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)! ;)