So Tom returned from San Francisco early Saturday morning. He even had a chance to pick me up a Denver Starbucks mug since his flight was diverted. He arrived home

just in time for the two of us to go lawn mower shopping and get the grass cut before all the rain came. During the week Scott and I tried to get the old mower working so we could finish cutting the backyard. Tom was having trouble keeping the mower going last weekend and the rain did not help so we did not finish cutting the grass.  By Tuesday I got the mower working again and started on the jungle in the back. It proved to be too much for our poor old mower and it actually blew up! No starting it up again with a hole in the engine block! So Tom and I dropped it off to a scrap metal fund raiser collection for the football team at the high school and picked up a new push mower that we both like. Tom had to cut the lawn twice since it was so overgrown and wet, but he reports the new mower is so much better. I am sure the kids and I will have plenty of time to try it out.

While he was busy cutting the grass, I went off to get my hair cut and highlighted. Now I am ready for the summer! I have also been working with Scott on his Social Studies power point project on Madagascar, as well as a few other homework/test studying activities. He was off school on Weds and we spent the whole day working on school projects. I was not as helpful to Allison however. Her Physics mouse trap project was failing and was due Thursday. She was in a panic. She and her teammate had built the project mostly out of cardboard, so the more they ran it, the more it fell apart. I knew she needed some PVC piping, but I was off with Scott Weds night to a boy scout field trip to our county emergency center. Since Tom was out of town, I quickly gave my neighbor Dan a call. He came to Allison's rescue with a hacksaw after I located some plastic pipes and it was a miracle!  The project worked the first time Thursday morning in Physics class, and Allison not only got full credit, but extra credit for keeping the whole thing within a small base! Basically the project involved using 4 different simple machines(pulleys, hinges, etc) to make something happen. Her project turned on a light switch. So life is good and thank you Mr Dan!

Meanwhile, Scott and I were touring the 911 center for our county which was very interesting. We even got to hear a call come in for a fire. ON Thursday and Friday night we were off with the scouts once again, this time volunteering to assist with the hot air balloon festival in honor of the Preakness Horse Race this past weekend. (Sorry the Indy time trials were preempted Mark!) Our local golf resort puts on the fair with about a dozen balloons set up out on the course. You can get a ride up in the balloons, or they take off for a flight. Mainly we were helping keep the balloons grounded that would glow when the sun went down. On Thursday night the wind was blowing too strong, so we had to let our balloon deflate. I thought we would be holding onto guide ropes. We actually had to cling to the basket(really made out of wicker!) to keep the balloons on the ground. We also had to help inflate/deflate and pack and unpack the very heavy balloons. Friday we were able to keep the balloon up and enjoyed watching all the balloons glow at sunset. And it was interesting speaking to the balloon operator as he was from Battle Creek, Mi and travels all around the country for the different hot air balloon festivals.  I didn't realize how hard this job really was and how toasty it is under the blower! Boy was I sore after all that work! Mainly because I had just had a few shots Friday morning in prep for our European trip. (Those tetanus shots really hurt!) But Scott said he would do it again next year!

On Saturday afternoon he had his last golf lesson-a make up since it rained last weekend. He really enjoyed the lesson since they actually went out on the course and he got his first Birdie!  Too bad we didn't have time to get to his swim lessons this week.

On Sunday Tom and I took the kids to see the new Star Trek movie. Tom and I loved it, and the kids did too, but they sure have a lot of catching up to do! Between the Wrath of Kahn and The Trouble with Tribbles we could spend a whole summer doing Star Trek! We will make them little Trekkies yet! And Sunday evening we were busy being geeks again when Tom and Scott visited some friends to help their son set up a new computer system. I was not planning on getting involved, but I had to deliver some software for Tom to the house, so I took advantage of my visit with a glass of wine and some snacks. 

