Spreading the laughs....

Some children ...

There are times when I stop in amazement at young children; and I am referring to those not of my own. Recognizing the gifts of others.

Some can have so much drive and energy, determination and motivation; like our friends who are super stars in the world of gymnastics, reaching their dreams because they have the endless patience to work hard.

Then there are others who present their talent to the world in an eloquent way, where you think, "Amazing; she did this." Here is one such girl. Read this to see if you too stop in amazement when you realize this was written by a girl in elementary school.

A brilliant author, a girl full of smile and bounce, a girl encircled with love from her parents, a girl who I am glad to know.

Job Description

After concluding a weekend stuffed with homework help, house cleaning, laundry, meal making, and deep cleaning two children's rooms, CHEERS to my fellow coworkers who hold the same demanding, yet highly rewarding, job in life!!!

POSITION:
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma, Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION:
Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours,
which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets
and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:
None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:
Get this ... You pay them!!!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.
When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.


~ Author Unknown

Pho

My daughter has a class assignment; present a report on an Asian country in a travel brochure style writing and format. She picked Vietnam. She has been working hard on her project, the last few days, because it is due next Friday. She has the brochure in her pocket, her daddy is a designer and this is right up his alley. And yes, parents have been "requested" to help the student format the brochure into a three-fold document with writing on all six sides; so her daddy's help is allowed. The content, no, that is the student's responsibility.

I thought my husband and I were done with school. I thought that was the deal. We worked hard for 16 years getting our education, we are done. Silly me. Ever since the children have started school, we are right back in it with them. Studying flash cards, helping with weekly spelling, math, and writing. Naive thoughts of mine when I was donning that university gown and cap that my education was over. It had just begun.

My view of her Asian Report takes me back to my junior high years. Many specifics have faded, but the one thing that I know to be true is that my report length was expected to be over 10 pages. I had struggled with prior reports on my parents' electric type writer, the thought of a 10+ page paper on China was giving me a stomach ache.

Then, my dad came home with a fantastic surprise just in time. He had bought our first Personal Computer with the bonus he received from work. It was a load of money; to think what he paid for that machine compared to today when my niece saved up her gift money and bought her own laptop!

I remember sitting in our basement, on the new swivel desk chair, on top of the shag green carpet that went up the walls to window sill level, at the wall-unit desk which had shelving above, which held the brightest light that could have possibly been invented (my mom was into good vision) glaring down at the keyboard. The orangish-yellowish cursor on the pure black screen blinked, blinked, blinked, waiting for me to type my words. The computer was loud; the whirl of air circulating cooling off this new technology filled the room. The C:> prompt ... making sure you saved it. Save it again, just in case. And one more time. The dot-matrix printer spit out my final project ever so slowly. CHINA. All 10+ pages.

And now, many decades later, I am helping my girl with her Asia report. For a Vietnamese experience, we took her to lunch at the new restaurant down the street that serves Pho. She can now add a personal touch to her report as she describes their customary food ... and receives lighting speed results from the family computer and her dad's artistic talents.

Eleven

My niece is having her eleventh birthday today! This is my niece who is a genuine love bug with her family. Always giving hugs to her parents and includes her younger sister in much of what she does, she has a real love about her life, family, and friends.

When in the mood, she can spark a dry sense of humor like her father. When she was just a babe, her cute chubby cheeks, sweet cherry red lips, and her big brown eyes, always melt my heart. And her cries were a little over a whisper, ever so soft. I remember my other sister in law and I were jealous of the mellowness of this little girl's cry. Such a sweetie from the moment she was born.

She is into fashion; loves to draw clothing lines whenever she gets a chance and loves to shop! I would not be surprised to find her in the future either on the runway, or behind the scenes of the runways, in New York or Paris. Speaking of, at just the ripe age of 11, she will be traveling back to Paris for her third time tomorrow. A jet-setting family of travel, this girl has her sights on taking on the world when she is old enough to be on her own.


Happy Birthday!
xoxox

A Mazing Day

When I tucked my son into bed on Tuesday evening, he had questions about my Jury Summons the following morning. Specifically, what time would I be leaving and why did it have to be before he woke up? Yesterday as I was headed out my bedroom door for the last time, I saw this cute little boy sitting on the first step of our stairs in the dark.

Me: "Buddy, what are you doing?"

Him: "I just wanted to kiss you goodbye."

