My Garage is a Mess II

legs (after a lot of math and a Saturday spent with a drill, hammer, and chisel, I have a table frame that is square, even when NONE of the aged wood that I was working with was cut to the same dimensions, square, or without warped/bowed edges.)

chairs (picked up fabric for the seats today. so cute that the word "cute" has 2 syllables when you say it. Cu-ute!)

Naan

This recipe comes from my friend, Katie.

Naan
2 tsp. Yeast
4 Tbs. warm milk
2 tsp. sugar
4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk
2/3 c. plain yogurt beaten
1 egg beaten
2 Tbs. ghee (butter melted)

mix yeast, warm milk, and sugar until frothy. Sift flour baking powder and salt. Make a well and add yeast mixture yogurt, ghee, egg, and milk and fold them all together. Knead well and tightly cover until double in size.
pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
roll out dough and place on greased trays 10-12 min.
When the dough is rolled out spread with melted butter and lightly salt them

Mmmm...makes me want to attempt gyros at home...but where would I buy ground lamb?

Minute to Win It

Dude, my dad like INVENTED this show.




I was BORN for this show.
No, REALLY.
The Lawrence children have genetic makeup that automatically makes us superior to others in games like this. I come from a 3 generation pedigree of sugar-packet football champions. I can catapult a ping ping ball with a plastic spoon through a basket like you've never seen. If socks and a kitchen floor are involved in the challenge, lookout baby.

Time for a new segment on the bloggy.
Aaron and I will ABSOLUTELY be playing hosts to a Minute to Win It smack down challenge extravaganza on Easter. Stay tuned for video footage. And if you're coming over to my house anytime soon, you'd better warm up your Cookie Face.
Yes, really.
It is ON, friends.

?

Me: Reese, that's a great dog.
Reese: Thanks. Those are his spots.
Quincy: I'm drawing a poop!

The Verdict Is In!

Approximately 15 minutes ago, I found a frozen roll of cookie dough (matt's recipe) in my freezer.
First, I jumped for joy.
Second, I prepared the cookies.
Third, I sent Mattie the following message:

Matt,
The last time I made your cookie recipe I decided to be an absolute fool and not bake all of them (I know, stupid, right?).
Instead, I placed approximately 1/3 of the dough in the freezer. (This was in january)
The dough was discovered tonight (hiding below a batch of baby food...so sneaky) and within approximately 7 1/2 minutes rolled (er "sliced"...still frozen) and placed into the oven.
Your cookies are about to face the ultimate test. How do they hold up after being frozen?
I know you are dying to hear the answer to THAT.
to be continued...


Well. The timer has buzzed, cookies have been eaten, and therefore happiness returned to the earth.

Verdict?

cookies=good.

not as pretty though. probably because I sliced them.
they took an extra 1 min 45 seconds to bake.

This means that I went from having no really awesome cookies to having a lot of really awesome cookies in less than 15 minutes, with nothing but a single cookie sheet to be washed.

Did that just blow your mind?!

After the Storm

Went back to the pediatrician and Corbin ALSO has an ear infection.
That makes five.
FIVE infected ears in this casa.
Five too many for this mom to be happy about it. WHY? Why does at least ONE of them have an infection EVERY month? We are on a YEAR and a HALF where we've had at least one ear a month infected.

I've talked to the docs about tubes. But they remind me that between my kids and me (yup, my ears were infected in that 18 months as well)...there are 8 ears. So it might seem like one particular kid has chronic infections, but in actuality (I asked to see the charts), they are spaced out, with only a few repeats. It sounded something like this:
Last month: Reese's right ear
The month before that: Quincy's left
The month before that: Quincy's right
Before that: Corbin's left....and so on.
Which makes us: Not candidates for tubes.

The girls are back to their cute, happy, silly selves.
I'm also feeling better.
Not better enough to deep clean the rubble that the tornado of sickness left in my house.

I called Paz.
She is scheduled to come on Monday with her little team of miracle workers.
YAY!

Paz is a cleaning lady.
I'm not above that.

Until Monday? Paper plates and take-out.
I'm not above that, either.

Inferno

When babies throw up they give no warning. It's just crying one second, and the next thing you know, you're covered in bananas and green beans. It is so sad.

Corbin has the flu.

Our pediatrician must drive a freaking nice car.
I am hiring a cleaning lady as soon as everyone is well.
And I am getting the carpets shampooed. or replaced.