Allison meanwhile finished up her last official week of classes and her internship with the Kindergarteners. She enjoyed her last visit chaperoning a trip to the Baltimore zoo. Good thing she went since she is so familiar with the zoo she was able to guide the teachers and the kids around. They thankfully had a beautiful day, but she had to get home to go to work that night. And the kids and teachers gave her a big send off with really cute cards, gift cards to Target and the Salisbury bookstore, a necklace and keychainr and one child even made her a decoupage wooden box covered in Salisbury University pictures/High School pictures and Grade school pictures. Allison can't wait to take it to school. I just registered her for her college orientation this June. Tom will take her to campus for the whole day to register for fall classes and for an orientation program for parents and kids just before we head to Europe. I also had to mail off her immunizations for school, but she still needs a few more shots before she goes in the fall. So now she just has to get through finals week and practice for graduation.

I continue to keep myself very busy at Scott's school and around the house. Last Monday afternoon I was busy helping decorate the school cafeteria for the choir/band reception. Monday night I attended SCott's choir and band concert at his school. Allison got a chance to hear them during her internship. I am still running items up to the kids resale shop as I clean out closets and the garage. I just sold the kids old plastic wagon that we had since Allison was born! Since I have my fancy new folding wagon for camping, I did not need the bulky plastic one. I also managed to get all my flowers planted and sent out all of Allison's graduation announcements. Never a dull moment. I also had heard some sad news from my previous co workers. Our secretary's 26 year old son passed away, probably from an overdose. He had issues. I found out too late to attend the wake or funeral, so I will probably just send flowers and a card. We had some other sad news in our town concerning two special ed students from Allison's high school. Seems the 14 yo girl asked her 19 yo boyfriend to kill her father here in Ellicott City. I guess he was divorced and remarrying. Looks like his daughter wasn't too fond of the idea. Crazy world. And sadly we lost one of our hermit crabs. He had just shed his skin, but didn't make it. Boy did that smell!

Here are some photos from last week's activities, including Allison's physics project(it really worked!). Working with the boy scouts at the balloon festival. Scott rolled down the balloon to help deflate before rolling it up and stuffing it into a bag. He climbed up on the basket and we held it down too! We worked on two balloons "Stinky" and the "Purple People Eater". Scouts at the 911 center and the School Band/choir concert reception. I attempted to include a video clip of the kids singing. Hopefully it works!


On a happier note, a big Happy Birthday goes out to Stacey Seitz! And glad to hear Mark Seitz is feeling better after another medical issue. Once again, sorry about the horse racing Mark. I see the Kentucky Derby winner, Orb, came in 4th. Too bad. But the 50 yo jockey won our Maryland Preakness! Good for him.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!  Tom took off for San Jose, CA early this morning. Scott took me out to breakfast after serving mass this morning as an altar server. I think he has served every Mother's Day mass. Allison was busy this morning with her classmate finishing up her physics project that looks like a motorized Mouse Trap game. She has spent the weekend finishing up projects, doing homework and studying for upcoming tests. She has 3 more weeks of school and Scott has 4.

I was hoping Allison would have spent this weekend working on her Girl SCout Gold Award project. She needs Tom's help mounting her wooden bird models along the nature trail. I took Tom over to the nature center on Friday since he had just returned from his trip to Salt Lake City. I wanted to pick up the bird models for Allison and have Tom talk to the nature center manager to determine the best way to attach the wooden models to the trees. Turns out the nature center is making this project a lot more complicated. First Allison needs to coat her bird models with polyurethane and they recommend a week to dry, so no mounting of the bird models this weekend. I was a bit concerned that Allison needed to get this project done before her 18th birthday just like the boy scouts. Turns out she has until Sept 30th of this year to finish, so not as much of a rush. The nature center would like Allison to teach her classes during their July summer camps for the Kindergartners, so we have plenty of time. Allison has her presentation made up and just needs to print up a brochure for the trail portion of her bird education program.

Instead, this week she was busy finishing up some of her school projects. She had turned in her research paper and posterboard for her work completed at Resurrection with the Kindergartners-assessing test taking with computers vs paper/pencil. On Thursday night they had a Research Fair she attended with her Kindergartner Teacher/Mentor present. Tom got home early enough on Thursday night to run up to the school with me to check out all the projects. Tom was busy grilling all the kids on their supposed research projects(some kids just look up information rather than actually carry out research like Allison did). Tom thinks our elementary school kids at the catholic school did a better job with their science research than some of the high school kids. And of course, Allison did a great job on her research and her presentation.

