My favorite insect is…..Itis a primatis (praying mantis) and win tha git mere (they get married), the gro es the blo. (the girl eats the boy)

Rules are important because…..You can brace (break) them.

I stay healthy by…..I nowut (don’t want) to stay healthy, to eet Junc fod!

The moon…..has ashtrnot and ilins (aliens) and the cmaneegl bas (commander base) and the moudr ship.

I love my mom because….because I don’t lice my mom and she is men (mean).

The teeth are important because….I do not brush my tef! I lice to noc ot (knock out) my tef.

Clouds are important because…..Thay can hrt you! Liteen can stric you! You can get on fire!

I love my dad because…..I hate my dad. I love my mom bot I hat my dad. Tac that dad.

Friends are important because…..I hate friends thay are dom. I slap my friends and I punch them. I hat my friends.

My dad moved in at the end of January when he started his new job. This area is home to my parents, but they moved 500 miles away five years ago for another job after he was laid off. My mom has stayed behind to sell the house and dad goes back almost every weekend. He’s been fixing everything around my house to earn his keep—the downstairs toilet now flushes, the pantry and closet doors now open and close easily, there are no more holes in the walls where towel rods used to be, and a section of ballusters that have fallen from the porch banister will soon be replaced. I haven’t showed him the water damage around the shower in the master bathroom yet.

The kids are growing fast–they’re 9, 6, and 4. We took them on a plane to Alabama to see "Granny" in October and she spoiled us rotten. We received a few compliments from other passengers about their behavior on the way there, so they earned a little bit of extra spending money (we have a rule that if anyone tells me how well-behaved they are, I have to give them a dollar, but the compliment has to be sincere and unprovoked). Highlights of the trip include visiting the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, the McWane Science Center in Birmingham, and Lookout Mountain and Rock City in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

She’s a great friend who I really admire, and I feel honored that she considers me a blogger (and a nice one too!) since my posts are so sporatic.

This award is given to "those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends & those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

I would like to give the Nice Matters Award to YOU! Just the fact that you are here, caring enough to click over, that means a lot. Hopefully there are at least 7 people who come by.

Ant has always had a great desire to learn, so since he was 3, I have bought workbooks to help teach and challenge him. Even now that he’s going into 4th grade, he enjoys doing workbook pages for fun. I’ve found the best workbooks at Costco, or at a teacher supply store.

My mom was a great teacher. She tells me that all six of us kids were reading before we went to kindergarten. In the summers during my elementary years, we would occasionally have Mommy School. I remember having a Spanish workbook one summer that taught me the numbers 1-20, and colors, and words like zapatos.

This morning we started ABC Momma’s Neighborhood school. Ant, Bud, and Cutie, and a few friends from next door all had some quality workbook time to brush up on their skills for school. They had PE/recess in the backyard, arts and crafts with Legos, and are now begging me for snack time. We’ll have an economics lesson at the grocery store later this morning, and then a science lesson at the local discovery center this afternoon. Maybe next week we will have a history lesson at the museum.

I’m glad there’s only a few weeks left.

The last month has been HOT! We’ve been hibernating in our air-conditioned house, or we’ve gone "swimming" at my sister’s pool (more like dog paddling or floating on tube), or we’ve gone to the free family movies at the theater (for which they don’t turn on the a/c).

The boys have been grounded since June from playing video games on the computer or Playstation. They were sneaking in the middle of the night to the office and would play a few hours and then they would be difficult children throughout the next day. Normally they would be allowed to play one hour per day as long as their chores are done. They were almost ungrounded a few times, but they would get caught sneaking again–usually the night before their grounding ended. Silly boys! We have now hidden the Playstation power cord and have moved the computer into the kitchen (locked with a new password) to save them from themselves.

They are good boys, though. Ant was assigned to give a talk in Primary at church today. He wrote the whole thing by himself, and just asked me to help him find a scripture passage about faith. He spoke very clearly as he read a short story, related it to a scripture passage, and then shared his feelings about it. I’m so proud of him!

Last night, after family scripture time, Bud said that he didn’t believe it–the scriptures, Heavenly Father, Jesus, etc. He’s told me before that he doesn’t want to me a missionary or go to church when he’s a grown-up (he’s 6 now). All I could say was that I believe it. Dh told Bud that it is his choice to believe what he wants, but he (dh) believes the scriptures are true. I think Bud was just trying to get a rise out of us. This morning he asked if he could turn on the TV to watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s program. Then, he chose to sit by himself at church–two rows up & to the side of us. If he wasn’t being so reverent, I would have made him come back, but he was quiet, sitting forward, looking at the artwork in his copy of the scriptures while the Sacrament was passed. He quietly colored on a program during the rest of the service. Afterwards, I was sure to praise him for his behavior.

Cutie is always eager to say the dinner or family prayer and pouts if it’s someone else’s turn. She has enjoyed her two Primary teachers who realize the importance of consistency for 3-year-old kids. They have been so good about having a classroom routine, and just showing up each week (or getting a parent to substitute if they plan to be gone), something the other 3-year-old class has been lacking. I subbed a few weeks ago when the lesson was on Daniel and Goliath. The other teacher was giving the lesson and brought a long strip of material and a light cushy ball and used them to show the kids how David might have used his sling to hit Goliath. The kids had so much fun flinging the ball all over the room as they were waiting for their parents to take them home.

Cutie will start preschool this fall. She still has two more years to wait until Kindergarten since her 5th birthday will be a few weeks after the cut-off date. She loves riding her red tricycle and a little pink bike with training wheels that a neighbor gave away.

About a year ago, I joined a private message board of moms. It was really addicting for a while and I had a hard time regulating the time I spent chatting. It’s the main reason I haven’t posted on here as much. Since the computer has been in the kitchen (instead of secluded in the office), it’s been easier to walk away from it since I’m constantly reminded of my children and household responsibilities. Balance is on the horizon.

Some family members have told me they miss my posts (I used to tell them if they wanted to know what was going on in my life, they should read my blog), and I realized today that I miss connecting with my old blogging friends. So I’m coming back. Will you forgive my absence? My goal is to post once a week, at least. I’ll try to have something more profound, or something more witty to say next time, instead of just catching up.

Cutie has a birthday just after the state’s deadline of "the kid has to be 5 on or before September 1 to be able to attend Kindergarten that school year," so she will start kindergarten in 2 1/2 more years when she’s almost 6. She seems like she’s ready to start in the fall; maybe not maturely, but cognitively. I just want her to go to one year of preschool before K, so there’s a year-and-a-half of time to fill. I think we’ll continue with ballet until the fall, but then we need to look for another activity that she can do two or three times a week. What programs or activities have you tried with your kids?

Remember that 1986 Mercedes that is dead in our garage? Dh just called and said he sold it to his mechanic. Wooo Hooo! Now it’s time to go shopping for something more reliable. I borrowed my sister’s Lexus SUV the other day and it was so comfortable and smooth. Hmmmm. Anyone selling a 1990’s Lexus?