There's a storm coming

Got Milk?

(photos are from my friend, Sarah)

How about some produce?

Reason #239 to be grateful for home food storage:

What: The bread aisle
Where: Every Walmart in NorthWest Arkansas
When: this afternoon/12 hours before Ice Storm 2011 is expected to hit.

It's difficult to believe that it was 74* here in Bella Vista 2 days ago.

Now, the weather teams are forcasting a record breaking "Winter Blast".

Winter Blast? Does anyone else think that would make a better name for a delicious shake from Sonic, rather than freezing rain, sleet, ice accumulation, and several inches of snow?
We're hunkering down and getting ready for a horrible ice storm.
And by "hunkering down", I mean Aaron is building a fire, and I am baking a cake.

First things first.

From the Sofa

In a sound sleep, Aaron just turned to me and said, "No more."

Me: "No more what?"

Aaron: "Mittens. We're buying. No more buying mittens. Everyday mittens. No more buying mittens."

You got it, baby.

These are a few of my favorite things

First up: I don't have a pet, but if I did, I would hang it's leash from one of these little wall hooks from IKEA.

Aren't they funny? I bought the pink one for my sister.
I think I love it even more because everything at IKEA has a funky sweedish name.
Except for these. On the reciept, it rang up as a "hook ass". hahahahahha. Awesome.

Super Corbin.
Awesome.


Love the necklace he chose to go with his cape (which is reversible and has a pink liner and princess option on the other side. I had two daughters, first, ok?) Baby in Cape = Awesome.

Attention:

The heavens have opened.

Between the part in the skies, boxes of this goodness have been delivered to your local walmart. (yes. buy it at walmart. First, because Aaroni s the popcorn buyer and this is his item. Second, because it is cheaper at walmart than target)

Mmmm it's like someone sqeezed a fresh lime all over a bowl of buttery popcorn and sprinkled it with sea salt. Delicious. Must be eaten hot. Get two boxes, the first one won't last.

Thank you Kasey for bringing this goodness into my life. Salt & Lime Popcorn = Awesome.

It's that time of year again.
Aaron brought these lovelies home for me on Tuesday.

Tulips in winter make me very very happy.

Happy enough to hate winter a little bit less.

See the yellow flowers in the background? He bought me those three weeks ago, and they are still kickin'!

Flowers in milk bottles = Awesome.

Up next: The Snuggie.

Ok, first of all, the snuggie is NOT awesome. It's the lamest thing ever made.

Do people really not know how to read a book whilst under a blanket?

And why not just put your robe on backwards?

Those of you who own one...don't feel upset by that last statement. I know it isn't your fault. The Snuggie was most likely a gift from a loved one/terrible present buyer. I feel for you.

If the snuggie WAS purchased by you...like if you actually called the infomercial and ordered one...well...that's where the awesome part comes in.

Everytime I see a photo like this one:

I am reminded of just how cool I actually am.

I've never really considered myself to be part the "cool" crowd. I'd like to offer my gratitude to the Snuggie for un-cooling everyone else, so I can at least feel cool by default.

The frequency of how often photos similar to this one are showing up on the internet has drastically increased since Christmas 2010. As a result, I'm starting to feel so cool I might have to run for Homecoming Queen, or something.





Not that any of you Snuggie-wearers would vote for me.
Looking cool at the expense of others = awesome.



I think my absolute favorite item this week is the Z Pack.

I had the flu 2 weeks ago. Then I was well, but my kids had ear infections, so life wasn't the grandest. Now they are well, but I got a sinus infection and today, a diagnosis of Bronchitis to boot. Lovely.



I freaking hate being sick. I'm so over it. Winter lasts twice as long when you're sick. I quarantined myself for like, forever after the flu, and I still never fully got a break from dr. visits. It's worn me pretty thin.

I'm so grateful for awesome Aaron and my awesome kids (they all make the favorites list, too). I haven't been very fun the last two days, and I'm glad they're still willing to keep me.



I'm so so SOOOO grateful for modern medicine. Antibiotics are a gift from God.

Feeling better = awesome.

