Delusions of Grandeur

As I was going through Isabella's school folder the other day, I came accross this:

Now let me start by saying that Isabella is very good at doing basic addition and subtraction, but this,... well, this is a whole different ballpark. This is no 2+2, people! I can't even begin to tell you how amazed I was that she was doing this type of math. And to get an "Excellent!" from her teacher. I mean, WOW!

So I approached her while she was watching Sponge Bob (let the record reflect that this was my first mistake), and beaming with pride, I ask:

Me: "Isabella, did you do this?"
Without looking at me, she responds with a less than enthusiastic: "Yes."

Me: "Baby, this is amazing! You are adding and subtracting double digits here. And you got them ALL right!"
Again, with her eyes glued to the TV and barely acknowledging me, she says: "Uh huh."
 
Me: "Holy Cow, girl! This is a big deal. How did you do it?"
And maybe it's because I'm not letting her concentrate on her beloved TV show, or maybe it's because she's tired of me going on and on and on about it, or maybe it's because she thinks I should stop celebrating and looking and sounding like the village idiot, but she finally looks at me and says:"I did it with one of those things, you know... the thing with the numbers?!"

Me, now really looking and sounding like the village idiot: "You mean a calculator?"
Isabella: "Yeah, a calculator. Those things are the greatest. You don't even have to think or anything."

And just like that, without a single care in the world, she popped my visions of having my very own little Doogie Howser, MD.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Last Friday we went to see Madagascar Live at the Orpheum. We all really like the Madagascar films and we really enjoyed it live. Luckily, everyone who went to see Shrek, The Musical got a special discount code for this show. Our tickets were only $15 per person for really good seats. Not bad! Unfortunately, as soon as you walk into the theater, you're smacked in the face by the ridiculously expensive souvenirs,... which cost us almost as much as our four pack of tickets. Ugh!

2. The kids and I are somewhat totally addicted to this game and play it on my phone CONSTANTLY! And the funny thing is that I am so not into games.

Have you played it yet?

OMG! It is hilarious!

3. I got to spend ALL DAY (10:00am-10:00pm) Saturday with all kinds of fun crafty women at Eclectica's Pizza Crop. I scrapbooked. Not for a class, but for myself. I seldom get to do that anymore.

 It was nice!

4. The other night I was browsing our local Craigslist and found a posting for a "Vintage Retro Loveseat". I was intrigued, so...

I clicked. 

I called. 

I saw. 

I bought. 

Scott and I are going to pick it up on Wednesday. I am so excited. It is adorable! Can't wait to share it with you guys.

5. Once upon a time I used to watch American Idol. But Simon Cowell and his unnecessary badgering and Paula Abdul and her crazy talk about souls and auras were just too much for me. So I stopped watching. And haven't for many seasons. I didn't even watch when Ellen was judging. But I am loving it this year. I really like the new judges. I think Steven Tyler pretty much ROCKS! And I really like some of the contestants this season, especially:

 

6. I am currently in LOVE with, and cannot get enough of, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, and Ray LaMontagne's music. I could listen to it all day long.

7. I am right on track with my reading challenge goal of 35 books in 2011. This makes me happy. I so love reading a good book! I'm also enjoying being a part of Goodreads. Please be sure to look me up if you happen to be a part this awesome book-loving network. Oh, and also, if you have any book recommendations, please feel free to share. I'm always looking for a good read.

8. Ricky Martin was just in Puerto Rico for a weekend full of concerts. I swear, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE of my female Puerto Rican friends (at least all the ones who I'm friends with on FB) went to at least one of his concerts. Their concert photos are ALL over my Facebook news feed. OK, so maybe I am just a tad bit jealous... and bitter.

Hello, gorgeous!

And yes, before you go there, I am well aware. 

But he's still smokin'!

9. Parenthood is finally back this week. Have I told you lately how much I love this show? It is one of my all time favorite TV shows. 

10. I adore this photo of my sweet girl. 

 

I especially love that it's proof that we play hard, to the point of passing out from sheer exhaustion.

Making me happy right now...

driving down Cherry Road to witness this breathtaking scene

cute $10 shoes for the kids from Target

adding beautiful greenery to our patio

 

 

this girl and her amazing imagination and creativity

this boy and his hilarious and CRAZY ways

knowing that my he will be here in a few weeks 

to celebrate his 40th birthday with us

going to see this with the family tonight

Wordless Wednesday - Mom & Me Pottery

Her beautiful Spring Break camp masterpiece...

 Fiesta Time Chip & Dip Bowl 

The result of the nightmare of a project we did at our last GNO:

 Glass Fusion Tray

Ten on Tuesday

1. I should probably start by letting you know that I've been in a HUGE funk lately, just feeling a seriously bad case of the blahs. But I'm sure I'll snap out of it soon. At least I hope I will. So anyway, I'm going to try to keep this as light and happy as possible... no need to go all Debbie Downer on you guys.

2. Last week was Spring Break for both the local city and county schools. Which lucky for us, meant both Isabella and Sam were off at the same time. This is not always the case around here. So, in true Butler fashion, we managed to cram lots of fun stuff into our week together.

