Pre-K Field Trips

E's Pre-K class has been field trip happy this past month. Last week, we met at Krispy Kreme. The manager asked how many kids had been there, and E's hand was the only one who didn't go up! Now she realizes it's on our way to the YMCA, though. At $.99 apiece (and who knows how many fat grams) she's dreaming. The only reason I am even blogging about this, though, is that I think it's so cute how she always refers to it as

"Christmas Cream."

Speaking of doughnuts, today we went on another field trip to the police station. One of the classmate's dad is a sergeant there. It was a small town facility, but it made an impression on E. She was really nervous to be there! They took mug shots of all the kids, but she refused! I had looked forwarded to scanning it in on my blog, but then I realized, "Hey, it's actually a good thing that she didn't think getting her mug shot was a cool thing!" I wanted to take pics of the kids with the police car, at least, but it was snow/raining, so that didn't last too long. Oh well, I'm sure there will be other field trips to the police station in years to come...let's hope they're always just field trips!!! ;)

Snow Day!

As the alarm went off this morning, the radio was announcing school closures from all over the Seattle area. I silently started chanting the name of our district, and it worked! I don't know many things more satisfying than turning off the radio and drifting back to dreamland. I was probably even smiling! Eventually, E woke me up and we snuggled for awhile. We got up, and M slept clear til 8:48! When she got up, I said, "M! The first bell (at school) goes off in two minutes!" She looked panicked for the second it took me to point to the window, and then her face changed to pure delight! SNOW DAY!

We had a great time checking out the nearby park and frozen lake with our neighbor kids. They decided to bring home the bottom of a huge snowman that someone had destroyed, and it was quite an undertaking to roll it across the soccer field, over the foot bridge, through the trees, and up the little hill leading to our place. Never underestimate the power of a determined 15 yr old!

We really missed Daddy, as he was working overtime today, and he is usually the Snowman Maker In Chief. We did the best we could without him. M cleaned out her pockets, which still had shells in them from our beach trip last weekend, and used them to decorate her SnowWoman.

Two hours later, we decided to call it a day. After removing a few wet layers and eating some chicken noodle soup, the girls have all their My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop stuff all set up in the living and dining rooms. Meanwhile, I'm on the computer and...doing laundry. That's the only downside of a snow day!

I'm thankful for a fun, memorable morning. I'm also thankful we only have a few days of snow each year!

Cute!

My SIL took this pic of me and my 3 yr old niece last weekend. I just stole it off my brother's blog b/c it is one of my favorite pictures EVER. What's even more impressive about this pic was that E was really, really tired but she still lit up for the camera. Atta girl...work it, work it!

Help Find a Cure for Autism!

Please take a few minutes and go to http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214



Bring along your kleenex, but please watch this! Five For Fighting is donating $.49 to AutismSpeaks everytime someone watches this video. I checked it all out...it's legit! Oh, and AutismSpeaks.org is an all-encompassing group that works on autism awareness, research, and support for people and families with it. Love them, and highly recommend their website for all things autism related.



Autism affects my family directly and is one of just a few causes I care deeply and passionately about. I often feel bewildered and helpless, and this is a simple way to take some action.



Please, go watch it, and pass it along to all your friends and family!!!

Fame!

I've been given a meme by my friend, Katie (http://thewanfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/). I'm supposed to name seven famous people I've met, or in the absence of that, seven unusual things about myself.

Well, since my husband has such a very glamorous occupation, I decided that I would list just seven famous people that he has encountered while on the job (and some of these are "regulars," or, if you'll excuse the pun, "frequent flyers!")

1. Meg Ryan

2. Selma Hayek

3. Stevie Wonder

4. Pedro (from Napoleon Dynamite)

5. Terry Bradshaw

6. Blake Lewis

7. Shawn Alexander

I could go on, but I don't want you to think I'm bragging about just how very many times I have checked the bags of famous people - by proxy!

These pics don't do it justice, but the day was gorgeous...a balmy 40 degrees with wicked wind that subsided once you got down behind the dunes. Obviously, the tide was IN and the winter winds had been at work to create a much smaller "beach" than usual. The kids loved running from the waves and even got home with relatively dry shoes (but yes, I was smart enough to bring "beach shoes, " just in case). The little girls were crazy enough to put their hands in the wet sand and throw it for awhile...until the hypothermia set in. That was fun. Don't you just hate it when your mom says, "The sand is too cold; leave it alone or your hands will be freezing!" and then she's right?!

Good times! I have other fun pics, but they're oriented horizontally and I can't get them to go vertical for me. Too bad for you; you'll miss the one of M standing alone on this huge tree stump as the waves lap around the bottom. Do you think that was P's idea, or mine?! Hey, what counts is we made it home with lots of "treasures," which are still sitting in our van along with the beach shoes. Maybe we'll just leave them there til next time?!

Oregon Cousins

We took advantage of the 3 day weekend and went to visit my brother and his family (http://brionicman.blogspot.com/). Here are the girls with their cousin, E, who is also crazy about "Island Princess Barbie." My girls were estatic to find out that E had it on DVD, as they hadn't seen it yet. They were also enthralled by their Wii, as that was a new thrill as well, especially once M figured out which tennis player she was!

Highlights for me included seeing our other brother who lives in town, Matt, and meeting his girlfriend, Holly (how come I didn't take a pic?!? I hate it when I do that!) and riding in B's sweet GTI. That thing accelerates a lot faster than my minivan. I also enjoyed attending church there. I know fewer and fewer people each time we visit, but it's always fun to see the "old" folks. I'm old enough now that there are kids on missions and getting married that I remember as babies. YIKES. I got to visit a lot with my SIL and we also spent a little while with my BF from high school and her kiddos. And, I never tire of visiting the beach. I'll post separate pics on that, though.

