? She was the female lead. That was interesting.
Too funny. Think I saw this as a kid. Really not a monster movie -- its one of those circa 1970's eco movies where nature strikes back. Lots of snake bites, spiders, lizards and frogs all gone wild because of man's polluting ways. Has a young Sam Elliot (of the sexy voice fame) as the hero.

Shock Waves
Again from the 70's. This one is actually pretty good. A group of people on a yacht get stranded on an island after hitting a resurfaced freighter of Nazi Zombies.

So happy viewing this month my friends!

(Or not!)

Oh My GO!!!!!!!

Not a mis-spelling!

This post may be a little bit all over the place because I am still not thinking cohesively.

I have a new friend. Her name is Jane and her blog is Sew Create It.

And Jane?

She sent me the bestest ever email.

The one saying I won her Accuquilt Go! give-away.

Me.

The one that never wins anything.

I had to re-read it about 4 times before it sunk in.

But I'm not a screamer.

So what did I do?

I put my head down on the desk and cried. Not a big cry .....cause I don't cry either.

And this actually happened like Monday ( I think...its been an insane week). And I didn't even scream and yell and tell everyone.

Because I still had to see it to believe it.

Oh yes I did.

Cause I just don't win anything.

And I must confess.

I do feel slightly guilty about winning this beauty. Because you see...this blog....Jane....well, they are in England. So I feel like I cheated one of the lovely ladies across the pond out of the bestest ever give-away.

Obviously it didn't bother me too much......

Today my toy arrived. And I confess it sat on the couch for hours. And I'd keep walking back through the room and checking to see if it was still there. It was SO like Christmas when you are 6.

But after finishing up some much needed things that I was afraid to put down before opening that box.....

I finally took it out to play!

And I've only played a little....and I need to get back to my other projects....but you will be hearing more.

Oh YES you will!

Tag Your It!

My friend Sandra at Dairy of a Stay at Home Mom tagged me Thursday (I haven't kept up with my blog reading this week). So friend....you asked....

(By the way, I'm glad you didn't ask me the same questions you answered as it might have looked like I was copying most of your answers.)

1. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Biggest????? Wow. I don't know. I have lots of small pet peeves but not a really big one. Most of them tend to be about other peoples behavior(!!). Wait -- how about people that claim racism is a thing of the past and that everyone gets made fun of. That steams me bad. And if its in my own home...its people not shutting drawers, doors, closets, etc. Cause really? What type of pig is so lazy they can't shut the napkin drawer? Or shut the cabinets after putting something away? I'm a pig and even I don't go that far.

2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Wish I was naive enough to answer that. (A pressing question at the moment too..see #4.) Having traveled so much I know better. Home is where you make it -- which is what I have grown up under as did my mother. So really, anywhere that I can OWN a decent home and live comfortably on whatever income I have. And travel where ever I want to go any time I want. That is my perfect answer. Because where I live isn't as important as being able to visit all the other places I'd love to see.

3. Have you ever been searched by the cops? (LOL inquiring minds want to know)
No - I have never been caught. And these days I run with a pretty tame crowd. So I think I'm safe.

4. What is the one thing on your mind right now?

My dead husband. Don't panic. We had an appointment with our financial adviser for the first time in 4 years. Getting so close to retirement we are having to start thinking about the 1 million in benefits I will loose when he retires (should something happen to him). So I have all this research I have to do and I'm chasing my tail providing all new financial info because everything is out of date (a story in itself). One of the questions I have to answer before our next visit is WHERE would I want to go and buy a home and settle if hubs passed. Have to have the median house price and cost of living etc. I HAVE NO CLUE and its pretty much stumping me.

5. Favorite song right now.

Life is Beautiful - Sixx A.M.

But the song that has been constantly playing in my head like a family theme lately = Crazy Babies by Ozzie Osbourne

6. What talent do you wish you had?

Any talent that would make me like exercise and actually do it. Be a runner, a gymnist, whatever. This 5 pound a year weight gain has pushed me into fat momma status and I don't enjoy it.

7. Favorite drink.

Coca-Cola. With Coke and the Captain as a close second. (These are supposed to be honest answers right?)

8. In one word, how would you describe yourself.

undefinable


So I'm supposed to tag 8 more people. I think I'm going top use the same questions that Sandra asked me because they are pretty interesting. So if I tag you and you do the questions leave me a comment so I can go check them out!