Melt my heart right then and there. He had set his alarm clock for 6:29am, one minute before I told him I would have to leave. After we said our goodbye, he went back to his room and shut the door to go back to sleep.

This morning as I was rummaging around my bag making sure that all was ready for another day in the Jury Assembly Room, I noticed the following in my bag from my son.

The first is a Maze that he drew that (I covered it up) said his name next to the stick figure that I was trying to help "find his way home" on the opposite side of the paper.
The next one is a Crossword Puzzle. I like all the slanted letters with no clear columns. It totally worked; the words were hard to find (wink)! And his handwriting was extra sloppy as I have no doubt he did this in bed last night, while I was tucked away early in my bed.

It passed my morning and put a smile on my face as I did my two Mazes in the Assembly Room. By lunchtime, the courts were slow and granted us a completion of duty served. I was home for lunch and it feels great to check that off my list ... good for an entire 12 months!

Bonding with Blackberry - what a day.

I am sure there were camera's watching us, as we certainly felt like Lab Mice. Stuck in an awkward shaped room, windowless, air conditioning blowing continuously, with fluorescent lights beaming upon our foreheads. The chairs were less than desirable too being stuck 12" from the one in front, and zero clearance to the left and right. Yes, if someone were studying the mental breakdown of a person, they need only watch the video of a Jury Assembly Room.

My day started at 5:10pm, to only accomplish sitting in above mentioned space from 8am to 3:30pm. It will be a Ground Hog Day for me tomorrow. Need I post that day?!

Here was my view from the car via my new best friend, Blackberry ...

Here was the view my entire day; Blackberry was my only connection to the world outside these walls ...

But no complaining, right? The alternative could have been: floor 8, courtroom A, juror seat #3. YIKES!

Keeping high hopes I get my same seat by the bathrooms tomorrow ...

Queen for the day ...

Our pup turns 4 years old today. I gave her a spa treatment at home this morning and took some great photos ... to then find out that I had no memory card in the camera, and the camera has no internal memory. Aaaa! So, she had to indulge me in a photo session after the spa to make up for my lack of photography know-how.

Party tonight will consist of a dog toy gift, dessert for the humans, and much spoiling for our Queen for the day*.
*And who am I kidding, she's the Queen every-day!

The Amazing Race

I am huge fan of the Amazing Race on CBS. I came into viewing mid-way through the first season, and I have been hooked since that day. For those who have not heard of the show, it is a scavenger hunt type of race around the world; with eliminations for those that come in last every week, and the final episode giving away $1 Million to the winners. Competitors race as a team of two, competing in games, tricks, and athletics after they've found the clue in each country they are jumping through to their final destination. It is easy to follow, so jump on board, you will love it!

This season, I am rooting for the mother-son team of Margie and Luke. Aside from the fact that Luke is deaf, he seems like a genuinely neat person and very self-motivated; his mom seems to have these two traits also. In addition, I feel a small ( granted, very small) connection because the team communicates using American Sign Language (ASL) which I took in college to fulfill my foreign language requirement. It was one of my favorite classes!

My professor was born hearing, but had an illness at a very young age which created his deafness. He married a woman who was deaf too, but they had three offspring all born with hearing. Think about their household dynamics!! My professor sounded very much like Luke when he talks. He was a vibrant speaker full of stories; some sad and some funny, he always had a smile, and was overly patient in repeating his ASL to the hearing class until each of us would nod back in understanding.

The first semester we would communicate back via paper, as our first words started simple such as names of people (mom, dad, uncle, aunt, etc), numbers, and colors ... not much there to complete a sentence. But by the second semester we were onto verbs, adjectives, nouns, so he made us use ASL exclusively to communicate. It was a fabulous education!

While I have forgotten many of the words to initiate a sentence on my own, I can find myself reading ASL on a basic level and it brings me back to my class .... which brings me back to my fingers crossed for Margie and Luke!

*Side note: I think the perfect hair color in the world is on Cara and Jaime! I would love that color; but red is hard to maintain the vibrancy for a long period of time. I've tried, it fades. Sigh.

Blackberry

After church we swung by the neighborhood Verizon store to upgrade our phones. The "swing-by" turned into a three hour stand, debate, and wait. Thankfully, my husband has dealt with phone services before and knew what we were in for; the kids and I were the naive ones. Luckily, we had hit lunch on the way. The kids were fantastic; my husband and I both commented that we would not have been as patient when we were 10 and 8. Playing with the phones helped my son, and my daughter enjoyed people watching, so we lucked out!