Activity Days

I'm loving my new church calling as an Activity Days leader for the 8-11 yr old girls.
This week's activity was a Flintstone Olympics (think Redneck Olympics or Hillbilly Olympics, but with a caveman theme...I guess the redneck thing is a little too close to home out here).

When the girls arrived at the activity, they were placed in pair teams.
Then they went to "Bedrock Beauty Parlor" to have their hair put up in ribbons and little rawhide bones like Pebbles while they got a quick "pep talk" on good sportsmanship.

I put each leader in charge of their own event, and they came up with Bedrock Bowling, a Tortilla Discuss throw, Club Feet Shoebox Shuffle, Dino Ring Toss, and I did the Volcano Drive in with cardboard cars.
I painted these backdrops to make it a little more fun. It's difficult to tell, but they're about 6 ft wide by 8 ft tall. I think they turned out pretty cute...but it could just be my super cute models ;).

A BIG thanks to my friend, Stephanie, who helped me with Wilma and Betty, here. They might not have been recognizable without her help! I need to show Steph what they look like painted and finished, she'll be so proud!
After the events, they decorated medal necklaces and were given rock candy sticks.
I had to miss the actual activity (boo evil illness from the depths of Hell), but from what I've heard so far, the girls had a really good time.

You've GOT to be kidding me.

My temp was down to 102.7 when Aaron left for work this morning.
The minute he left, Corbin woke up.
The girls were angels and played with him in his crib for nearly an hour while I gathered energy to get up.
I got up, put Corbin in his high chair, and started to slice him a banana for breakfast.
Then it hit me.
You know...IT.

In the sink. The rest was all over myself.
Perfect.

I spent the next hour curled up on the bathroom tile in a puddle of gross. Reese came in at one point and offered a bottled water, the cell phone, and a roll of toilet paper.

I am amazed at her innate survival skills. Think about it. If you were deserted on an island somewhere, wouldn't the 3 things at the top of your list be a working cell phone, water, and toilet paper? Answer: YES. Go Reese. That kid is awesome.

I called Aaron and begged him to come home and take me to the hospital.
Then I called friend/neighbor, Jenny/lifesaver, to come down and help Corbin out until Aaron got home. Thanks, Jenny!
Reese returned to the kitchen and she and Quincy fed Corbin cheerios until Jenny arrived.

Aaron brought me Gatorade, gave me a blessing and helped me back into bed.

After several hours of solid sleep, my fever is down to 100 (finally!) and I am feeling better now than I have felt in days. Aaron has worked from home most of today, and only went in for a couple of meetings, but left me with advice to "try to get up and move around a little" thinking it will help me feel better.

I am on the sofa with the laptop. This is my valid attempt at "moving around".

As soon as I can be certain it will stay down, I am getting the fattest Dr. Pepper they sell from Sonic.
And maybe one of those Snickers or Reese's chocolatey shake things that they have.
And some french fries.
And a chocolate chip cookie.
And a really good burrito.
not from Sonic.

"but I don't wanna be a cowboy!"

because the last post was kind of depressing.
and also because they are freaking cute.

Change of Plans

Mother nature is against us.
We left Saturday morning for OKC.
2 hrs later, we hit the blizzard that swept across Oklahoma and Arkansas, and after sliding on the road twice (in new tires) we had to turn around and come back.
Aaron was pretty disappointed.

We did enjoy our time alone with this little guy, though.
We had dinner and watched the NIU game at Gusanos then went to Chili's for Paradise pie, and watched BYU [forget how to play basketball] from the comfort of our own home while 8 inches of snow fell outside.

Church was canceled Sunday (yup!), since most people couldn't get out of their driveways in the snow, so we slept in, and enjoyed having a quiet house to ourselves.

Kasey and Jimmie brought our girlies home to us in their Jeep, and they brought dinner too! Excellent! I had my first corned beef and cabbage experience, and managed to pound 1/2 of a dark chocolate cake (over the course of 2 days, but yup, 1/2 a cake...totally worth it. I shared a little...unwillingly). Verdict? Corned beef=GOOD. Cabbage=not my favorite. Carrots and Potatoes=GOOD.

You KNOW you have good friends when they still take your children overnight even when the kids are sick and they know the chances of anyone sleeping are pretty low. But Kasey assured us the girls could handle watching movies in their jammies from her house just as well as they would from ours. She gave them meds round the clock and handled 3am nebulizer treatments like a champ. We soaked up a little more of this guy, and did NOT wake up at 3am.