Finally: My Preschool.
Being a mother really is the best job ever. I love it so much.
I feel like my job as an educator is second only to motherhood.
I love these children. I love the opportunity to nurture, play, teach, and laugh. These kids are so funny. I feel very blessed to have them come to my home every week, and I take my responsibility as a teacher very seriously. It is a joy and an honor to have a small role in the lives of these small, but very important people. I hope that what they gain from their experiences at my preschool is an understanding of their own great worth and abilities. I try to make learning fun.

They are amazing people.

No, I'm not about to start singing "I believe the children are our future" or anything...

I am just very aware, and very happy that I chose to work in the right business.

Kids waiting patiently in line while Mrs. Meg dotes over their cuteness and takes their picture =Awesome.

Happy Weekend!

Friendly Frogs- The Moon, Planets, and Stars

I took a trip into space with my Friendly Frogs, this week!
Literature:

Many of these books have real photos of space, from Nasa.

The children learned that there are no people (except for the astronauts that visited from Earth), no air, no food, no water, and no sound on the moon.

Book: The Moon by Carmen Bredeson
Book: I Want to Be and Astraonaut by Stephanie by Maze
Book: Goodnight Moon By Margaret Wise Brown
Book: Let’s Go to the Moon by Janis Knudsen Wheat
Book: If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty

Video: Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle

I have a narrated story telling of Papa Please Get the Moon for Me on dvd. The children were SO excited to "watch a movie" at preschool. The version I have, has the words captioned at the bottom of the screen, but CLICK HERE for a similar version to what I showed, so they can watch it again and again at home. We talked about what parts of the story were real and what was make believe.

It's a great little story, full of the expected beautiful tissue paper collage illustrations by Eric Carle. I really love the music in the background and the narrator's accent. Enjoy!

Share: Bring something shaped like a circle: The children brough plates, wheels, eyeballs, lids, candy dishes, snowmen, cups and more.

Motor Skills: Upside Down Art

This was a tricky task for the children that encouraged them to engage their motor skills in a different way. I taped several pieces of double stick tape to pieces of black paper, then attached the papers to the underside of the table.

The children were challenged to lay on their backs and stick pom poms on the pieces of tape hanging over their heads. They experienced gravity when the pom poms slipped from their hands and fell on their faces, and pretended they were astronauts tied into the beds and chairs of a spaceship (we read about this in the book, first) so they wouldn't float away.

Sensory: Moon Dough and star cookie cutters. What does the ground on the moon feel like? Since there is no air or wind on the moon, if you make a footprint there, it will stay there forever, just like a finger print in playdough!
Dramatic Play: telescopes-explain that a telescope is something we use to get a closer look at the stars and other planets. I showed the children photos from a few books of pictures taken through a real telescope. Then they "looked at the stars" through a set of play telescopes I made with wrapping paper tubes, black paper, and rubber bands. When I made them, I copied a few simple constellations from a star chart by poking holes through the paper at the ends of the "telescopes" with a straight pin. I put a different constellation in each telescope

and when the children pointed looked into the scopes and pointed them toward the light, the stars would appear!

Aren't these little star gazers the cutest?

Math: Bigger, Smaller: each of the balloons that I blew up were a different size. As a group, we sorted them biggest to smallest.

Language Question: What is it like on the moon? What is in Space? Record answers.

Practical Life: real vs make believe (Can we really climb a ladder to the moon like Monica's father did in the story? Did astronauts really land on our moon?)

Music and Movement: They Might Be Giants Planet song: The children had a blast dancing to this song. We did a different movement (clap, jump, roll arms, spin, etc) for each of the planets.

Here is the music video for the song:

Vocabulary: We learned a lot of unfamiliar words and concepts today, but the one word I really worked with the children to help them remember was gravity. I gave them a very "4 year old" explanation that "gravity is the force that pulls us down". Immediately, my StarWars fan, Max, chimed in with, "The Force! I know the force. They don't have The Force on the Moon, Mrs Meg! That's silly." Maybe my "4 yr old explanation" would be better understood if it came from George Lucas.

Then Jacob showed us all how there's "no gravity" in his balloon trick!

Gross Motor: Astronaut Leaps! There is less gravity on the moon to pull you down, so astronauts can jump a lot higher, like they are light as a balloon! The children took turns jumping over "craters" and throwing around balloons. We also played a game to see who could keep their balloon in the air the longest. Before heading back to Earth on our rocket, we counted down from 10 to 1 and shouted Blast Off!