I am not one to talk trash on my blog, so I will continue to refrain from my true feelings about our customer service handling today. However, my words of encouragement to others is feel free to ask ALL the questions you choose, because some sales people just with hold too much information! It was like walking with flop flops through mud today; please, just answer in complete sentences that are more than two words long! It drove us both crazy. Another encouragement, it is acceptable to say No to all of their "small" add-ons; otherwise your bill will increase at a rapid pace.

Once home, the kids skipped up the stairs, energized to be out of the store. We, on the other hand, have slumped into the couch exhausted. But now we each have a Blackberry. Yum?!

Uncle and Nephew

I snapped this photo of my brother and my son last weekend. Growing up my brother was famous for his daydreaming and presenting the family with many "What if..." questions and "If you could ..." statements that left you having to make a decision about the end of his sentence.

My son will do the same. He will present the "If you could ... ride on a bike or take a skateboard, which would you choose?" all the time. Sometimes my choices are easy to decide upon, other times the answers are sooo close, I can't just pick one, which drives my son crazy. So then I just have to pick one, and then he'll quiz me as if I am set in stone on my answer; when in reality, I just wanted to choose both!

Yes, it can go on and on. It reminds me of my growing up years with my brother.

But I love these two handsome fellows.

Amen!

She is done. She made it; she is done! My daughter's ballet exams were this afternoon and she woke up refreshed and energized to start her busy day. Parents are excluded from the studio prior to the prep and exam, so all I got was a goodbye kiss at the door and away she went. Upon return, her report was that she did great and she is very pleased with how she performed. Yeah! The photo shows her posed with her amazing teacher in the "blue room" of the studio. Her exam was in the "pink room" with the owner/judge and the pianist.

Our tradition is to then have some girl-shopping-time at her current favorite store, Justice. She picked out a very cute outfit (although she was not up for a photo op). The kids had no school today, so her brother has received, and continues to receive, special treatment from my parents. My husband and I will further our daughter's rewarding day by taking her out to dinner at her current favorite place, Golden Phoenix (an Asian sit-down restaurant).

We can now all breathe a sigh of relief that she gained her health back in time for this day, and that she dug deep to make it happen. Amen!


**UPDATE
My son made these yummy cupcakes with his Grandmother today to surprise his sister when he returned home. It was very thoughtful and a very tasty way to end the day!

I miss...

I spent the day over at my parent's house catching up on life and reminiscing over some random pictures of my children when they were little. Like this one that I love because of the innocent look and the adorable chubbiness that only a toddler can pull off:

I came home and stumbled upon a home video on my husband's computer when my children were three and five. Their voices were adorable, their little mumbles, and lisps, and funny things they said. If they did not give out so much personal information (!), I would have posted the video on my blog. Maybe I'll find a different one some other time.

Next, I came upon this photo taken last August. I remember it was the eve of a vacation and we were all a-buzz about the trip and feeling very much like "family" that evening.

I miss the "youngness" of my children. Especially after my son at dinner said, "Hey, Mom! She's going to be in 5th Grade!!! next year!" Her last year of elementary school; how could it have gone so fast?!

I miss ...

Brisket

While I have been pretty consistent in abiding by my new year's goal of being Lacto-Ovo (do not eat meat, or I should say for myself; will eat meat as a last resort, but do eat eggs and dairy products), I caved in honor of St. Patrick's day and ate some Corned Beef Brisket yesterday.

This was my first-time-ever cooking of the said meat, and I must say, it was very delicious! For those with a pressure cooker, and interested, here goes my recipe (thanks to the help of my dad whom I called just in time to get some major pointers):

*Place brisket in Pressure Cooker, my brisket was 3.29lbs.
*Pour 1 3/4 cup water over the meat.
*Lock lid, set to High Pressure, with the timer at 80 minutes (24 minutes per pound, and round up by 5 minutes).
*Once the timer beeps, set the timer for an additional 20 minutes for the Natural Release Method of the pressure cooker. (Mine had completed venting by this time, but if yours does not in 20 minutes, then use the Quick Release Method to finish off the venting).
*Set the brisket aside and loosely cover with aluminum foil.

*Place quartered cabbage chunks, carrot chunks, and red potatoe chunks back into the pressure cooker.
*Lock lid in place, set to High Pressure, with the timer set at 3 minutes.
*When the timer goes off, use the Quick Release Method to vent.