It was great to see everybody...thanks for letting us invite ourselves, B&L!

Ferries vs Fairies

We had a great weekend visiting my brother and his family on the Oregon Coast. Pics to come, but I wanted to share this gem...

We were driving down a very steep hill and were facing the water. E said, "Daddy! Look out! You're going to run right into the ferries!"

I said, "They don't have any ferries here, just bridges."

With panic in her voice, she answered, "No ferries?!? Do they have tooth fairies?!"

Almost, but Not Quite

I was reprimanding the girls for eating bowls of dry cereal in the living room (hmmm, Mom's gone for 2 hrs and look what happens?!) b/c it was ALL over the house. I was particularly annoyed at a large pile next to M. I said, "From now on, all dry cereal must be eaten at table!" (Personally, I thought we pretty much had a rule that all food was at the table. Apparently, I was mistaken.)

Anyhow, M replied, "It's not my fault Dad stepped on the bowl and spilled it all."

I said, "If you had BEEN at the TABLE, he couldn't have STEPPED on it!"

To which she replied, "Crochet."

"Crochet?!"

"Yeah, Mom, crochet!"

"Do you mean, 'Touche?!'"

"Oh, yeah. That's what I meant. Touche."

How do you stay mad at a kid like that?!? It's just not fair.

Who to Vote For?

I just took this quiz on a friends' blog and thought I'd share it with you, too. I've always thought I was a Demo-can or a Republi-cat and this confirms it! If it's an unbiased test, I think the results are pretty interesting. See what you think...
http://www.gotoquiz.com/candidates/2008-quiz.html

Busted!

Tonight after baths, I was trimming a very squirmy 4 yr old's toenails and her daddy said, "Be still! Don't you know that's a professional mommy you've got there, taking care of you?!" to which she replied, (and you have to read this to yourself w/o "saying" any 'r's)

"Well, she's not a very good one 'cause she didn't even get up and make me breakfast this morning!"

OOPS! In my defense, this same angel has been getting me up about 3 times a night the past few nights and, when the girls came in my room this morning, the 8 yr old said, "OOO, Mommy, how about I make cereal for me and E?!?" And, she was so excited, and I was so tired, that I agreed quite readily.

I better be careful. I might get my professional credentials revoked! And, believe me, we'd have to pay another professional a LOT more than I make to run this joint! ;)

*sigh* I love my job.

It's Not Easy Being Green

At last night's PTA mtg, an update was given about the school's ongoing fundraiser to recycle shopping bags. Apparently, for every 60 gallon container they fill up, Wal-Mart gives the school $5. The schools in the area compete, with cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place of $3000, $2000, and $1000.

I was feeling a little uncomfortable with this program but was telling myself, "OK, so it is a good thing to encourage kids to bring in bags and recycle them, right? Better to do that than to have those bags wind up in the trash, yes?" Then the principal said,

"You know how to get more bags, don't you? Every time I go to Fred Meyer, I go through the self-check lane and put one item in a bag."

I (inwardly) gasped while everyone else smiled, and the room filled with "Why didn't I think of that? What a great idea!"

Now, maybe they're a bunch of teacher's pets, but I was - and am - horrified! Um, isn't the idea to REDUCE, reuse, and recycle? Wouldn't we be better off teaching our children to reuse the plastic bags they have, or better yet, use cloth bags for shopping? (*unsolicited plug: I LOVE my reusable grocery bags. I can get a week's worth of groceries in just 5 bags, instead of 15 plastic! It took a little while to get in the habit of bringing them with me and into the store, but I've got it now and it's great! And, only one or two trips from the car to the door. Plus, I get $.05 back for each bag every time I use them at every store I shop at so far! Bonus!*)

So, that's my rant for the evening. I am going to express my concern to the PTA, the principal, and maybe even to Wal-Mart in a very tactful and diplomatic...maybe even charming... way, but I'm still working my approach. Any ideas? I'll entertain all submissions...

Childhood Memories...or Not

"E.T." came out when I was in 3rd or 4th grade and is one of the few movies I remember seeing in the theater as a kid. Since M is that age now, we decided it would be fun to watch it again, so we checked it out from the library.

P & I remembered about 3 scenes from the movie: the Reeses pieces, E.T. hiding with the stuffed animals, and the flying bicycle scenes.

Wow, there was so much I didn't remember...like the swearing, for instance! I had no idea there was language like that in movies when I was a kid! Fortunately, M only commented once, "She just said God's name in vain." But there were other words, too...I was a little shocked!

I also didn't remember how intense the near-the-ending was, when it looks like E.T. died. The girls loved the very ending and M was jumping up and down with excitement, so I guess it all turned out alright.

It left me feeling pretty unsettled, though. I mean, what else from my childhood do I not remember, or not remember accurately?! Maybe my brothers didn't actually tease me, afterall?!

My New Book

At lunch yesterday, somehow the conversation turned to "Mommy should write a book." M was full of suggestions like, "How to Keep Your Kids Busy," to which I said, "That would be a short book! Suggestion #1: television. Suggestion #2: computer" which made her laugh.

E's suggestion was, "Mommy, since you are married, and when you get married, you have to give a kiss, I think that you should write a book about KISSING!"

Hmmm, again, I'm afraid that would be a pretty short book, too! Should've written that one twelve years ago (we've been married for eleven)! ;)