Week 36...

We are in our last week of school.  WOO-HOO!! and BOO!!!  Apparently this is a bitter-sweet time.  We have been working hard all year to get to this point: the end of the year.  Yet, as we now find ourselves staring in the face of this mammoth goal, it seems to be too soon. I must find was to occupy these munchkins days! ALL DAY! So now I will be planning the annual Willimas Familia Summer Camp.  *panic setting in*

Of course the majority of the time will be spent in or by the pool and ocean, this is Florida!  Then there will be the requisite bowling tourneys that we challenge one another to, many, many movies watched,  and picnics by lake and at the park.  With all of this stuff to keep us busy- it's hard to believe that it will not be enough!  

I have to go plan all the fun we will be having- starting NEXT week.  For now... it's back to grading papers, going over quarter reviews, administering end of the quarter tests, and MOUNTAINS of paperwork!  I can't believe that I'm even blogging right now!  In fact- I'm going back to helping Brian with his Religion Exam... *sigh*

Happy Birthday, Big B!!!

Today is Brian's 9th B-day!  

Yet again, the time seems to be FLYING by... 

This is a chid with a tender, loving heart.  He's always ready with a smile and kind words.  Each day, after we have finished with our school work for the day, he will not leave the school room until he has given me a very thoughtful hug.  By that I mean that it is long and loving; you can't help but feel loved when you are with this child.  Add to that his AMAZING sense of humor, and uncanny ability to pick up and properly use quotes  form TV and Movies.  He's a trip!  I encourage you to look back on some of my older posts about this funny little friend of mine.

Here's one of my FAVORITE baby pictures of him....

And he requested that I take a picture of his new Webkins...

Here's to NINE AMAZING years, Big B!!  I will be saying extra special prayers for you today!  You are a blessing to everyone you meet.  

I love you, sweet boy.

WICKED! Awesome!!!!

In honor of my amazing evening at WICKED! I'm writing this all in green!  Also because "Pink goes good with green!!" ( You have to see the play)  It was so well done!  I was so impressed with the entire production!  The stage!  The acting!  The music!  THE COSTUMES- wow!!!!  To have experienced this with Meg was a blessing!  We tried to remember all the things we had seen together.  They vary; from Harry Connick, Jr. to American Idol, and who can forget Michael Buble??!!!  So this was another stellar addition to our list of experiences together!  She is an amazing Daughter of God, and a pretty rockin' friend!  Love ya, Meg!! 

  Here are a few pics of us and a little video we did while waiting for the show to begin:

Myself and Meg before the show and minus the green effects.

Our seats, until we MOVED, to better ones!

Again, REALLY?

I would like to redirect your attention to a past post, I believe it was from last summer, when we had an unwelcome visitor.  Click HERE for a link to that post.  Why?  Because we had a repeat performance recently, that's why.  Read on, my friends, read on...

So I'm wondering why all things that slither feel drawn to this house?  Seriously?!!  We are overrun with lizards and frogs at every turn, and the snakes seem to think that they would be happier inside the house!  I don't know if my heart can take much more of this!

The story goes that Meg and Grant were downstairs doing dome work while the rest of us were upstairs doing school.  Then there was a lot of ruckus and Grant yells, "There's a snake in the house!"  We all rushed down the stairs, why?  I have no idea, but we did, and by the time we all got down there the back door leading into the garage was wide open, so I followed the herd outside to see what all the hullabaloo was about.  There, in the driveway, stood Gerry (one of the cleaners who come each Tuesday) with a black snake wrapped around his arm.  I might have been scared- but Gerry had a good grip on it, and it's head wasn't very big.  He was just L-O-N-G.  Here's a new video of the new snake.  I love it when he asks the kids if they wanna play with it, and they all take a step back.  Oh!  And the part when he says he's gonna let it go near the lake so it can eat all the rats and mice... nice touch, Gerr... that SOO made me feel better.  I thought to myself, "Sure he'll start with mice, move up to rats, and eventually be ready to start feeding on my munchkins!  Thanks for that warm and fuzzy thought."  

Enjoy...

What I Wouldn't Give to Have an Adult Conversation...

So, one complaint ALL moms have is that they miss having conversations with adults... I think the same could be said for nannies.   Bill Cosby is well known for saying, "Kids say the darnedest things!", and that is SO true.  My munchkins, however,  excel at saying the darnedest things...

Here is a taste of the conversations I've had thus far this morning... (It's not 10 AM yet...)

Brian LOVES to play with my hair.  He does it without even thinking about it, he just reaches over and fingers a few strands as I read to him or review the day's lessons.  He's a very sensitive child with a wonderful heart.   Today we were cuddling on the couch and he was playing with my hair, as usual.  He says, "Your hair always feels like plastic." I knew what he meant.

"Because, I have moose in my hair, silly." (A girl's gotta look her best!)  "It makes it feel funny." "Ahh, but it makes it LOOK good!"  Then John Paul pipes in his less than two cents, "Are you sure it isn't a DEER?" Of course this erupted into a litany of possible wild game that could be making my hair feel like plastic.  Elk, caribou, water buffalo, antelope, alpaca?  The fun is never ending around here.  

After the noise died down a bit, I began to herd (pun intended) the kiddos upstairs to the schoolroom to begin the day.  Celine, the youngest, asks me to sit with her, that she had something to talk to me about.   She says, very seriously, 

"Shanny, I think I'm allergic to Math..."

"Really?  How can you tell?"

"I don't know, I just can.'

"Well, are your eyes itchy?"

"Uh-huh..." (As she rubs them for effect)

"Do you sneeze a lot?"

"Yes."

"Is your throat scratchy?"

"Kinda."

I sighed, and grimly shook my head and gave her my professional diagnosis,

"Well, it DOES seem like you may be highly allergic to Math, Beans ( her nickname), but there is something that can be done..."

"What?"

"When I was a little girl, I had really bad allergies,"

"You still do!  You sneeze all the time!"

"Yep, anyway, I used to have to go every week and get allergy shots so that my allergies wouldn't be so bad."

"Shots?"

"Uh-huh."

"With needles?'

"Yep, BIG ones." In a heartbeat's time she replied:

"Yeah, I don't think I'm allergic to Math anymore." And she climbed up the stairs without another protest.

So my number is 555-NANNY if you'd like to engage me in a little grown up speak.  Maybe discus the stock market, politics, or debate religion.  On second thought, I'll stick with the kind of conversations that deal with grazing mammals and school related allergies.  It's more interesting...  

I'm Going to See WICKED!!!!

I am soooo happy!  I haven't been this excited about entertainment since I found out I was going to see Michael Buble!!  (There he goes, again, weaseling his way into my posts!)  And just like with Baby Buble (Grant's name for MB) I get to experience this with Magoo!  That's my dear friend, Meghan- who I am blessed to work with and love oodles!  We've seen many a show together, and now we are treating ourselves to WICKED!  We are going on Tuesday, and I think I just might take this opportunity to wear that little red dress I bought a few months ago!  Now... do I paint my skin green?