Heather at Want What You Have
Bethy at Living, Learning Loving, Laughing
TM at Our Little Tongginator
Debbie at Suburb Sanity
Andrea at Sgt and Mrs Hub (who is not one of my readers but I love her blog..here's hopin')
Amy at Great Cakes SoapWorks
Wendy at Born in Our Heart
Courtney at Courtney Robyn's Nest


Have a great weekend all! Once again I'm off to camp. But this time its for "camp training" to get re-certified since Ohio doesn't consider Nebraska Girl Scout training good enough. Whatever. Its all adult girls out in the woods having fun.

Sweet.

(Except at night its in the 40's and we are in platform tents. Well, maybe it will make for some good blog fodder. But is that actually a good thing??)

Thankful Thursday

So is everyone getting used to their new schedules now that school and activities are back in full swing? Whew. I haven't got it all dialed in yet...still working on it!

And today feels like a really good day to count my blessings.

I am thankful for....

A comfortable home
healthy children
a stable paycheck
me time
active/involved children
God's grace
friends
learning and growing
love
the freedom of choice
all our service men/women, fire fighters, police officers and others that keep us safe

What are you thankful for?

Now I've Done It

Yep.

For years I said NO to the rat race.

I've said NO to so many requests.

And this year?

Some how, some way.....I ended up over-scheduled.

Me.

The queen of no.

How is this teen so busy???

(Not to mention adding in gymnastics and Girl Scouts for Mouse.)

And you know what? That kid that I'm in no hurry to put behind the wheel of a car? I'm going to be so worn out by the time she is 16 that she is going to be behind the wheel of a car.

I tell myself its because a busy teen is a teen that stays out of trouble.

After all, I did cut my teeth on a teen that was not busy enough.

Huh. Nuff said there my friends.

I'll take the over scheduled this time around.

So maybe the third one will be the middle of the road perfect schedule. Right?

I can dream anyways.

Teaching Myself to Paper Piece...

Quilt blocks of course. Not too hard to teach yourself, although one of my blocks has an obvious error.

And for the weekend I am off to the wilds with a bunch of Girl Scouts (none of which is my own child). I fully expect to freeze off my larger regions and cry like a baby about it when I get home.

Thought I'd leave you with something to look forward to. Cause I'm nice like that.

Snort.

20 Random Things That Make Me Cringe - In No Particular Order

TonnguMomma over at Our Little Tongginator did a post on 20 random things....

And I have nothing to blog about right now so this seemed like a good way to waste some time and put off doing housework that really needs to get done. I just don't wanna.

So here goes...20 random things that make me cringe...that you didn't want to know about anyways.....and are all about me so don't get offended.

1. Overweight women in bikini's. The real little ones. Having lived by the beach for several years I was shocked quite often at what the soft bodied will wear and show. Wow. We really didn't need that. Just sayin'.

2. People driving while talking on the cell phone. Or texting. My only close calls in the car the last 4 years have been with such individuals. You know, when hubs grandpa was in an accident his dentures where knocked down his throat (and took x-rays to figure out). Wouldn't it be poetic justice for cell phone talkers to have their cells knocked down their throats when they cause an accident? Just sayin'.

3. Kids with green snot thick as playdoh at the bus stop. Half of its on their face, part of its on their sleeve, some on the coat, crusty hands. That didn't all happen since leaving the front door. Keep that kid home or teach them to wipe their nose on a tissue. Or what about handkerchiefs? They still make them you know.

4. Looking in the mirror. Usually I'm pretty good at avoiding this....but occasionally a mirror will sneak into view on you...and you get a good look. No words. No words.

5. Teenagers who scream "you hate me" and then burst into tears. Seriously? I guess it could be worse...it could be "I hate you".

6. Children in inappropriate shoes. Do not show up for hiking or physical activity in flip-flops. It shows a serious lack of intelligence. Usually on the grown-ups part...

7. Words on the butts of clothing. I'm an obsessive reader. My eye is drawn to the written word.... and reading off someones butt is gross. LOL!

8. The stay-at-home vs. working debate among women. Why do people have to tear others down for doing something different. Lets do something new and exciting and actually help each other out and support each other instead.

9. Children that run around or scream in restaurants. Parent much?

10. Rude and aggressive behavior directed at minimum wage workers behind the counter. 9.5 times out of 10 the issue is not their fault, nor can they do anything about your bad day. Have a heart. Grow up. Take it to the appropriate level and stop kicking the dog.