Yummy baby.

Thanks, K! What would I do without her? Definitely not eat good pizza, a "big salad", and Paradise Pie snuggled up in a snowstorm with my boys, this weekend. From girls night out, to bathroom remodels, to bed rest, that girl has ALWAYS been there for me. I feel blessed to have such selfless friends, and am totally inspired to try harder to recognize when I can help others the way that she has helped me so many times. The weekend was just lovely.

Good news: because our cancellation was due to inclement weather, the hotel gave us a refund, and Tia and Jared were rockstars and sold our tickets for a good percentage of their original cost, so we aren't at a huge loss there, either.

Bad news: it's probably a good thing we didn't stay in OKC, because by Sunday afternoon, Reese Quincy and I all had pretty high fevers.

We went to the Dr. today and (drumroll please.....)

BOTH girls have double ear infections!
No surprises there! They've also got a croupy cough from some virus that has almost run it's full course. We got a prescription cough syrup for that, and hopefully, with the antibiotics everyone will be fever free and feeling better soon!

My appointment was slightly less successful. They aren't really sure what is wrong with me, but with Tylenol, my fever was still 104.1* at the doctor's office.

I walked in, they looked at me, and made me wear a mask! Sad, right? I got paranoid looks from everyone that walked in and I felt like a leper. Worse, I started coughing (the kind of coughing where you just cross your legs and pray) and they gave me ANOTHER mask and told me that "these new masks they just bought are kind of thin, so I should double up".

Great. Now I'm not only a leper, I'm the reject leper.

I got the nice nurse.
She brought me a warm blanket and said, "I hurt just looking at you".
Thanks, nurse.

Then she gave me the most painful shot of antibiotics I've EVER received, right in the butt... but I'm pretty sure was stabbing me with a dagger of some sort when I wasn't looking. It took ever a minute, which doesn't sound like a long time, but relative to the "quick like a band-aid" shots I am used to...it was an eternity of pain.
Then again, I was probably more aware of how long it took because her hand was on my butt.

Doc gave me Rx's for two more antibiotics and some Darvocett. I mentioned that Darvocett knocks me out and he said, "Good. Take the Darvocett and go to bed."

HAHA.
Wouldn't that be awesome if Mothers could just "go to bed" and sleep off their illnesses?

He sent me home with a cute note excusing Aaron from 3 days of work so he can stay home and care for the kids while I rest up.

I got home and went to bed.
I woke up 10 minutes later. sort of. I was conscious enough to hear what was happening, but not awake enough to get up.

The Cox Guy was here to fix the internet.
Corbin was crying.
Quincy was crying.
Reese was crying.
The tub was running.
Quincy had pooped in the front yard. (FOR REAL.)
Aaron was dealing with the Cox guy (a real winner, I might add) and carrying a poopy baby around.
Reese was attempting to bathe Quincy, because she was disgusted at the sight of Quincy's runs, she couldn't take it anymore and demanded that Q get in the tub.... but the faucet had become stuck on Hot and she was scalding her screaming sister.

My fever had broken and I was soaking wet with sweat and I could hear everything happening around me, but was too sick to get up.
Am I the only mom out there that finds it hard to "take it easy" or "rest up" when stuff like this is happening down the hall?

Reese ran outside to tell Aaron about the water, but fell on the concrete and scraped up her arm.
More crying.
The Cox guy left.
Aaron bathed Q, mended Reese, changed Corbin, and gave them all their meds.
Corbin went to bed and the girls and Aaron went to Walmart for prescriptions, popcorn chicken (that's how we roll), new princess toothbrushes, Dora toothpaste, glittery obnoxious Princess Tiana t-shirts that I never would have purchased, chicken noodle soup, and pink roses (for "mom 'cuz her butt got shot").

I slept.

I had to cancel preschool tomorrow.
I missed the "Flintstone Olympics" Activity I've been planning for 2 weeks.
I have no idea what we're going to do tomorrow.
I'm pretty sure it involves a fort, movies, and comfort food.
I HATE not being able to take care of my children.
I HATE not being able to take care of myself.
I want my mom.

Not quite what we had planned for spring break!
Luckily, we all have drugs now, and we will all (hopefully) feel better VERY soon.
or at least well enough to go out and clean Quincy's poop off the front lawn.

stay classy, San Diego.