The night before the two of us were at the GS board meeting/dinner. Allison received recognition as a graduating girl scout, and we had to sing at the event with the GS choir. The choir also won a recognition for all our performances. Allison went up to receive that award. And we laughed during the board meeting end of year review video as they used 3 different pictures of Allison in the presentation. And of course we spotted her photo in a GS brochure doing archery(again). Allison wants royalty payments!

I had to get Scott a ride to his boy scout meeting that night. He was just happy he did not have to participate in any service projects this weekend. (That is next weekend). I have also been busy helping him work on a power point presentation on Madagascar for his last assignment in Social Studies. But he also had a lot of tests to review for last week. We didn't make swim lessons on Thursday night because he was busy studying while Tom and I were off to Allison's presentation. Instead he went Saturday since it has been raining and storming this past week and golf was cancelled. I hope he gets a make up class since he was looking forward to going out on the course this last lesson. I told Tom he should sign up for the BS golf merit badge!

On Friday Tom and I had a play date. We finally got to see Iron Man 3(very good!). Afterwards we had lunch at Cheesecake Factory and shopped at LLBean that is closing in the mall. Scott needed a new book bag(couldn't make it to the end of the year!). Everything was on sale. We also went out shopping for a new push lawn mower but we can't settle on one that we both like and can use! Tom managed to get part of the lawn cut before the storms hit this weekend, but the mower is slowly dying. Has been for years now. Scott and I tried to start it this weekend to finish up, but we couldn't get it to roll over. I should invest in goats!

I also went back for another 2.5 hour session with the endodontist last week. She is determined to fix my tooth, but I now think it is a lost cause. We have 1 more session left, but she hasn't been able to get rid of the tooth sensitivity and I don't think she can. Mainly she just has to redo the root canal and close it up. Guess I will have to live with it, but at least it doesn't need pulled! I also had an online medical appointment with the traveling nurse. I wanted to make sure Allison and I had all our vaccinations before we went to Europe. It appears that Allison is covered, but I need a tetanus shot which I will get this coming week. The traveling nurse was jealous and wanted to come along on our trip! I did not make it back to the gym last week-just when I thought I was feeling better, I wasn't. Thank goodness Cookie gets a walk everyday!

Instead I did manage to make the kids mass this past Weds for the Crowning of Mary. They also have the 2nd grade class come dressed in their 1st communion outfits(very cute). And they had donuts and coffee before school to celebrate Mother's Day. Nice to be able to attend for a change. See all the fun I am having! I have also been busy cleaning our carpets with my new toy(Tom says Mother's Day gift). The Spot Bot by Bissell. A motorized small rug cleaner. It is great for kid and pet spills and spots. I was just sad I actually missed our neighborhood garage sale. They did not put out many signs, and I had given up on our web page since it was last updated in Oct. Guess they updated it cause the sale was on Saturday. I just did not have enough time to haul everything out of the closets to the garage! Guess it is back to the resale shop.

So another big Happy Birthday Wish-This time it goes out to Mark Seitz! 

Here are some photos of SCott at school on Mom's Day as well as Altar SErving. Allison working on her GS project as well as with her Kindergarten teacher mentor at the Research FAir and at the GS Board meeting with the Head of the Board, Sheela Murthy. 

Hope everyone has a great week!

I never realized just how busy my life was without going to work every day! I spent all last week running back and forth to the kids resale shop selling Scott and Allison's spring clothes that they outgrew. I managed to make over $100 and clean out their closets and drawers as well! And when I wasn't running to the resale shop, I was packing up extra clothing for a collection at church this past weekend. Not to mention all the errands I was trying to get caught up on like trips to the dry cleaner and returning items to several different stores. I also had to get a blood test for my new job.

I also spent some time shopping for a new wardrobe for the European trip scheduled this coming June! I can't believe it is just around the corner. And so is the trip I plan on taking to Michigan this summer with the Girl Scout troop. I was busy making reservations at the Cedar Point hotel, Castaway Bay which is an indoor water park. We will spend one night there at the end of July and then on to Cedar Point for a day before heading to Michigan and Charlevoix. I am hoping to spend a day with the girls at Mackinac Island as well. So that pretty much used up all our cookie money!