*Slice the extra moist "falls apart when you cut it" brisket, display on a platter with the amazing veggies, and enjoy.
*YUM! Luck Of The Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day to me is all about my mom's birthday!! What is the best thing about my mom? She is the most genuine person I know. She has a knack for remembering the essence and important thing about someone. Her friends are lucky to have her around, because she will do little things to let them know she cares about the good, bad, and basic events going on in their lives.

For the family in her life, she is an encourager. Receiving a sweet note from her is not uncommon. So too in her emails letting you know she's checking in in a genuine way. And she is great at quick swing-by's to drop off just that little miscellaneous something that you needed, but didn't think about, and it always comes in handy.

If you ask, she'll tell you her honest opinion. If you don't, she will keep it to herself and support who you are, but perhaps not what you are doing. If you have time, she can tell an entertaining story that will always start in the middle, go off in five different directions, and eventually lead you back to the point; while you concentrate on figuring out how this possibly could all be related to the same story, you feel engaged and entertained.

The fun-loving side of my mom can be described succinctly in her classic quotes when I was growing up: "Beans and rice are a complete protein" (Just what a teen wants to hear, right? Used frequently to spur healthy eating). "Look it up." (response to me when I didn't know something; it meant to find the Encyclopedia Brittanica set my parents spent a fortune on and educate myself on the topic). "There outta be a law." (in jest, but her way of venting about something that was just not right with the world).

A smart cookie, a genuine person, a loving Grandmother, an amazing mentor and mother, beautiful.
Happy Birthday, Mom!!! xoxoxox

Don't underestimate

Don't underestimate the power of a good jump rope!!

I overslept my alarm clock this morning ... by choice. I was too cozy in my warm bed and the darkness on the other side of my drapes, with the sound of rain pounding on the window, was not a welcoming burst to get up!

After I dropped off the kids at school (yes, both! Finally!) I went to Safeway for some much needed goods. I dressed with the intention of swinging by the gym on my way, and yes, I did swing by the gym. Didn't park, just swung by. It was so crowded, it did not look inviting either. I took a mental note for tomorrow that I am just a first-thing-in-the-morning workout girl: Don't kid yourself, Elle J.

Through every isle at the grocery store I kept thinking, I gotta exercise. I came home and found my girl's jump rope in my path from the car to the door; and it was the kind where the ends twirl in to shorten and lengthen the rope. I had no excuse.

The only CD in the player was my daughter's ballet exam songs, so I flipped it on and went to work on the dance floor. Jumping rope, that is, not ballet. My husband came down the hall to hear the "tap, tap, tap" of the rope and ballet music ... "Uh, babe, are you okay?" He thought I was tap dancing; he figured I had truly lost it. No, just a good cardio workout with the rope.

It felt great!! I have showered just in time for a quick snack and a day full of piano lessons. Ahhh, feeling refreshed. Now, if we could just do something about this rain.

Do Ya Wanna Doodle??

*As always, click on image for detailed/larger view

Okay, I have to type super fast because there is a storm brewing outside with snow, hail, and winds at 40 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph, and Yikes! the light just flickered. Okay, super fast ....

Got these books for Christmas from Barnes and Noble. They are a hit with the kiddos because it is something to pass the time away when they don't have time to get involved in a solid play session, or as my son likes to say, "I will Doodle cuz I don't have time to play AND clean up before we go." They work great on long travel days too.

In a half hour we are headed to our relatives house for a combo birthday party of two lovely girls and one lovely lady. The kids broke out their Doodle books and are giggling on the couch drawing, passing the time. A highly recommended purchase!!

Okay, I made it ... Post!

Bread Mix

I bought this bread mix at Target; Banana Chocolate Chip. It boasts statements such as all natural, trans fat free, and no preservatives. I baked it this afternoon and it was good. It fit my mood for the moment ~ feeling cozy; a slice of warm bread, a cup of tea, rain showering down outside, sitting at the table with my two kiddos pouring over weekend homework.

Then I noticed it had a web address on the packaging. I had to take a look ... this is actually a pretty neat company! The Lollipop Tree.

Can't give up

My daughter had a setback in her recovery of pneumonia this week; returning to the doctor yesterday found a double ear infection. Blah, blah, blah, she was put on a different formula of antibiotic for the next ten days. My daughter returned to sleep rather than school yesterday and today.