Whyyyyyyyyyy?!!!!

If you wish to see the MOST DEPRESSING nutritional information sheet EVAH, click here.

Otherwise, just enjoy the pretty picture and continue living in a fantasy world (with me) where if you have had the sort of day that requires a delicious treat like the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie (shown below) just to maintain sanity and make the world a better place again...it better be calorie free, for cryin' out loud.

(image from chili's.com)

stupid nutritional information. Why must they post it in plain sight where I am about to partake of the paradise?

Honestly, if I am ordering the Paradise Pie, do they REALLY think I'm the kind of person that is counting calories?

Does anyone out there ACTUALLY say, "well, shoot. I had the paradise pie, so I guess I only have 400 calories left today if I'm going to stay on target. I'd better order the bite size salad, instead....just to be safe."

But seriously. Eat it anyway.

Split it with friends, if you must...but do partake.
It's the bad boy of all restaurant chain desserts (a close 2nd place to the Applebee's White Chocolate Blondie).
I am drawn to it's presence like bangers flocking to a 7-11 parking lot after midnight.

Paradise Pie, you're the illest.

The Big Dance

We're headed to Oklahoma City.
First Stop: The temple
Second Stop: Food. But where? Been to OKC? Have any suggestions?
Third Stop: The Ford Center for NCAA Basketball
Fourth Stop: Sadly, Not here. or here. Both were on our list, until we discovered that Baby Guy would not be welcome.
Soooo....no bedside turtle cheesecake and cocoa at 10pm, no cozy down comforters, no jetted jacuzzi tub, no late 1800's architecture, no fresh flowers on my nightstand, no fresh fruit and yogurt in bed wake up call and gourmet breakfast and OJ on the balcony.

I can't blame them for their no-kid policy. No one wants to hear a crying baby down the hall during their romantic getaway.

But my baby is pretty dang perfect.
and they allow PETS. PETS!
I don't know about you, but I'd SO rather hear a cute baby giggle in the morning than some yappy dog that needs to be let out to pee.

We're taking our sweet baby boy, and hitting a cheap Marriott instead. Not the same, but it's baby friendly, costs less, and that continental breakfast is mine all mine.

And it turns out that NCAA basketball is not very kid-friendly either. Unless you count $68 tickets per child as kid friendly. Reese and Quincy will be livin' it up at Hotel Kasey and Jimmie. They'll be in good hands. I've been lucky enough to stay at Kasey's "B&B" before...it's quite heavenly.

Enjoy your weekend!

Secret Treasure

Q,
I'm glad you're mine.
Love, Mom

Community

In general, I'm really enjoying my little adventure back into the college world.

But every now and then, the class discussion takes a turn that makes me ask myself (again), "what exactly am I paying for?"

Join me for a few highlights of World Lit. at NWACC

Class discussions/Comments made by other students

-Student: "But WHY would anyone even need the Koran if the Bible already existed so everyone could be Christian? This book is just a load of crap. I didn't read it."

-Teacher: How was this particular assignment more difficult to read than the others we've studied so far?
Correct answer: because it was written in middle English.
Answer given by student: because there was no movie for this one.

-Discussion: how dirty jokes you heard in 7th grade compare and contrast with Boccaccio's Decameron (followed by a bunch of examples of dirty jokes given by students...just in case you've forgotten them)

Student: "So... if we got all these stories because people back then didn't have DVD players or music to entertain themselves when they traveled, then why didn't they just knit? Then they could have had socks. I think I could knit while riding a horse. If I practiced. Yeah. I definitely could."

-Student:"When you say the test is gonna be matching and multiple choice, is that like letters to numbers? or the other way around?" (I think the best part about this is that we have already HAD one test, and he still hasn't figured it out.)

We've also had a few ethics debates...

-"Would you rather be with a beautiful mate that is unfaithful, or have him/her be super totally ugly but love you unconditionally and remain by your side?" (About 99% of the response from class members were leaned toward the first. I guess fidelity is for losers.)

-"poor Tiger Woods." (really guys?)

-"poor Paris Hilton." (REALLY guys?!)

And the big topic tonight that ate up 30 minutes, but was actually most relevant what we are reading:

-How to split up a fart into 12 different ways

seeds of love

Dear Aaron,
Just wondering if your eagerness to spend 8 hrs in the car this weekend "to go to the temple" has anything to do with the NCAA games scheduled to take place in OKC....particularly the BYU game(s).

