Five for Friday May 30, 2014

Is it Friday already?
Amazing how your perspective changes when you are out of the classroom! 

I am excited about my first summer Five for Friday link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching. 

Love lounging at the pool with my boys each day. They really need the exercise and time out of the house and I need the opportunity to lounge in the sun. Once the water warms up, I will be sliding and swimming alongside them. 

For now, I am hanging in the shallow end with my favorite 4 year old inventing different ways to play with his pool toys. He loves having me throw the dive sticks through the dive rings as he holds them high in the air. 
Our adventures are not always a walk in the park because sibling rivalry, tiny tantrums, and boy battles often join us on our trips. Each day it gets a little better, perhaps because they are figuiring out that when I say we will really leave if I have to say anything "one more time."
There are some good things that come out of public discipline, I work on not yelling and I am perfecting that "I am serious" face. 

A kid's perspective on things is amazing! My oldest son asked if I used to play games like dominoes and Operation when I was a young girl. I told him that I did all the time. He then turned to his brothers and said, "Hey, let's turn the TV off and play games like mom did when she was young. You know, when she did not watch TV." 

I loved his attitude and desire to play, but had to laugh, you know TV was around when I was a kid, right? 

If you are looking for a game for the summer, for your classroom, or as a gift, I completely do not recommend the game Domino Rally by Goliath toys. 

Look closely, the red piece is supposed to be on the bottom of the bigger red piece holding the rubber band in place. This piece is what makes the really cool; too bad it did not last beyond a few trials. 

The game was about $16 at Target, and is not worth the money since one of the components broke after a few trials. 
Guess we will be taking another trip to Target, you can hear my crying right? Well, really if you hear any crying it is because my oldest is really upset that his domino plans were busted. Sure we could keep the set and use the dominoes, but I know I could buy a plain set for much cheaper.  

I just love the craziness of this kid! He loves to dress up and often mixes up his costumes, (monkey, Jake the pirate bandana, and Captain America mask) this day he called himself, King of the Monkeys!  

On to a much more serious topic. This week our neighborhood had police and news crews hanging out investigating a homicide. 

One of my neighbors shot his 30 year old wife and his 13 year old daughter was the one who called the incident in to the police. He is now in custody. The wife died, and the girl is without both of her parents. 
We were all in shock, they seemed like nice people. 
Ok, I am getting on my soap box. Domestic violence can happen anywhere, even in a small suburban neighborhood with hard working people. We were shocked and I really wish we could have helped her. If you are in a situation where you and/or your children are in danger, please talk to someone; find a friend to confide in, have a safe place you can escape to. Do not become a statistic and do not accept abuse as being ok, no one deserves it ever and you are not at fault! 
Sorry for that brief lecture, it has been weighing heavy on my mind this week. 

Hope you are doing great and are happy it is Friday. For those of you already on break, hope that it is going well for you! For those of you still finishing out your year, may the final days go smoothly and quickly! 

~Happy Friday~