I love my job so much, and am totally over the moon for these children.

What a fun day.

Friendly Frogs: On a Snowy Day

I'm playing catch up here, and posting last week's curriculum as well.

On a Snowy Day
Literature:
Book: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Book: Mama, Will it Snow Tonight? By Nancy White Carlstrom (we did this as a call repeat group read, and the children loved it!
Book: Max and Molly’s Winter by Ann Garrison Greenleaf

Share: Wear your favorite Winter Gear

Fine motor: cut snowflakes out of pre folded paper.

Sensory: Insta Snow Play!

Mr. Sammy isn't usually attracted to the sensory bins, but I couldn't pull him away from them, today! He must be a lover of the snow.

Math/Fine Motor: divide 12 “snowballs” into equal groups (2 groups of 6, 3 groups of 4, 4 groups of 3, 6 groups of 2) using a cotton ball and clothespin transfer center
Science: Solid, Liquid, Gas We talked about the properties of water, and how it looks and feels in different forms.

We listened to the Solid Liquid Gas song by They Might Be Giants during Music and Movement time. I used the weather as an example (snow, rain, fog/clouds) to explain the difference between the three forms. Here's the YouTube music video for the song we listened to: enjoy! (beware...it WILL get stuck in your head, and you WILL be singing "Gaaaaaaaaaaas!" later.

Language Question: what happens to ice and snow when it melts?

Mystery Item: (snow shovel) ask children “what is it?” Record answers

Music and Movement: Falling Down, Gently Down-sing with snowflakes, and Once there was a Snowman, Solid, Liquid, Gas -They Might be Giants

Language: W words-add to our list

Snack: cocoa with snowman straws and snowman marshmallows

Math: marshmallow W patterns

I made several AB and AABB patterns with capital and lower case W. The children put a large snowman marshmallow on the capital W's and mini marshmallows on the lower case w. This was a great excercise to help the children work patterns of various skill levels, matching, size classification, and staying on task and in control (not just eating all the marshmallows!) during a group activity.

Art: The color white! The children painted white swirly snowy W's

Happy Winter, Friendly Frogs!

Recycle

I have wasted a small fortune on plastic baggies since Reese started school.

You can only fit so many plastic reusable containers into thermal lunch bag. I recently restocked my baggie supply and discovered that I had spent $9 on plastic bags. $9 freaking dollars! What a waste! I know they hold a purpose and all, but $9?

But I just can't live without the convenience. At least, I don't think I can...and I don't want to. It is absolute torture when I really need a ziplock bag and don't have one available.

I still feel like I threw $9 away.

While all of this was on my mind, I was reading a book about a pioneer, and it described her wrapping contents of her lunch (jerky, nuts, slice of pie, etc) in brown paper, or fabric napkins.

I'm not about to put a piece of pie in a napkin.

But it did help me to look around and think about what I would do if ziplocks weren't available.

I didn't discover some superb alternative.

But I did find that I'd been throwing away even more than $9 worth of plastic bags.

A lot of the food we buy already comes in a plastic bag or container.

bread

apples

oranges

bagels

butter

cool whip

english muffins

A lot of people already think to reuse plastic containers, but why not reuse plastic bags, too? I'm not about to wash and reuse something 100x, or save the bag my frozen chicken came in, but why not shake the bread crumbs from the breadbag and fill it with something else, at least once? That's one bag I don't have to buy.

My favorite re-usable so far, is the tortilla bag.

We eat a lot of tortillas, and they come in a ziplock bag.

Tortilla crumbs have been shaken out, and now the bag is keeping the leftover white bread from going stale.

Look around your house and see what containers can be reused for another purpose before they get tossed or recycled.

Do you reuse or repurpose something in your house? Tell us about it.

Blast Off!

My baby (can I still call him a baby?) throws everything.
He has quite the arm.
If it's not a ball, it's... well, anything. This kid has no preference. He just assumes that everything must be thrown, and it needs to be thrown soon. With an exciting sound effect.

My daughters didn't do this.
Is it a boy thing?