That's right.
I pay attention to things you care about.
Boom.
Roasted.

Nice try.
Love,
Your Wife

get your printable bracket here.

{Runner #937}

My 2nd Half Marathon!

This race was HUGE compared to the last one. There were 1500 runners registered, and we were reminded of that every time we came to a hill and could look ahead or behind us to see a huge mass of runners.
Why is my mouth open? Depeche Mode. That's why.
They got me up the hill when I wanted to just die instead.
I had some good jams today.
Thank goodness, or I might have punched the kid banging on the drumset at the top of mile 12 right in the face. Or at least given that snare drum a wee push over the cliff. So annoying.
Three cheers for the best running buddy EVAH...who was willing to come run with me, even though we hadn't trained, she has a sinus infection, and she had DONATED BLOOD on Wednesday. Hip Hip Horray. Love this girl.

and no, the #2 is not because we looked/felt like "number two"....although we were feeling pretty crappy physically, nothing beats the adrenaline rush of sprinting across a finish line.
L-R Me, Kasey, Tia, Puan, Lara and Vera

I hate going for runs alone. Mostly because it is dark when we leave and I am a total sissy and assume that every squirrel in the woods is actually an attacker waiting to jump out and kidnap me. Plus, it's so much more fun to get to the top of a huge hill, look 200+ feet down at what you've just climbed, and have someone to "high-five". (that's right. I'm down with the high-5. Don't knock it, and plan to participate in the high-five if you ever run with me. Sweaty hands and all.) I'm pretty lucky that so many of my friends are running so I rarely have to brave the trails solo. It was so fun to see so many of those friends there, today. Great Job Ladies!!!

These gals rock, and each are such an inspiration to me.
Great job to Jocelyn, Catania, Stacie and Becky, too! We never seem to manage to get everyone in the same group picture. Next time. It's happening!

Thanks, Katie, for coming just to cheer us up the final uphill-stretch-of-death! What a friend! You're the only person I know that is crazy enough to go run 7 miles with me when you are pregnant! There should be an award for that!

This is starting to sound like an Oscar speech.
I'm just so excited.

But unlike some Oscar winners, I will not forget to thank my husband.

I love you, baby.
If there's anything you lack, it is doubt in my capability.
My confidence rides on the road you pave.
You saw this long before I did.
Thanks for your support!

13.1 miles

It was a really good day.

Meg vs the Internets

The other night I curled up with one sleeping husband, two pink fuzzy slippers, and too many girl scout thin mints to count, but let's just be honest and say there were zero left by the end of the night, and had me a nice little movie marathon.

It was a double feature of Some Kind of Wonderful, and Pretty in Pink online.

Partway through Pretty In Pink (during Duckie's dance in Trax, to be exact) my laptop was attacked by a lovely little virus.

That's what I get for not already owning either of these movies.
Especially when they are only $1 at the Associate's store.
For Shame.

Reason to Carbo-Load

MONTHS ago, Kasey tried to talk me into running this race.
I had a zillion excuses, and talked myself out of it.
And now the race is this Saturday.
I can't stop thinking about it.
It's supposed to be 40 degrees with a chance of rain.
And do you see the 200 ft climb at mile 12?
Who designed this course? What were they thinking?!
If you come to cheer, that's where I'll be, possibly passed out.

But I'm going to do it!

I know. C-R-A-Z-Y!
I'm just glad Kasey has a little crazy in her, too...as it is much more fun to run 13.1 miles with your bestie!

Half Marathon #2, here we come!

I'd better go eat another cookie.
You know, for my health.

Busy Bees

On the Farm
Book: Moo Moo Peek a Boo by Jane Dyer
Book: When the Rooster Crowed by Patricia Lillie
Share: Bring an item that begins with letter U (we had Underwear, an Umbrella, a Unicorn, the movie UP!, and Utensils)

Dramatic Play: Farm Prop Box (straw hats, bandannas, plastic shovels and play vegetables, plastic farm animals, plastic fence pieces, buckets and stools)
Sensory Animal Sounds Guessing Game
The baby animals have a sound byte button on the bottom. I placed all of them in a bag, and the children took turns guessing what animal was making the sound in the bag.
Fine motor: Farm Animal Puzzles


Sensory: U is for Udder! I filled rubber gloves with milk/water for the kids to squish and squeeze and pretend to milk. (singing to Row Row Row your Boat: Milk Milk, Milk the cow, I'm sitting on a stool, squirting squirting squirting squirting, now my bucket's full)

Art: Cotton Ball Sheep

Art: I filled one of the "udders" with watered down white paint, poked a hole in the finger tips, and the kids "milked" their artwork! This turned out to be much more successful than I had anticipated. The kids loved it.


