So for those of you who don't know, March came in here like a lion and out like....a lion. Well, in any case, March 31st we had a big snow storm to lead us into April...



We survived the storm and even celebrated the last snow of winter.

But...April showers bring forth...April snow storms.

Yesterday, the snow began coming down in sheets at 4pm...and overnight we got ~14 inches. Throughout the day today we continued to see flurries. For the first time all winter, the kids got a snow day.



Ummm....yeah the last snow of the season?

I went to bed last night with a terrible headache after shoveling the driveway...and woke up with the same headache. I was hoping that my teenagers could help out a bit with the little ones, but apparently it was too much to ask.

The house was very loud and busy today, and I was in a rare bad form! I don't think I've ever been this grouchy and annoyed.

Actually, this whole month has been extremely busy. It's been so long since I've updated that I can really only throw in some of the highlights at this point.

For starters, our two teen-agers are driving us to drink. Beyond the homework assignments and teen sass is just the ugh factor. Teenagers are a new beast and Thomas and I are really struggling to adjust.

Andrew goes back and forth between walking up to me and saying "mom, you look like you could use a hug" and hugging me...which he does about 8 times a day, and getting upset and having full blown teen tantrums where he shouts things like "shut up" or "I don't give a sh**". Holy Cow. He always apologizes later. I know he's struggling with the changes he's experiencing, but...wow.

He has finally...finally (hey, it's only April, right?) figured out that if he studies for a test he can make a much better grade. He has basically been resting on what he knows or hears in class and hasn't cracked open a book all year. The result has been a steadily declining GPA and a very crabby and upset mom. Well...at long last, he started studying. Thomas and I both nearly fell over last week when he pulled out his geography book and was actually working on figuring some things out. He had 3 big tests on Africa last week and was panicked over them. He actually ended up with a 100% on each of the tests and his teacher came up to him and said...and I quote "Holy Shikeys, Andrew...so you studied, huh? I knew this is what you were capable of." Holy Shikeys?

Last weekend, he begged me to take him and his friends to see his high school's production of Anything Goes. He had seen the show at school on Friday and wanted so badly to go with his buddies. I readily agreed. I was encouraged that he is so interested in theater and culture. The other moms were also excited.



So off I went on Saturday night with 4 thirteen year olds to see a musical. On the way there, I tuned in to the whispering in my backseat.
"Seriously, so can you like...seeeee anything?"
"duh. Of course"

:huh:

It turns out, they all showed up to watch Reno Sweeny's 'Angels' do their dances with the sailors because they were wearing super short skirts and only...ummmm...underpants underneath. It was kind of set up like theater in the round and we were basically a foot from the stage. We were in the front row and at one point during one of the dances, I noticed 4 heads bobbing simultaneously next to me...I had to put my foot down and tell them to knock it off.

On the way home, I dropped the bombshell on them that I had played chastity (one of Reno's ummm...working girls) in the musical when I was in tenth grade and that I, too had done similar dances and worn a similarly short skirt.

Andrews' friends said "Oh my gawd...that is like just so wrong"
So I added "hmmmm...I wonder how many 13 year old boys came to look up my skirt"
Andrew freaked out "you are just sick!"

It was quiet for a few minutes in the van! When I got home, I was still freaked out about it. Thomas said "well, at least we know he's not gay" The other moms all got a good laugh over it....but I'm not ready for puberty. I'm just not ready.

Amanda has taken tweendom to a new level lately. Her hormones are completely out of wack as evidenced by the pimples and mood swings and we go from having her be helpful and friendly to being completely sassy, moody and tearful. Her room is a perpetual disaster area. Here is a picture from tonight only a day after she had cleaned it. You might notice that my photoalbum is back in her room AGAIN:




I know, I know...your daughter's Holly Hobby bedrooms will never look like this because you are good parents.... Peggy, let's get together for stiff drinks.

Alex had his Spring Recital (which Thomas ended up missing because of an emergency he had with a patient). He came home from school that day with a fever, laid down on the sofa and literally slept until only 20 minute before we had to leave. I told him that I was going to call his teacher so that he could stay home because he was too sick and he replied "I can't, Mom. I'm the narrator. I have to go." Envisioning my cherub as the master of ceremonies of his 3rd grade choir concert, I gave him some ibuprofen and off we went. It turns out that .... he was one of 13 narrators that each had a few lines. Gotta love how seriously he took his 'job'! He was so proud of himself.



In other news, I picked Alex up from KidStop one day last week and he was hiding in the back with 'Elise'. They were sitting on the floor throwing balls up in the air and trying to get the balls to hit each other. When he was getting his coat on, Elise ran up to him and said "bye Alex" and he looked down at his shoes and then half-whispered "are you going on the field trip tomorrow to bounce depot?" She said "yes" and he lit up and said "awesome...see you there" On the way home, I found out that they had gone on 3 'dates' at KidStop, had gotten 'married' and were throwing the balls up in the air so that the balls could "kiss".

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Alex? He is such a sweetheart.

Aidan and Zoe? Team Energizer Bunny. When I talk about Aidan being like a live action figure, I'm not joking. The two of them together can be real trouble. Today, they rode around on one of their bikes in the house, screamed, fought with each other, hugged each other, got into mischief together, climbed on top of the piano to turn on the fireplace...it was endless...endless.

Oh, my pounding head!

Watch them live here...you might have to turn your head around...I couldn't figure out how to get the video to play upright!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP6xYx3jWt4[/quote]