I have a cold.  I feel miserable.  Don't expect anything out of me until I feel better and my house is no longer turned upside down.  I think I will nap for the next month and my kids and husband can get themselves to school and home and do their own grocery shopping and laundry and cleaning and make their own dinner and paint their own rooms and stretch their own carpet and arrange all the furniture exactly the way it's pictured in my brain and I can tell them it looks beautiful when I wake up.

Update on short a week:  Wednesday the assignment was to take in a picture of a short a word.  My first grader took in a picture of a racoon, flattering flannel pajamas, and a dragon.  He came home and said, "Everyone said my pictures are NOT short a words.  Dragon doesn't count because it isn't dragon it's draygon and pajamas is pajawmas, but maybe racoon was okay and they said I could use the racoon picture."  I said Minnesotans don't know how to say the short a sound.  He said, "Wait, you mean we're not Minnesotans?"  I said, "I guess you are but your parents didn't grow up here so your parents didn't grow up talking the same way Minnesotans do and so you don't either and we can say short a words."  "Oh ho, I get it. :)"
Just this evening after baths I had another educating conversation with my first grader.  He said something about the miniature golfing place we went to once last summer.  I said it was too bad we didn't make it this summer.  He said maybe we could still go on the weekend.  I said I didn't know if they were open in the fall or only during the summer.  He said, "Hmm.  That's too bad.  I wish summer things were open on the weekends instead of just in the summer.  I mean, how would you feel if Target was closed just because it was too windy and stuff?  Like what if you wanted to buy some (shrug- like he has to think about what we actually buy there or too much to think of what we buy there) things or decorations for [oldest child's] room and a sign on the door said closed and it was the middle of the day?  You would get there and just be 'whu?'"
I've decided I go to Target too much.
Why am I blogging on a Friday night you might be wondering... when I was hoping to spend my weekend decorating my oldest child's room?  We had torential rain yesterday and our basement flooded as they were laying our new carpet so now I am rather grouchily waiting for the carpet pad to dry. >: (   Did that look like an angry face? Where is a backwards capital D with lines across it to like teeth when you need one?  At least I have good neighbors who offer to lone me fans and shop vacs and pull up my carpet and a hardware store to rent an industrial fan when I need it and who tell me they love the carpet I picked out so I will feel a little better.

My favorite week of first grade is here!  I'm surprised it is already...  My favorite week is the short "a" week.  This is the week the first grade teachers send home a list of the weeks activities related to the short "a" sound and the kids get to bring stuff from home that has a short "a" sound.  What makes it my favorite is on the list of activities they also include a list of possible short "a" words.  Here's the list: 
"Please note:  the short "a" sound is the sound heard in the words apple, cat, hat, grass, and pad.  Words such as car, straw, paw, and jar, are not short "a" words but are affected by the "r" sound.  These words follow different phonetic rules that will be taught later in the year.  Thank you for your help!!!"
This always puzzled me with my first two kids. "Why with the short "a" sound do we need a list of options?  Isn't it pretty obvious?  They don't do that with the other sounds."  I found out a couple of years ago when my friend was trying hard to find something to send with her first grader to school that had a short "a" sound.  She couldn't think of anything and asked me.  I started spouting off all kinds of words.  We had a good laugh.  Minnesotans often say the short "a" as a long a. (Wagon, bag, for example).  I learned why they send home a list of possibilities & I've been looking forward to this week ever since.  It makes me smile.

Saturday (August 28th) we spent the morning at the temple with our ward or congregation.  My two posts below this, the videos, are meant to go along with this one.  Since I added video you'll have to pause the radio to watch them.
My husband was in charge of planning this event and he did an amazing job, but he won't let me say that- he wants me to say lots of people were involved.  Those who no longer need babysitting were asked to attend early (7 am) and then stay to help with the children at the church next to the temple.  My husband and daughter went early and I came at 9 with the boys.  I didn't attend the temple this time, I helped take care of the newborn babies who mostly just slept (so it was super peaceful and I thoroughly enjoyed it- I need some new nieces and nephews).  Since my husband and daughter went early my daughter helped with the toddler age kids and my husband was in charge of one of his "stations" he planned.  The children ages three to twelve were divided into groups and then they each received a "passport".  They took the passport with them to different classrooms or "stations" in the church and at each they learned about a foreign country and a temple in that country and got their passport stamped with a sticker from that country.  My husband's station was Switzerland of course.  I was very impressed with the men planning this activity all by themselves. :)  Enjoy the following videos. :)