Last week, we witnessed:
-a buttered slice of bread get launched across the kitchen table and land squarely on top of my lasagne.
-a golf ball land in the butter tub
-a Little People airplane take a maiden voyage over the sofa.
-a Little People school bus also take a maiden voyage over the sofa.
-every everything ever made take a maiden voyage (and many return flights) over the sofa.
-a remote contol head impailment
-the plush Buzz, Woody, and Bullseye toys thrown 'to infinity and beyond'
-100 billion things end up in the kitchen sink (does he think it's a basket?)
-and of course, all unwanted food on the high chair tray forced to walk the plank.

I had started to type, "most recently, a square lego block just hit the screen of my laptop" (inspiring this post), but by the time I had finished, the wall had been nailed with a shoe and the footstool from the bathroom had been carried down the hall, then launched across the living room like a car in one of those crazy iron man competitions where they see how many yards one man can pull a city bus by a rope.

A few days ago, Aaron started juggling some golf balls to entertain the kids. (yeah, Aaron can juggle. He is cool.)
I was totally against this, because I thought it would only encourage Corbin's habit of throwing things (and we are all getting sick of being hit with wooden train tracks).

But I was wrong.


Turns out, the only time Corbin doesn't throw things, is when he is juggling.

Point: Facebook

I Confess:
The #1 reason I keep my facebook account active is so I can ask people to call me when I lose my phone. This happens at least once every two to three weeks.

I Confess:
Yeah, that last one is a lie. I solicit the help of Facebook friends to help me find my phone at least once every week. Sorry Friends.

Shameless Brag

I forgot to mention (brag) that when we were waiting at the doctor's office the other day, Reese picked up a copy of Dr. Seuss' There's a Wocket in My Pocket and read the whole book out loud! She needed help with a few of the made-up Dr. Seuss-y words, but I am so impressed with her reading skills. Listening to my child read to me is absolute music.

Way to go Reese!

Oh, and I should have knocked on wood. We went back to the Doctor today and surprise! (not.)Quincy's ears are totally infected. Nice.

Bummer

Corbin's little bickies are about to go all natural.

If you had asked me 6 years ago if I would ever consider cloth diapering, I would have laughed in your face and called you a hippie.

Right before Corbin was born, I started to actually consider cloth diapering, but I looked around at the mountainous supply of diapers that I already owned (thank you, wonderful friends of mine), and didn't see a need to purchase diapers, since I had almost 6 months worth of disposables waiting to be used.

Fast forward to when the supply ran out. I considered it again. The upfront investment is $75-$100 to get started. Um, yeah at that point, I was spent on both energy and cash and it just wasn't worth the investment just to "try it out".

But now, we're sinking into a nice little groove. Corbin is 20 months, and I probably won't even attempt to potty train him until a year from now.

So for the cost of 3 boxes of diapers, I bought enough to "try it out". 4 Bummi covers, 6 prefolds, 3 snappis, and a box of disposable liners (because solid poop in your washer is nasty).

3 boxes of diapers would last us about 2 months.

So I figure, If I can do this for 60 days, I'll have broken even with what I've spent, so far.

Anything after that will be money still in my pocket. If I continue, I'll spend another $20+ to get another dozen prefolds for the diapers, and maybe some other diapering supplies I don't know about yet, but I think that's still worth it, considering I currently spend that amount every few weeks on disposables.

Even if it is totally gross and more work, I think I could stand to see these little rockets on Corbin's bum for 60 days.

So, the adventure begins.

I will use disposables at night.

I will use disposables when I send my baby to a friend's house, have a sitter, or go on road trips, because I still have a box of them to use up.

And also because I am not 100% certain what I have gotten myself into.

But I can do anything for 60 days.

If I hate it after 60 days, the cloth diapers will be lovingly tucked into our 72 hour kits, and I'll never look back.

As a bonus, I won't have to worry about replacing the diapers in my 72 hr kids every time my babies grow into a different size.

Is it worth it?

We'll see.

Stay tuned.

It should be noted that I gave myself a few pats on the back for purchasing these online. Whaaat?!

Go me.

While the Parents Were Away

Kasey received the Bestest Friend Ever Award, tonight, when she came over and put our kids to bed for us so Aaron and I could go on a date.

Our date was wonderful, just what we needed.

We came home to three sleeping children, and this awesome video of the Baby Guy taking a horsie ride on Kasey's lap.

Shut up.

Could he be any cuter?

We don't think so.

Thanks, Kasey!