Science/Cooking: Homemade butter
1) Fill baby food jars 1/2 full with heavy whipping cream
2)Tighten the lids on and let the kids shake shake shake their sillies out.
3)They got creative and rolled the jars down the slide
4) After awhile it will look like this
5) give it a quick stir with a Popsicle stick. The butter will immediately separate from the liquid. Dump the liquid, add a little salt and serve on crackers (...ahem, or a baguettes)

Language: Sharing Day and add to our list of U-words

Practical Life: We need animals. Talk about where we get wool, eggs, ham, beef, and milk (and from milk, cheese, yogurt and butter)
Music and Movement: Farm Animal Songs
Mr. Conway's Farm (animal sounds)
Old MacDonald Finger Puppet Play
The Animals on the Farm (sung to farmer in the dell)
The Animals on the Farm The Animals on the Farm Hi ho the Derry Oh The Animals on the Farm. Other verses (The cows give us milk, the chickens give us eggs, the pigs roll in the mud, etc)

{Une Baguette}

Lovin' my new baguette pan.
You don't have one?
Get one, stat.
Yes. It makes 3 loaves at a time.
No. I will not provide an explanation for the disappearance of the other two loaves.
Don't judge me.

Ok, I had a little help eating them.
Which is why I need to make more.

Recipe for instant friendsHere we go:
6c flour
1TBS yeast
1 TBS salt
2 1/2 c water (approx.)

Dissolve yeast in water.
Mix flour and salt, add yeast/water and mix with dough hook.
Cover with towel and let rise for an hour.
divide dough into thirds.
Roll each third into a rectangle (maybe 6x10 inches?)
Roll up the rectangle into a long tube (like you would for cinnamon rolls)

pinch ends off and tuck them under
Slam bread dough on the counter once or twice if you want it particularly dense
cut diagonal slits in the top
brush with olive oil
let rise 20 minutes+

preheat oven to 450* with a cake pan (that has 1 inch of water in it) on the bottom rack . Keep oven at 450* temp with the water in it for 10-15 minutes

bake baguettes at 450* for 20 minutes (careful when you open the oven, it will steam your face off)

after the 20 minutes, turn the heat down to 350* and let bake another 10-15 minutes.

Serve with homemade butter.

It's crunchy.
It's yummy.
It won't last long in your house.

More, Please!

Remember when I was in love with the Sonoma Turkey Flatbread Sammie? (if not, click here) Well...MOVE OVER Quiznoz!

I just discovered the extreme perfection that is the Lamb Gyro.
I feel so much shame for my initial hesitation to partake.
I also feel kind of ripped off because Reese ate half of it.
Yes. Reese has discovered food.
(it's about time!)
I'm so proud.

The Gyro.

It's like what the Sammie wants to be when it grows up.

"...Root, Root, Root for the Dodgers...."

Aaron just registered Reese for T-Ball.



I found a cute little T-Ball set online and almost ordered it for her.
I expected Aaron to be stoked about the girls having their own practice set, but when I showed it to him, the first thing he said was, "Uhhhh, yeah you'll need to make sure it's the official league size".

Um, our KIDS are not exactly "official size" either.
He loaded 'em up and took them to buy gear.

He's gonna be one of THOSE Dads.
You know. The one that buys himself a team shirt, and behaves obnoxiously enthusiastic at games.
He will argue with Refs when bad calls are made.
He will make everyone on the team feel special.
He will volunteer to help coach.
He will put sunscreen on the kids.
He will take them team for treats after the game, even when they lose.
He will make sure their uniforms are clean when the game starts, and dirty when it's over.
He will teach them how to play fair and be a good sport.
He will volunteer to drive to away games.
He will go to practices.
He will help practice at home.
He will cheer louder than the other Dads.
He will believe in his kids and encourage them to work hard and do their best.
He will proudly display the cheesy little trophies and ribbons long after the season has ended.

Yeah.
He will be THAT Dad.