As I was cleaning up the dishes after dinner this evening, my daughter and I were talking about her upcoming ballet exam next Friday. I shared my setback story when I was in college:

I remember I had given myself a goal to accomplish in college. I wanted to graduate with honors and I worked hard in every class, every semester, every year. And then I got hit with a combo of Strep and Mono during Spring Semester and I was out for a month, sleeping at my parents house, not attending any classes, barely keeping up with my assignments. I struggled a lot that semester but I kept thinking about my goal. I was able to keep going; not dropping the semester and starting over. By the time the finals were taken, I was still exhausted, but when I got the grade report that summer, I found that I had scored my highest semesters GPA ever! I was shocked, and proud!! And yes, I graduated early with Honors.

My daughter's eyes twinkled and she smiled confidently when my story was over. I could sense her energy and drive to not be defeated with her ballet. Sure, the last two weeks of illness and missing classes is a setback for her, but it was also the hand that she was dealt. She has a choice to make; either give up and blame the illness, or attack practicing as best and as hard as she can for the next six days. She and I both know that her inner drive is very strong and that she is not one to give up. I am hopeful that when she shows up next Friday for her exam, she will be energized and prepared for a great day.

Then I sat down after the kitchen was cleaned and pondered what I was going to blog about today. I checked my post from March 13, 2008, and ironically this was my writing.

Watership Down

I swung into the library this weekend to stack up on new books for my girl. I also got to pick up the book Watership Down which had been on hold for myself. On Sunday, while my husband and my son were off at a family birthday party, my daughter and I snuggled on top of my bed and read our books, passing the time for that fever to break. Minus the fact that there was a small, snowy blizzard that swept across our window, it was a pleasant, quiet afternoon.

However, we did not get too far in our reading, both opting to take a nap within 30 minutes. We woke two hours later, and as I lay looking at my daughter, well rested and so angelic looking, she smiled and said, "Momma, what is your book about?" I replied, "Well, I'm only on page 28, but so far it is about rabbits that talk."

Laughter is the best medicine, right? My daughter broke out into gut-laughter, the kind where you wonder when the kid is going to breathe. She thought it was so funny that I would be reading about rabbits who talk, as opposed to the last book I read about Alzheimer's, the Holocaust before that, and God before that. I laughed with her and asked, "Okay, Smarty, what is your book about?" She smirked and said, "About frogs who used to be humans!"

Loving my girl. Loving my book too; Watership Down is very entertaining and a good escape. Thanks, MK, for the recommendation. A good one for Spring!

Young in love

I was Tagged by Natalie yesterday to post: one of the first pictures taken of you and your spouse during the dating years. I rummaged through pictures today to only find that my life must have started with my engagement; I could not find any photo prior to '93! I know I have some dating pictures, I just do not know exactly where I have them, but I have a hunch they are most likely in a box or photo album at my parent's house.

Then, I happened to walk into my husband's den and found the above picture in a frame on his bookshelf. It has been framed since the day it was taken 15 1/2 years ago and so I decided upon this picture. Granted, we are engaged, but technically we are still dating, so I count it as a tag-accomplished. Plus the two of us didn't change much from 1990 to 1993, so you aren't missing anything.

My husband looks like he is not even legal to be dating, but he just had that young looking face for a very long time. I thought he was completely good looking then, but I think he is even more handsome now. In this photo, he was 25 and I was 22 ... just babes! I am sure this photo was taken in August, just one month prior to our wedding, as I actually had full length nails, something I never had as a pianist, but I grew them out for our wedding.

Passing on the tag to: Carrie, MK, Crispy, Suzanne, Jodi

Thanks, Natalie, that was fun!!

Space holder

This post is just a space holder until I have time for what I really want to post about which I don't have time to post about tonight. Got it?

The good news of the day: My daughter went to school with butterflies in her stomach because she was half excited to see her friends and half nervous to be going back to real work ... and she came out of school with a huge smile upon her face and giggles all the way home. It was a good day!

The frustrating news of the day: I got summons to Jury Duty, to begin exactly one year and four days after my last Jury Summons. I know some who have never been called, and some who have been called to the courthouse just a 20 minutes drive from my house. Unfortunately, I am in a loop to the grey, dark, high story courthouse, 45 minutes away from my house, smack in the middle of my state's largest city. Is it the city that bothers me or the potential of listening to detail about a crime? Or is it the fact that if I don't get called, I just spent 2-days worth sitting on my behind in an uncomfortable chair in a room full of strangers and no windows going completely stir crazy? Or is it the fact that my control has been taken away from me? Or is the fact that my month just didn't start off right and now it won't end right either? Or is it the fact .... Yep, it is just overall frustrating to me.