The Real Deal

Mark, Melinda, and Taylor---yet another reason why you should come to visit us in Arkansas (although, after the post about the bugs, I'm pretty sure Mark will never come here, now)


Today on Facebook:

Downtown Bentonville, Inc.
River Grille is bringing back their popular "Dining in the Dark" event. An evening where senses are awakened by limiting vision and relying totally on taste, smell and touch to explore an array of amazing cuisine. 4 courses for $45.00. Event will be held on Saturday, January 22nd at 6:00 pm. Call 479-271-4141 for more information.
9 minutes ago ·LikeUnlike · Comment


Whaaaaat?
Ok, hold on. You mean to tell me that "Dining in the dark" is a real thing?



Yes!
"It's awesome!"

"I will not tolerate infestation!"

Don't worry.

We have selected a winner for the Shirt Shun, but we decided we want to announce it with video post, so the shirt destruction can be documented. So you'll have to wait a few more days.

But to the winner, I cannot wait to give you your chunky ring and tshirt.

Meanwhile,
Aaron and I have a little problem.

With crickets.

Ok, actually, Arkansas has a problem with all bugs. They are enormous and look like things that your nightmares are made of.

Our problem is singular.
Just one cricket.

And not because it chirps all night, because it doesn't.
It is made out of plastic.

When we moved here, our home was a crusty, outdated mess, that had been previously owned by an old couple named Dorothy and Guy (it's been 5 years and we still get their mail). The house was really REALLY ugly, decked out in Brady Bunch wallpaper and light fictures, smelled musty, and every time the a/c or heater kicked on, 2 or 3 of these wicked looking crickets (that look like jumping spiders) would come in through the vents. Gross? YES! We took to keeping our shoes by the vents so we could easily smash them. Nasty. Everyone that lives in Ar knows what kind of cricket I am talking about. Ick.


We finally got a bug guy to come out and spray the house, and that combined with a horribly long, cold winter is what we think finally exterminated them. But we are haunted by the crickets. Once, the showerhead was dripping in the master bath, and we spent a good 15 minutes with the lights on at 3am, searching our bedroom with shoes in hands, looking for the cricket jumping around that we thought was the cause of the noise.

Anyway, about a year ago, one of the girls selected a Chuck E Cheese toy that looks IDENTICAL to the dang crickets.

The image below is the most alike that I could find to the one we have.
Trust me, this is not your average spider ring fake-out. There are bugs here that look almost exactly like this.

This sucker is the same size, shape, and color of the crickets that sneak into the houses to torture the residents of Northwest Arkansas.

It doesn't matter that it has been a good year or two since we've had a cricket sighting in our house.

The memory of finding them everywhere still haunts me.

And now this, this TOY is causing me to lose sleep.
I can't get rid of it!

Every time I think I have thrown it away for the LAST time, it reappears...in the sock drawer, in the shower, on my pillow, in the closet, on the floor behind the toilet...anywhere.


And it scares the crap out of me. every. single. time.

I can't even tell you how many times I have "killed" it with a shoe or rolled magazine, then screamed a second time, when it didn't "die", but instead bounced off the pillow and came flying at me.

And Aaron just thinks it is sooooohohoho funny, and laughs and laughs at me until his face turns purple,
or until there's a "cricket" on his pillow.


THEN it's not so funny.

I've had this post typed up for awhile, and I keep meaning to publish it, but I've waited because I wanted to include a picture of said fake cricket.


Unfortunately, I can't find it.
The last time it freaked me out, it was in the drawer in my nightstand. I jumped out of bed when it touched my hand as I reached in the drawer for a pen and journal. Aaron hahaha'd a good 10 minutes that time.


And I can't find it now, which only means one thing.

He has stashed it again.
He has hidden that little bugger somewhere in this house, and I know that Aaron is just waiting to hear me scream when I discover it, so he can die laughing at me for falling for it again!


Well, laugh it up now, Baby,
because once I DO find that cricket, some hardcore payback is coming your way.


And if I happen to catch YOUR jumpy scream on camera...
it is so going up on the blog.


Then, that evil little Chuck E Cheese toy is going to find a new home (again), because even fake bugs are gross, and this little war has gone on long enough.

One Upped

Disregard today's previous post.

The bangin' gumbo I just busted out for dinner trumps anything I have accomplished in a very very long time.