I grew up with that Dad.
It was the best and I'm so glad my girls will, too.

My Garage is a Mess

Adios Winter! Gringo Fiesta II

Did I really not blog even ONCE about Gringo Fiesta II?
How did this happen?
We had a lovely 10 day Feasting of all things capable of sending you on an urgent run for the potty, where you might exclaim "Fire in the Hole" upon your arrival.

But we are seasoned Gringo Fiesta participants and therefore have built up a nice tolerance for the massive amounts of guac, salsa, jalapenos, beans and onions that were consumed over the past week and a half. The kickoff party was at our house with The Meadows and the Glovers (since Tia is "Mexican" and all). We laughed so hard that night, I wonder if she hid a little something something in the Tres Leches cake she brought.

Maybe it was my Sangria.
Either way, it was a fun night. I can't believe I didn't take any photos. 10 days later, the "Closing Ceremonies" were hosted by the Meadows, because about 3/4 into the week and a half of feasting, the girls both came down with ear infections, and I had a sinus infection and some sort of nasty virus that knocked me out for a few days. Kasey stepped up with some rockin' carne asada tacos and they did NOT disappoint.

What we learned:

= awesome.

It Happens

For everyone out there feeling like Mother of the Year, today.

Busy Bees Under the Sea

Today was a blast.
It's always a blast, but today was a particularly fantastic day, even though I wasn't feeling particularly fantastic. I heart preschool.

March
Letter of the Month: U
Shape of the Month: Clover
Number of the Month: 4
Colors of the Month: Light and Dark Green

3rd: Under the Sea
Book: Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae (used for dramatic play activity)
Book: Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
This is a classic and I highly recommend it for every house with small children.
Book: Dolphin’s First Day by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
(the kids made dolphin sounds when I turned the page. I had them tell me what they saw happening in the pictures, rather than read the story to them, because it was very wordy and not age appropriate, but the illustrations were fantastic.)

Dramatic Play: Underwater Adventure I used a roll of blue tablecloth, Busy Bee artwork, and crepe paoper to decorate the classroom like the ocean. Let them be a fish, and octopus, a shark, an eel, a whale, a squeaky dolphin, a crab, a starfish…
Fine Motor Centers:
1) cutting 8 legs for octopus artwork
2)Magnetic fishing pole (I don't have a picture of this, but it's a cute plush magnetic fishing pole, with magnetic fish, turtles, and starfish for the children to pick up
3)Ocean Adventure magnet scene4)Aquatic life flannel board (whale, shark, crab, lobster, starfish, alligator, and several fish)
5) Let's Go Fishing! (always a hit)

Sensory: feeder fish in a tub for the children to pet, feed, and care for.
Talk to the children about being gentile with the fish, and how to care for them. (um...yeah, I failed to do this until after I had encouraged the children to just reach in the tub and pet the fish. I had no idea they'd actually be able to catch one! Oopsie.) Check out the video footage of my Busy Bee's sweet cat-like reflexes, as well as me freaking out when I realize there is a live fish trapped between his fingers. I say a panicked, "okay" after every word after that. Also, my voice does not always sound this terrible. I've been fighting a sinus infection for a week and I feel and sound like garbage.

Art: Paper plate Jellyfish and octopus wind socks

Math/Science: Sand dollar size matching
I also put out a jar of sand, the conch shell at this center, along with a magnifying glass for the kids to examine them with.

Practical Life: What do fish need to live? Why can’t we live under water?
One of my Bee's brought a conch shell to show and tell.

"What do you hear in the shell?" answers were: "the wind", "this is a phone? My Dad is calling me! Hmmm, he's whispering too quiet, I can't hear him enough", "waves", "there's a bear in here", and "a toilet!"

Language: U Words-the kids came up with "underwear", "underground", and "us". We'll add to this list all month as they think of more U words to share.

Gross Motor: "Green" Fishing
I set up a clothespin fishing center and let the children “fish” for items that are green during our end-of-class circle time. Some of the items were a frog, a turtle, Peter Pan, a crayon, a block, and a fake plant.

Music and Movement: Aquatic Songs
A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea
Slippery Fish
Tiny Turtle Tim
Baby Shark

Cooking: Ocean Blue Jell-o
Snack: blue jell-o gold fish and whales
PS-when I make jell-o or instant pudding, I put it in old baby food containers. The kids love having their very own mini cup of jello.