But come back tomorrow when I will post about being Tagged by Natalie!!

Back in school

Nope, not my daughter. She is going on day 6 of being absent from school. Tomorrow. We are thinking that tomorrow will bring her back to a classroom full of friends that have missed her as much as she's been missing them. Last night my daughter became fever-free after 9 solid days. The cough, they say, will take at least another week.

But today I went back to school. My daughter and I have been plugging along at school work sent home by the teacher the last few days. Today, we did a major push and accomplished all of the math sections. It took awhile because their division is different than the way I was taught division. It seems much more complicated with huge gaps for errors. Because I am not "the teacher", I had to convince my daughter that there are multiple ways to get to the same number, so let's just get there quickly and use my way.

Yeah, that didn't fly ... until the head started hitting the table in frustration and then she was open to listening to another option. In the end, she will have to follow the teacher's assignments, but at least she knows both ways, and hopefully will choose the easier way (insert my way).

By the time we had finished math ... I was exhausted; she was just fine. Onto teaching piano for me, and art for her. I am glad she is up and about and feeling her energy return. It has been a long, slow, heartache of a week watching my girl struggle through recovery from Pneumonia.

I wish I could sing the "Tomorrow" song by Annie to celebrate her recovery, but it snowed a good 3 inches this morning with temps in the low 20's scheduled for tonight. Some day that sun will be out and my daughter and I will be in it!

Boy vs. Girls

Look very closely at this photo. Do you see a second grade boy on one side of the fence and a bunch of girls on the other?

This was the 411 after school last Friday:

Our sweet neighbor girl is in the same class as my son and she had been talking all week about her birthday party on Friday night. Some girls from class were going to come over to play and do "pranks" in the neighborhood before spending the night.

My son was prepared, running to the backyard as soon as he got home from school. He did the swings for a little bit, trying to act like he didn't notice the high pitch screams coming from the opposite side of the fence; and then he just couldn't take it any longer. He had to know what all those girls could possibly be screaming about!!

As soon as my son came in for dinner ... the doorbell started ringing. Of course, our porch was empty. With a roll of the eyes, my son said, "Those girls are starting their pranks!" It only lasted a couple of tries, and then they were off into their girl land.

What will the teen years be like?!

Another birthday??

Yes, and we are not done with the month of family celebrations! My first niece was born today 12 years ago. When I think of T* being this age, I immediately think of this photo that was taken the day she came home from the hospital. Her mother and I were in her nursery "trying out" the crib that we had stared at over and over and over for nine months thinking about the future baby that were to lay upon it. To see T* finally in her bed was really cool.

She was the first baby on either side of the family, therefore everything was new and a novelty. Thinking about what this little babe was going "to be" as a 5 year old, a 12 year old, an 18 year old, a 27 year old ... we talked a lot. Or maybe, I talked a lot. Anyway, '97 was a good year that started off the baby additions to our growing, beautiful family.

So, what did this newborn "turn into" at age 12? A girl who does not know how to talk with out a smile upon her face. She shows her dimple when she smiles, her eyes twinkle, and she makes me smile back. Always the leader of the cousins, she treats the younger ones with love and encouragement, mothers her siblings, giggles at her Uncle, rolls her eyes with a smirkish love at her parents, and enjoys her friends.

Happy Birthday, T*!!!
xoxoxo

Nice to have a Niece

One of my four nieces is having a birthday today! She is turning 9 years old. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. She came early and we were all caught off guard, not because she was weeks upon weeks early, but because there were no signs from mother to the family that the time was near. One night it just started and by morning we had a new, beautiful family member.

She is a sweet-loving, happy, personality driven, thoughtful, smart girl. She came with a tiny head full of beautiful strawberry blond hair and she has kept it; and imagine that next to her skin which tans to a golden brown if she is in the sun for any length of time. To have her skin and hair combo!


This niece is my Rabbit, Rabbit buddy. I had heard when I was much younger that if the first words out of your mouth on the 1st of each month is Rabbit, Rabbit, that you are bound for good luck. So I started doing that, just for fun.

My niece heard of my little thing a while back and she jumped in on my tradition. But she jumped in with me and she races me to the phone on the 1st of every month to see who has the fastest fingers to dial in a call to say Rabbit, Rabbit to the other. She always wins. :) I LOVE it!! A chance to hear my niece, a time to chat before we wish each other well for the month ... I told her that I hope it continues forever.