You all should be very very jealous of Aaron, tonight.
Recipe to come soon.

Today

1) I taught preschool this morning, and consequently, I keep forgetting that it is Friday, and not Wednesday. It was a great day, as always. I'll post pictures and curriculum later.

2) When Quincy woke up from her nap, she playfully crawled into the kitchen, pawed my feet, nuzzled her head and neck against my calves, and made an animal-like whinny.

Me: "Hi, you're awake! Are you a kitty or a horse?"

Quincy: "I'm a Quincy!"

3) Miss Reese was awarded as Terrific Kid at her school assembly today. The assembly was first thing in the morning, so Aaron surprised Reese and drove her to school, then stayed for the assembly. Reese was really excited. We are proud of her for being selected as a Terrific Kid!

4) I took both her and Corbin to the doctor yesterday. I was pleased to hear that Quincy's ears are clear, without a lick of infection. This is big news in our house, since we often wonder if her ears ever even heal 100% between one infection and the next.

Of course, both of Corbin's ears are infected, but hey, at least I have a reason for why he wasn't sleeping at night.

5) I just made 2 loaves of white bread to go with the gumbo I'm making for dinner. Like WHITE white bread. Rolls in loaf form. Though I am normally a big fan of the nutritional benefits and nutty taste of wheat bread, the babys cooling on my stovetop have got to be the most absolutely delicious, fluffy, wonder bread of breads I have ever made. I feel like I have conquered the world. I feel like a rockstar. I feel like Betty Crocker. ---
which is sort of cute because it is a Betty Crocker recipe.

I wonder if Betty Crocker still has yesterday's laundry piled on top of her bed, waiting to be folded.

"Honey let's play hooky 'cause it snowed last night..."

Brrrrrr.....
It was 1* outside with windchill.
That's a little too cold for Bella Vista, and way cold for the girls. They didn't last very long outside, but they had fun while they were out there.

The rest of the day involved me sitting in the "audience" (hallway) and high quality live puppet theater. The girls pulled up a stool behind the curtain, so Corbin could reach. It was a short lived effort, but very sweet nonetheless.

Before Reese got on the bus, this morning, she had a lot of questions about what Quincy, Corbin, and I will be doing with our day. She begged one last time for me to let her stay home and play with us. I think she is starting to realize that the world doesn't stop when she isn't home, or when she is asleep.

Little does she know, the world of every mother stops a little bit when her children aren't home.

I assured her that that if she could see the mountain of laundry that I plan to fold, the dishes I'm going to wash, the shower drain that will be unclogged (gag), diapers that I'll change, (or if only knew how grueling the phone calls to the Boise State Admissions office and Health Insurance company are going to be), she'd choose to go to school.

She told me, "it would be so nice if you could wait to have any fun at all until I get home."

Too bad every day can't be a Snow Day. Carry on.

Don't Forget....

about the Big Shun! Today is the last day to leave suggestions for how that ugly shirt will be destroyed.

I love the suggestions that have been given, so far, too funny! I'm already fantasizing about each scenario and playing them out in my head, mentally giving every t-shirt from that dang box a turn.

I'll announce the big winner tomorrow.

Leave a comment with your ideas for destruction here.
This might turn into an annual event, and if that's the case, you know you want to win, just so you can have creative bragging rights, claim your prize, and sing, "Look at my rings, my rings, my rings...."





Contest ends at midnight.

Insert theme song from Rocky here.

***if you are new to the blog, or unfamiliar with the Lawrence Family tradition of the Almond Box and want to read the back story to fully understand the annual Almond Box posts, click the tag labeled The Box at the end of the post *****


A few packages arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon.

Presents!
Ok, I know I'd just said I would be selfish to ask for anything more, today, but I did ask for these.

Also, I don't turn presents away.

Everyone had just gotten up from their naps, so Aaron played Santa and passed out the gifts. We opened a bunch of lovely gifts from my sister Amy's family. My favorite is the puppet theater backdrop. The girls are thrilled to have a venue for their performances, and I know this will get a lot of use by my preschoolers, as well. Also, the running sweatband (that I'm wearing in the video) has a "super mom" logo on it that makes me laugh, because I feel like anything BUT a "super mom" when I abandon my family to go running. I've been wanting one of these bands for awhile, and it is a much needed addition to my running "gear" (scroll down to winter warrior video if you haven't seen it, yet.) Thanks, Oelrichs!

