Things I learned yesterday

With Dan's dad being so ill- we make lots of trips back and forth to their home.  Which is an hour away.  Which calculates to a whole lotta gas. But that is not the point here.

 For the past three weeks, we've had one or another child ill, so I have been the one staying home with the sick kid while Dan packs it back and forth with whoever is healthy.

Yesterday- I declared a girls trip and me and the girls took off after school while the boys headed to the theater to see the new Star Wars movie (sam was so giddy I thought he was going to explode).  I have never felt so blessed.  Emily is generally a chatty girl and she even enjoys and looks forward to a daily study we are doing as well as an occasional trip to the grocery or where ever with me.  But Allyson?  She doesn't openly offer any kind of information with me most of the time.  And I miss her so much.  But yesterday in the car- wow it was awesome! 

Here are the things I learned on the trip to and from Richmond yesterday:
• Tyler refused to move to a quarantine spot during lunch and the principal had to come and 'encourage' him.
• The reed for her saxophone is too stiff and it is making her play weird.
• Her big school trip to Cincinnati is also the same day as the St. Patricks Day parade and she won't be able to go with us.  Boo.
• A basketball mom made player signs for each of the girls lockers that include their name and number.
• The wind was so strong on the playground this week that the mulch was pummelling Emilys legs.
• If you are late to Mr. Stricklands class, you have to write the entire alphabet 5 times (upper and lower case) before he will let you into class.  Allyson has had to do this.
• We thought Emily had somehow become a super math genius and I was silently kicking myself for not knowing how advanced her teacher is taking them in class- until we discovered she was using the calculator app on my phone.  Then we were relieved.
• Allyson's favorite conversation heart color is blue.  And they really do taste different than the rest.
• The girls are both worried about their cousin who is joining the military next month.  And so am I.
• Emily brought a jolly rancher sucker as her thing to 'do' on the drive.  One sucker can last an entire hour we learned, and eventually looks like a little leaf when it is all whittled down.
• Yesterday was a quiet lunch at the middle school.  They weren't even allowed to burp.
• One of Allyson's friends kidnapped her sketch book and drew a really bad picture of a toilet in it.
• Words with Friends does not recognize ROSEY as a word, even though it is on the schools website every week whenever they have applesauce.  I'm with Emily, we were robbed.
• One of the classes were not quiet during ISTEP this week and they had to write a sentence about being respectful during a test 100 times.  Allyson was not in that class.
• Mr. Day had Allyson show him her sketch in front of the entire band class.
• Allyson is pondering how we know that God is real. 
• Emily's teacher is planning a special party for the kids who have had perfect behavior cards this year.
• Jamal and Allyson are no longer going out.  Not that they ever went anywhere, that is just what 'it' is called now- you know, when you 'go' with someone.
• I am so blessed to be the mother to these two fabulous young women, I will never tire of talking to them.