3. We kicked off our Spring Break week by celebrating Sam's birthday...

Whoa! Apparently I blinked and our BIG boy turned three. Just like that! OK, so I am clearly mourning the fact that we no longer have a tiny itty bitty baby in the house. Anyway, birthdays means presents. And as you probably figured out from his birthday post,  his mommy and daddy got him a battery-operated four wheeler. And yes, the boy is in heaven... and so is his sister, who's apparently now become the spokesperson for "sharing"!

4. OK, so I just tried to upload a couple more photos to go with this post, and apparently I have used up all the free space they provide you when you start a blog. Huh? Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? What did you do? Do you purchase additional space? HELP!  
(BTW, pictures to come once I figure out this blog issue.)

5. It was a bit cool at the beginning of the week, so we decided to go bowling with our neighbors, Christie and Madison. Yes, there were bumper pads and ramps involved, but Isabella got herself a strike. And she was SO excited! I so wish I could share that photo with you. It is too cute!

6. Isabella got to go to Paint a Piece's Spring Break Camp, also with our neighbor. It was on Thursday from 10-1 and they got to tie-dye a t-shirt and paint a chip and dip bowl. She loved it and can't wait to go back again. Her and Madison are already scheming about all the workshops they plan to sign up for this coming summer.

7. On Friday, my mom and I took my niece, my nephew and my two kids to the park. They ran and played for hours. After that, we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, more playtime and ice cream cones. They thought it was the BEST. DAY. EVER!!!

8. Last year we bought three Cherry Willow trees at Lowe's. Two of them are doing great and gave us beautiful blooms this year. The other one is dead. Luckily, not only had I kept their tags and the receipt, but we still had 7 days left on their 1 year warranty. So, we dug that bad boy up, took it to Lowe's and got our money back. YAY!

9. And then immediately turned around and spent that money (and then some) on new shrubs and plants for our backyard. It never ends....

10. Did I mention we had our new windows installed? We did! And we are in love! They are open ALL. THE. TIME! We just can't believe what we've been missing.

It's official

Spring has begun!

It's my favorite season.

And the weather here has been AMAZING!

So we spent quite a few hours at Lowe's this weekend.

Mostly in the garden area.

And when we weren't at Lowe's, we were working in the backyard.

Working HARD!

Clearing, digging, planting.

And it all looks so pretty!

Happy Spring, everyone!

Just because

 She is fun

and funny

and sassy

and smart

and beautiful

and pretty much takes my breath away!

Wordless Wednesday - Sam's Birthday Fun

 I think it's safe to say Sam was one happy boy!

Three!

Dear sweet boy,

 The memory of our first meeting is so very vivid,

it's almost impossible to believe it was three years ago. 

Three years.

Together...

playing

learning

laughing

crying

dancing
growing

snuggling

discovering

singing

loving

living

WONDERFULLY BLESSED!

 Where has the time gone?

Happy Birthday, sweet, sweet love!

We look forward to many more fun years together!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Sam's birthday invitations have been created, addressed and mailed (as of today). Cat in the Hat, baby! Cause he knows a lot about that!

2. Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending a 12 hour crop at Eclectica.  From 10:00am to 10:00pm = Pure Bliss! I left for a few hours to attend Isabella's art show, but was there for the other 9 hours. I worked on my upcoming class, finished Sam's birthday invitations and created a few layouts. But mostly I talked. And got caught up with some friends. And laughed. A lot!

3. Our washer died a couple Sundays ago. Mid-load. Good times! Suddenly, all roads led to Lowe's...on our date night. Not exactly what we had in mind. One washer, one dryer and one dishwasher later, we left the store and headed for the movies. And yes, I realize we did not go in looking for a dishwasher. However, having to run it twice to clean our dishes is not exactly what I call energy efficient, so we decided to just bite the bullet and get a much needed new one as well.

4. Sam is doing a better job of sleeping in his room for most of the night and not coming into our room until about 5:00am. He is however, NOT doing a good job of listening. EVER! As my friend Katie from South Carolina would say, Sam is definitely "showing his butt" these days. And as his Puerto Rican mama, I would say he's certainly kicking mine!

5. Yesterday morning it was so hot and muggy, I sent Isabella to school in a short sleeve shirt and shorts. Thank goodness I told her to wear her jacket at the last minute, because of the rain. The temperature dropped so much and so quickly during the day, I felt terrible for her when it was time to pick her up. Mom of the year, baby! That's me!!!

6. I would love love LOVE to upgrade my camera to a Nikon D90 or a D7000. I'll have to make sure to get on Santa's nice list this year.

7. I've been reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and thoroughly enjoying every page of it. So much so, I'm taking my time with it and only reading when I know I'll have a quiet uninterrupted moment, which needless to say is not as often as I'd like. This book is sad and funny and heartbreaking and beautiful and so very different. I highly recommend it.

8. If you ask Sam how to spell his name, he will meticulously tell you it is spelled S * A * M. If you ask him what that spells, he will instantly tell you it spells Bubba. Oy vey!

9. I have a few projects I'm really excited to get to around the house and can't wait to share them with you soon. And they're BIG projects too! So stay tuned...

10. They believe they can fly:

I believe they can do anything they set their minds to :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!