Good days, long days . . .

It was a warm, spring-like weekend, and a busy one.
Saturday, after a warm and fuzzy nap . . .
we went to our town's first annual St. Patty's Day parade.
We headed out with Mom, David, my visiting friend and the kids to witness the festivities.
It was a small showing, being the first year and all, but it was fun. Hopefully it will grow from year to year, and then we can say . . . "we were at the very first one . . . "
My boys love parades. What kid doesn't? These are the things the kids liked best:
After that, we went to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in town and ate until we were stuffed to the gills.
Then, we went to Memorial Auditorium to see an Irish story-teller by the name of Rosie Cutrer. We had a grand time listening to tales and some folk music. I learned that a bum clock is an Irish cockroach. Something new everyday, I tell ya.
The boys had a good time and participated when it was called for. At the end, we got some free bookmarks and "fairy dust".
It was a grand day, out and about.
When we went home, the boys wanted to watch The Two Towers, the extended version.
I went into the boys room and played with the baby for a while. I don't think he's ready to see Orcs. I'm not even sure I am! : ) Actually, I love The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But I do think it is a bit much for Daniel to be watching.
Before we knew it, it was time to get the boys ready for bed.
Daylight savings would be robbing us of an hour of sleep, but the reward of a longer day is worth it in my book. I love these days when the lengthening sunlight stretches out over the evening hours in blushing pink, translucent purple and creamy orange glows, fading slowly into the indigo fabric of the night.
After the boys got settled into bed, I heaved a sigh of relief and settled down myself to watch The Secret Life of Bees. Do you even have to ask? Of course I cried. Really, it was a good movie. I think it helped that I read the book for book club and was able to discuss it before it was even considered for a movie.
We had a full Sunday, too.
After church we had lots of visit time with friends and family, ate lots of good food, and got lots of tired. We all were wiped out from losing that one precious hour (really, it doesn't sound like a lot, does it? But it feels like a lot).
Yesterday was a rainy Monday, though still warm. I had a bunch of grading to catch up on since grades were due and I had parent/teacher meetings in the evening.
During the afternoon, though, Daniel came down with a 102 fever, so I sent grades on with Joe and stayed home.
The boys got their grade cards, and I am happy to report there was a showing of mostly A's and B's (with the exception of one C in handwriting) and there were no N's ("needs improvement" -- found on the behavior and personal responsibility portion of the assessment. All E's for excellent and S's for satisfactory). For the last quarter, we will focus on improving where we need to and finishing this school year strong.
Today, the weather is threatening to be wild; the sky has that look about it, and the wind is whipping up. Strong storms ahead? I hope not, though the rain would be good.
I am home with Daniel, my friend left this morning to return to Florida and I am looking forward to a day of catching up around the house and taking snatches of time to sit with Daniel on the couch and watch the Backyardigans (because I need each and every Backyardigan song embedded into my brain, word for word, and I don't quite have them all memorized yet!).
In the continuing saga of Daniel's attempts to escape, Daniel thought that if he was cleverly disguised as a tennis champ, he might just make it out the door. Nothing doing, little man. We are wise to your tricks!!
We have had good days, but they have been busy, and today I am tired.
Spring break is around the corner.
I am looking forward to it. Three days and counting!!