My sweet niece is turning 9!

Happy Birthday!!!
oxoxoxo

Best Video for today

The beginning of brotherly-love.

It's a zoo!!

And I don't mean the state of our household. My daughter rested while my husband was home working, and I got to get out of the house and "relax" as a chaperon for my son's second grade classroom to the big zoo in the city. The weather was overcast, but it did not rain, so we considered ourselves very lucky.

The students are learning about the Rain Forest; which this zoo has a magnificent exhibit. But for the length of our bus trip (45 minutes one-way) and time spent for lunch, and the demand that the buses get back by 2pm to start their normal school pickup routine, it made for a very short field trip. However, after the lack of sleep I've been receiving lately, I was perfectly fine with that today.

My son was the classroom photographer and captured forty photos. But it was either too steamy in the exhibit or the critters were behind thick glass to get good shots in the Rain Forest, so here are some shots taken along the route to get to where we were going:

Good group of friends:


Grandma Gorilla:
Can you find the big kitty cat?:

The front-end of a Peacock:

The back-end of a Peacock:

Zonk!

After just three days of hanging out with my girl with a fever and horrid cough, my husband and I made an intuitive decision to make a doctor's visit today. I like and trust our pediatrician, and the nursing staff, but in the past, more times than not, I have jumped the gun and taken them in too early, to just receive a "wait it out" answer. And we do, and they heal, and everything is fine. I really thought I would hear the same this morning, since three days really isn't that major of a deal. I thought I was calling more out of frustration and impatience, than actually being right.

I think the icing on the cake, however, for this story was her high fever that would not lower below 102.5 with even over the counter medication; and it was more consistent with 104-105. Combined with the fact her cough sounded like a smoker's cough, and she was not sleeping consistently as a result, I think easily paved the way for our attention. But I was still skeptical of my choice as I drove into the city and she sat chattering in the backseat like we were headed for the mall.

The Flu test came back negative, good. The xray of her chest came back as Pneumonia!! Shock. This time our parent-gut was true and we dialed that phone this morning with good reason. She is now stocked up on antibiotics and hopefully we can go back to a good night's sleep shortly.

We are ready to Zonk!

Only Nephew

I have one nephew and he is older than my son by seven months. Today is his 9th birthday and he is a fun loving character! Typical boy. All boy. I remember asking my sister-in-law when he was about 3 years old if K* ever walked. We both paused and looked at each other as he ran from the kitchen to the family room to the stairs, and we both laughed. No. When he was awake, he was always on running-speed, always talking, always doing something.

I often do not remember that he is in 3rd grade, because I am in denial that time has passed too quickly. A boy my son enjoys hanging with, a boy into Lego's, a sports boy, a boy with a good sense of humor and energy, a boy our family would not be complete with out; my nephew.

Happy Birthday, K*!!!!
xoxoxo

We got the blues

Seems like every year during my daughter's ballet coaching classes she misses some due to illness. So far this year we have been going strong and healthy, adding extra classes every week, practicing diligently on non-class days. And then we got the blues.

By the time class had ended on Friday night, she had a dry cough. By morning, her cough went more congested. By afternoon, her voice had changed to a more laryngitis tone. She slept and watched television with her dad, while my son and I ventured to the mall for the slew of March birthdays we are facing. By evening, she had a temp.

She will be missing school tomorrow (I am an avid believer in the 24 hour fever free rule, and she still has a temp). And the bummer about skipping tomorrow is that it is Read Across America Day in honor of Dr. Seuss. My daughter was scheduled to read a picture book to lower grade levels during the day. She had chosen Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes and had practiced her voices and dramatic style for her audition last week with the Dean of Students. She was so excited to be chosen and was looking forward to her day. However, we will not be saying Dr. Seuss' name in our house, nor eating green eggs and ham, to lesson the impact of her unfortunate day off. Pajamas are allowed in school tomorrow, but her pajamas will only get to go as far as our couch.

While my son and husband are at church today, I whipped into tornado mode and washed sheets, towels, clothes, cleaned bathrooms, scrubbed door knobs, etc, etc, while my daughter zonked on the couch with her best therapy ~ Cora. Some windows, not in her path, are open and a yummy Yankee Candle is lit.

Now, despite the lingering fever, I feel like my less germ-impacted house is ready for her recovery.