11. The price of orthodontic care.

12. Any statement or conversation that starts with "I'm not racist but....".

13. People that think living through being made fun of or singled out for something is the same as racism. Its not. Enough said.

14. School supply lists and bogus school charges.

15. The chance of getting crapped on by birds out of nowhere. (Tell me I'm not the only bird crap magnet please!)

16. The realization that my daughter is just months away from learning to drive.

17. Tests of any kind.

18. Hateful political rants. Enough already. There are plenty of valid point to discuss....try it without the hateful or aggressive words and body language. And screaming is so not gonna help your cause.

19. Folding and putting away laundry.

20. Wondering where we will end up next.


And now...off to do some laundry.....

grumble...grumble..

Snapshot Saturday: The Lust and Covet Accuquit Go Edition

You know when I started quilting I kept noticing that those that quilt always talk about those unfinished projects or how many things they were working on at once.

I knew I was a one project at a time person so I didn't pay much attention.

Huh.

I have five (yes 5) quilts going right now.

Is that not insane?????

And for some crazy reason I love the 2 inch squares.

Do you have ANY ideal how much cutting that is????
So to share a few project for snapshot Saturday....which explains my lack of emailing, fb, etc.....

That yummy maroon is a quilt sandwich that needs to be quilted and bound and then its done. And see all those little squares? Doesn't even scratch the surface of the shoebox full I've been working on.

And this may or may not be one of those unfinished projects making use of some of those squares.

Which brings me to my new want in life. I lust after....I covet......an Accuquilt Go fabric cutter.
Yes friends, I could wear one of these out just using the 2 in square die.

But alas -- it is not to be. This little toy is about $250 on sale...and then there's the 2" die which is another $20.

Autumn just does not buy new toys that cost over about $40 bucks. Not on one income. Not with 3 kids. I even started to figure out how long it would take me by saving up the mad money I get each paycheck. Huh. Too long to bother with the math...thats for sure.

So, I will just continue to break some serious commandments and lust and covet. And keep on using those rotary cutters. I'm on my third one in a year an a half. And I've got the calluses to prove it!

Yes! When.....

The other day Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom blogged about saying yes. It is a great article and I encourage you to go check it out...especially if you are the mom of littles.

This is the way I think we would all like to raise our kids....with a yes on our lips. More times than not it turns out to be a blessing to your day and your childs.

I found myself smiling and agreeing with her post...which made me think about when I learned this lesson. With a little twist.

My first born was a challenge. A good challenge....a very BUSY challenge. And he was so busy that there were a lot of "no's", settle down's, etc. And he would bounce from one thing to the next in the blink of an eye. (And this was NOT and ADHD kind of thing...it was just such a zest for life and doing things and LIVING 100% of his day.)

It could be exhausting.

One day the doctor I worked for pulled me aside and told me she had seen my son at the local McD's with another family. I had to work and he had spent the day at a friends house. And the doctor told me that almost every word out of the adults mouth to the boys had been "no", "stop", "don't do that", etc. All negative.

At that point I got a lecture on positive parenting.

Although I didn't think I needed that lecture, and was rather shocked at her "relaxed" parenting when around her kids.....I did learn one of the greatest lessons from her.

Say YES as often as possible.

My response at first was saying yes to a child's request to "go do" whatever when I can't even get into the door of his room for the mess is really not going to work.

She assured me it was.

Because in those cases, its not just yes. It's Yes....when.

So my friends, even those of us that have to struggle with a child that needs alot of boundaries....there is still yes...when.

Yes, we can go to the park, when you finish cleaning your room.

Yes, you may have a cookie, when we are finished with dinner.

Yes, I will take you out for a lobster dinner, when you bring me a report card with all A's. (Yes that is an actual conversation with son. I paid for several lobster dinners in elementary school. Kid knows how to eat.)

So for the mom's who wonder just HOW to be a yes mom with their challenging child...

that's how you do it.

And you get to be the good guy. You are saying yes to the requests.

And with these children....make DOUBLE sure you follow through when they uphold their end of the "when". Otherwise you are just a mom that lies about the yes.

And that is worse than a no.

So give it a try today with your kids. Say "yes...when" to that request that would have been a "no...because".

Mighty Mouse vs. Gymnastics

With no clear winner.