Anyway, there were many many other gifts to open and it was like Christmas morning all over again! I was helping Corbin take the packaging off his new truck, when Aaron plopped what appeared to be a very heavy, yet VERY familiar wrapped present next to me.


I didn't even see who's name was on the tag, but I froze.
Stunned.
Then I smiled.


"I know what that is, Aaron."

"What? That present? It's heavy. It's for you."


"That is the Almond Box."


He said, "no way, you can't tell. It's wrapped!"


But I KNEW. All of the Lawrence Kids know. The distict not-quite-square shape, the spongy feel of the thick thick cardboard, the rounded worn edges.

Aaron had some technical difficulties when video recording the opening of the gift, but it's just as well, as I'm pretty sure I sounded like a spoiled little brat when I squealed, "Eat that suckahs!" or something similar to my siblings.

My parents have never mailed the Almond Box. It has always been wrapped on Christmas Eve, and opened on Christmas Morning. For 30 years. The Christmas after I was married, I made up new rules when I launched my campaign, and declared a "must be present to win" stipulation. I thought it would increase my odds of receiving the Almond Box, since my brother and his wife are always in Utah Christmas morning. Instead, I drastically DEcreased them, since I have only been home on Christmas morning twice since then, and one of those years, the box went to Aaron. I am never 'present to win', dangit!

The familar shaped present sat on my living room floor, and I was near certain that it was what I hoped it was. If I made up the rules 10 years ago, why can't someone else change them? "must be present to win" wasn't working out so well anymore, anyway, since my parents were out of town on Christmas for 3 out of the last 6 years.

Did they really change the rules, and decide to MAIL the Almond Box TO it's recipient?

Bah ba ba bah bah ba baaaaaaaaaa!

YES!
Yes they did! Booyah! Pictured above is the REAL DEAL.

The other new rule my parents have come up with, this year, is that from now on, each recipient holds the responsibility of choosing who gets the Box the following year.

I feel so powerful. Now, I promised myself after last week's confessional, that I try to I'd keep the Big Brother refrences to a minimum. I'm failing to keep that promise, as

I can't help but refer to my nonbox-holding brothers and sisters and husband as the "Have Nots", this week.

Dear Have Nots,
Better luck next year. Let this turn of events remind you that even though this precious box has not had my name on it since 1997, and it would have been another easy year to gift the box to another child, Mom and Dad just couldn't live a lie anymore. They slapped my name on that bad boy and sent it in the mail as a reminder to everyone that I always have been and forever will be Mom and Dad's favorite child. And also that I am the best. ever.

King me,

Meg Almond Box winner 2010

Inside, was another surprise. A real gift! Usually the Almond Box holds something unexciting or lame, like underwear or socks. But my gift was way better than the norm (should I really expect anything less? I mean, I am the favorite and all).

I was incredibly touched to find Grandma Lawrences antique pressing iron inside.
I must say, I admire it almost as much as I admire seeing my name written on the Almond Box.

Aaron laughed and said he's never seen me look so happy while holding an iron.

I reminded him, that according to the new rules, he'd better start kissing up to me a little more, or that box is sure to say someone else's name on it, come Christmas.

He made up for his snarky comment and for not actually recording the fabulous grand opening the Box, by catching this little snippet of the Box and I snuggling on the sofa.

I was a little (very) emotional, and unshowered.

For your viewing pleasure:

Wow.

The Almond Box. Mine, at last.

Just an hour before the package arrived, I'd said that 'it would be selfish to ask for anything more' on this perfect Tuesday.

it managed to get even more perfect!

Lucky Me.

Thanks Mom and Dad! I Love you!

On a Snowy Day

Dough is rising, chicken is marinading, black beans are cooking, and my mouth is already watering for some CPK pizzas tonight.
The fire is keeping our house at a comfortable 72*, even though the wind chill temp outside is 1*.
All 3 children that were pretty crabby an hour ago are now napping.
I have a batch of citrus blueberry muffins (from scratch thankyouverymutch) in the oven that will be ready to glaze in 9 minutes.
Aaron is working from home.

I'd be selfish to ask for anything more out of this perfect day.

