Pictures

I'm so behind on posting pictures. Here are pictures from the pumpkin patch, Reed's first hair cut, Thade's football and many more must see moments from the last few months at the Gradke institution. I must say I prefer Reed's hippie hair but I did feel bad the poor boy couldn't see 90% of the time!

Thade got moved to Pre-AP Math last week. He is now in 3 out of 4 pre-ap classes. So we are very excited about that. Along with quarterback, he has been playing linebacker on defense and playing on the offensive line some. He has finally gotten over the fear of getting tackled so football is going well.

Work has been very busy. Against my better judgement and contrary to my futile attempt to "demote" myself and get out of management, I have since been suckered back into leading a team. Thus, I can no longer fall back on my "It's not my problem" line I have repeated dozens of times per day for the last year regarding everyone else's drama. Now I am back in the famous struggle of juggling my attempt at being a good wife, mom, employee, manager and golf pro.
Oh, did I mention I've started golf lessons? Well, I've actually only had one but after 30 minutes, I can hit the ball in the air and straight with a 7 and 9 iron. Not bad for the girl that shot 93 on NINE HOLES last time she tried to play. Stay tuned to the LPGA to see more.

Reed fix

Reed's new tricks!

Potty time!

Look where I found Reed yesterday when I left him unattended for 30 seconds to lay Adalae down in her crib.


Does this qualify me for the Mother of Year award? How about the fact that I thought it was that much more funny than gross that I left him there for an additional 10 seconds to grab my phone and take a picture.

Boys are gross

I'm learning that you have to be VERY specific with your questioning of an 11 year old boy. I found out last night that Thade had not washed his hair in at least a month. Here's how the conversation went:
Thade takes shower for 1 min 20 seconds and is somehow finished.
Rustin: "Thade, did you wash?"
Thade: "Yes."
Rustin: "Did you wash your body?"
Thade: "Yep."
Rustin: "With soap?"
Thade: "Yes, Dad."
Rustin: "Did you wash your hair?"
Thade: "Yes."
All sounds good at this point right? I'm thinking my kid has super powers and can move at lightening speed so he can get to his video games.
Rustin: "Did you wash your hair with shampoo?"
Thade: "No, I'm out of shampoo."
Here's where I chime in and ask, "Gross! How long have you been out of shampoo?"
Thade: "I don't know, maybe a month?"

Which in reality probably means 3+ months.

UGH!

Thade's Essay

It's getting increasingly difficult to post from home. Courtesy of Reed, the space bar, m, n, b, and v keys are all now missing from our laptop. Lovely.

Thade brought this essay home from English class today. The task was to use his vocabulary words in a paragraph.

My Dad is a great person. I can attest to it even though his decisions can be contestable. He's still very great. He thinks I'm very loquacious at school. He gives me a lot of eloquent speeches. You can say he's got a skill in oratory speaking.

The funniest (saddest) part? There were at least 2 words in that paragraph that I didn't immediately know the meaning.

I tried to get a picture of Reed and Adalae. This is what you get after 42 pictures. As you can see, Adalae is on the verge of a breakdown. The next 12 pictures are of her screaming and Reed attempting to place her pacifier in her mouth.

On the other hand, Adalae was picture perfect this day:

Thade update

Yesterday, Thade got moved to Pre-AP English and Reading! He will take the COGAT aptitude test next week to determine his eligibility for Pre-AP Math. I was so excited for him. Needless to say, when I asked how he liked it, his only response was, "It's hard." So, being the over-explainer that I am, I tell him how great an opportunity this is for him and if he takes AP classes in high school, he gets college credit, and how privileged he is to be selected for this advanced learning opportunity, etc. I'm fairly certain he tuned me out after the first 10 seconds because when I finished my "lecture", his response was, "How long do I heat up this spaghetti?"

I received an email this morning from his Pre-AP teacher letting me know that Thade continues to have a talking problem during class. He has been moved to another seat, but if the problem continues, he will be moved back to regular (ugh - average) Reading and English. I told some people today that I think I should go sit in on his 2 Pre-AP classes to show him how serious I am about this (or maybe embarrass him into behaving?) Hey, whatever works right? Anyhow, the feedback I've gotten has been mixed. Some think it's a great idea, while others think I'm going to see him on the news one day committing some atrocity because he never got over his mom showing up at school and sitting in class with him.

Any advice out there?

More Salsa Please

I know by posting these pictures, I will make many of you insanely jealous of the quality of photos my camera phone takes.

We have recently discovered that Reed loves salsa. He will eat ANYTHING if he can dip it in salsa. He dips his quesadilla, chips, beans and shredded cheese. Yes, I did say pinto beans and shredded cheese.

Here he is getting started. After I failed to notice he was out of food, he proceeds to pick up his spoon and scoop spoonfuls into his mouth.

I realize this and give him more quesadilla which he promptly begins to dip and suck the salsa off.

Yes, Reed ate this entire bowl of salsa by himself. He was very close to licking the bowl when I had to physically separate him from the table and take him outside because of the major meltdown he had to be away from his salsa bowl.

I'm sure Nanny was very thankful to me regarding our food choices during diaper time the next day.

Thade played his first game on Saturday. He played quarterback in Hurrican Ike aftermath with SIDEWAYS rain, mud and wind. They lost but he played great! I was very proud of him and it almost makes me sad to see him leading a football team. He seems so independent, ok well he IS so independent.

Anyhow, that's it for now before I go all sentimental on ya'll.