So - some of you may remember our dilemma with P.E. last year.

The Mouse HATED gym. (And I don't like using that word - but it is the only one that conveys her true emotion.) As in crying for 1.5 hours almost every Sunday night because gym was tomorrow at school.

It was brutal.

And it last ALL year.

Add to that the phantom leg pains. She would cry and complain about leg pain on and off all year. CRY. Like she was crippled. I had her checked at the doctor office (it was a joke but don't get me started) and we would literally wrap an ice pack around her whole leg and strap it on to stop the crying. She even used dads cane a time or two. She slept with ice packs on occasion.

Was this real? Was this put-on due to hating P.E.? Was this incorrect shoes (which we worked on)? Was it a lack of potassium (more bananas - especially on Sundays)? And just so you know - we've only had leg pains once this summer....just this week after the reality of going back to school sunk in. Hmmmmmm.

So, I have been on a mission to try and figure out what type of physical activity I could put this child in that would get her moving and using those body parts. We've gone over all the usual stuff and finally decided to give gymnastics a try. Lighter on the running than most team sports, girly and something she thinks she is interested in. Worth a shot -- even if it does slow down paying off our debt.

One of MM's scout mates had a gym sticker on her van and I asked about them. Sounded like a good place as they do not only teach to competitors. Whether MM ever wants to compete is not a decision I would make for her so I was very comfortable with the fact that they conducted both competitive and non-competitive classes.

We dropped by the gym to check it out and found out we could do a trial class to see if she would even be interested.

And she has been SO excited this last week while waiting for that class. Bugs me every day!

Very promising.

So the evening arrived. We picked up the teen from her friends house on the way so I at least had company while I waited. Plus it kept me from having to go out twice (snicker). And we got the little mini-tour when we arrived and then waited for her class time since we came early.

While waiting we were in the observatory and looking at her class age....but she was drawn to the other side where the big girls are. The ones doing major cool stuff. And her eyes were so big! She was astounded that she could do this when she gets big!!

How the child that won't speak to human beings can be so dare-devil brave just confounds me.

Now, even with all of this, I was not sure how all of this was going to turn out. She had no clue or experience. She would have to interact with total strangers. She would have to take direction and respond to the teachers.

Of course she did great.

As a matter of fact it was a very entertaining hour. Sissy and I were in stitches as often as not!! (Yes, the other mothers were giving me horrified looks as I laughed my butt off at my kid.)

Things I observed during this hysterical 50 minutes:

1. My child does not know how to do jumping jacks. No wonder she hates gym - she probably gets made fun of for being such a colossal fail at the beginners stuff!!

2. 6 and 7 year old girls are very willing to help a new girl learn how to do jumping jacks. At one point the whole class had joined in trying to help her and the teacher had to round them back up into their own stations. THIS WAS FUNNY.

3. Even 5 other girls her age all working together CANNOT teach Mouse how to do jumping jacks. Will assign this task to teenage daughter before next class. It's a matter of pride now.

4. Mouse does not weigh enough to use the spring board. Nor does she understand what the spring board does since it does not move when she jumps. BUT Mouse does not give up and is very happy to just do it her way and be proud of herself. Even if mom and sissy are laughing at the show.

5. The Bug Crawl is almost enough to make me wet my pants.

You see, the bug crawl is when the girls put their legs up on the wall and walk on their hands from one end to the other. It is training for being able to do a handstand and strengthening for the arms. Which means their legs are together for the most part.

But Mouse? She doesn't get the legs together part.

So she is crawling along the wall in a full splits. With her crazy toes just kinda tip-toeing along the wall. And she can make it from one end of the wall to the other on those little stick arms.

We were busting a gut. They couldn't get her to understand and she was just so happy that she could do it!!! And as I'm snorting and choking back the laughs (no she can't hear me) I look at Songbird and say....."very reminiscent of Jungle Book?" And she says, "MOGLI!!!!!!"

And we laugh again. Because I'm telling you...it was like Mogli dancing!!! And ya know...the more I think about it...the more I think she could even pass for Mogli! Except she's a she. And not Indian.

And so the lesson ended. And it was a good thing because I think I'd had enough fun for one night.

And MM came running out to me.

And looked me dead in the eye.

With the biggest smile ever.

And said........

"I WAS AMAZING!!!!!!"

Yep.

She did.

And I picked up the registration papers and wrote out the check.

Yep.

I did.