But before we get to the summer months, there is still a lot to do! Like Spring cleaning. I am amazed how behind I have gotten in my housework. Of course there is the everyday dishes and laundry and a quick wipedown. But real heavy duty cleaning takes a lot of work and time! I also got back to my swim aerobics class at the Y. And I even took time to attend the kids mass at Scott's school. Naturally, I went and caught the kid's cold too so I have been moving at half speed.

Allison was winding down from her bad cold, but I had to take her to the doctor for eye drops since she got a terrible case of pink eye. Can't work with the Kindergarteners like that! Fortunately, she was off on Thursday(Teacher Education Day) although she still had to work. And on Friday she attended National Physics Day at Six Flags Amusement Park with her high school class. Even though Allison is not big into riding coasters, she does enjoy their old wooden coaster which she rode several times. And anything that spins in a circle is good with her. She also had to fill out a physics worksheet-F=MA and all that. And they got a cool tshirt. There were other activities going on like science experiments and an egg drop, but the kids were busy mostly with the rides. Overall she had a great time, even though they had to go to class earlier in the morning as the park did not open until 10am.

But her big day was on Saturday, Prom night. She got her nails done in the morning before heading to work that afternoon. Afterwards she ran home and changed, and I took her up to our Golf course resort down the street so she and 22 other kids in her group could get photos! They wanted to use a gazebo, but there were already 2 outdoor weddings taking place and another monstrous group of prom goers taking photos by the swans. We got the goose pond instead and had to dodge golf balls out on the course! She then joined 15 other kids for a limo ride to a local restaurant, and then down to our Aquarium where they held the prom. She would have enjoyed walking around the aquarium, but it only stayed open for an hour and they were off eating dinner. They did get to enjoy the dolphin and jellyfish tanks though during the event. Around midnite, the limo dropped them off at the YMCA for the after prom party until 430am. Fortunately, Allison got a ride home so Tom and I did not have to get up early and go get her. But neither one of us slept well waiting to see if she still needed a ride home. Allison however slept very well most of the day on Sunday, but then she had to attend a GS summer camp organizational meeting in the evening. Not to mention getting caught up on homework and facebook!

We were also busy this past week with a girl scout event at a local country club honoring previous and current award winning women entrepreneurs at the GS Distinguished Women's Event. Allison was chosen last year to follow a business woman around her chemical company for the day. This year her mentor, Mrs Partlow,  paid for both Allison and myself to attend the fund raiser event with her and her family and to hear the experiences of this year's  newly chosen girl scouts. I see Allison manged to get her picture in their program booklet again(teaching archery) as well as getting a big hug and complement from one of the girl presenters on how awesome Allison is as the ultimate girl scout.

And since Tom was off to San Francisco for the week, I filled in at Boy Scouts. I attended a very long parents meeting on Monday night and joined SCott at his meeting on Weds night. Scott managed to finish up his Communication badge(another Eagle badge-Yeah!). He also spent his Saturday morning putting down mulch at his Scout's parish church with Tom. Service hours. Afterwards I ran him up to his golf lesson. Scott reported he did not have enough time to hit some golf balls on the range, so the two of us got out our 7 irons and hit a bucket of balls. I can't even remember the last time I picked up a golf club, but it actually felt pretty good to get in some nice swings. Guess all those lessons paid off! And SCott got a few tips on his swing from a fellow golfer on the range. His service hours spread into a half day at school when the kids headed out to a local park to plant trees on a rainy day. They came back full of mud. Maybe not a great school event!

And since Spring hit us hard, we have been busy again with our yard work. Scott had a half day of school on Friday. His school spent the morning participating in Field Day-outdoor games-which they usually do every spring. This year was a bit early. I was surprised they didn't need any more volunteers. I also would have signed up for Allison's trip to the amusement park or to her After Prom event, but she gets too embarrassed to have mom around. Anyway, we put Scott to work cutting the lawn along with Tom while I raked leaves out of the flower beds(again!).

Enjoy the prom photos and Allison with Jeannette Partlow at the GS Event.