Sugar Coated

The world beyond our doors looks delicious, today.
A sugary, white frosting fell during the night and continues to drift down from the sky and stick to every iced surface as little flakes of coconut dusted atop a cake.


Even my deserted garden beds appear mouth watering again, since everything looks like one big frosted doughnut.

Reese was just delighted when she woke up to the surprise, this morning.
If only school had been canceled so she could stay home with us.

Winter has offically begun.
Those who are not fans of Winter say, "Aye".
Aye, Aye, Aye. (<----all three of those are from me.)

I kind of hate snow, but I've been trying to see the silver lining in it, and every year the snow grows on me a little more. Today, the silver lining was easily found when I felt how tickled my daughters were by the sight of the first snow. They've longed for months for the snow to return and stick on the ground. And just like they do when a cake is taking an hour to bake or when we're on a long road trip, they've been ringing my ears since October with,

"Is it time?

"Is the snow coming, yet?"
"When will it snow?"

"When will it be time?"
"Is it time?"
"Is it ready?"
"Are we there yet?", "Are we there yet?", "Are we there yet?"

...
...
...


"How about now?"

I awoke to the wake of destruction caused by my sick day. Aaron did a swell job caring for me and for the children, and even purchased a new vacuum and sucked what looks like an assorment of woodland critters from our living room carpet, and I am very grateful for his service. But it's a reality that the aftermath of any Mom getting sick is always a category 5.

It appears that while I was "snowed" with meds, my home was frosted.
With a mess! A HUGE mess. A Monday House x 10

Toys, clothes, dishes, everything, everywhere, on top of everything. Covered in a layer of everything. Smelling of diaper and fringed with kleenex.

So it would be easy to wake up irritated with the disaster.

But, thanks to the absolute joy brought to my children by the fluffy confections falling outside, my walls are bursting with optimism that today is going to be wonderful.

I think we've all got a sugar high.

And if I've got a frosted mess that is sprinkled with these faces, well then...

looks like that cake is finally ready. Yum.

The world beyond our doors looks delicious, today.

hahahahaha

My running friends will appreciate this.

And for all of the girls that looked at me like I was insane when I tried to talk them into joining our winter late-night running group when it was 15 degrees outside, you'll really appreciate this one.

And for my pals in California that were whining about missing their saturday run last week because of "all the rain", all I have to say is, "wah waaaah". You get to run in shorts like 11 months out of the year, ok? I need my "special head lamp, running gloves, cute hat, base layer shirt, running socks, and reflective jacket" (no compression pants... yet).

Laughers be warned. Come out with us once and you'll catch the fevah!

Sick Day

I have the flu.
My husband rocks.
I just left my bedroom for the first time in like, 10 hours, and wow. My house looks like a bomb went off in it.
I'm grateful for a best friend who reminds me with her good attitude to look for the positive spin on lousy days. I may have the flu, but I have the flu on a Saturday, and that means I just spent 10 hours in my bed!

I took a "sick day".

Dear Moms,
When is the last time you were able to take an actual sick day? I've been racking my brain and since I had children, I honestly don't think I have ever taken a full blown, real life, actual sick day. But that's what I had today. Aaron took care of the children all day, and periodically took my temperature, then brought me meds, kleenex, and fluids. I "called in sick", checked out of reality, holed up in my bedroom for 10 hours and "took the day off". It's like being a guy. I have no idea why men are such babies when they get sick. I had a fever of 105* last night and I feel like absolute garbage, but today was pretty freaking awesome. Bedside service, unlimited napping, and no responsibility? Hellz yes.

I'm on a lot of medication right now and probably shouldn't be allowed near the computer.
Props to Aaron for rockin' the Super Dad cape today.

Fashion Show! Fashion Show! Fashion Show at lunch!

After nearly 10 years of marriage, I have come to the conclusion that I am not the one and only love of my husband's life.

That's right. Aaron has a relationship on the side:

with his t-shirts.

These aren't just any t-shirts.

T-shirts to Aaron are like cats to lonely old ladies.

Yeah. He takes in all the strays and freebies, and even if they aren't a good match with his current family of shirts, he adopts them anyway, because he is too emotionally attached to get rid of them.

To "help" Aaron with his t-shirt hoarding, I took the 20 or so shirts that hadn't been worn in several years, and put them in a storage basket in the top of our closet.

Recently, Aaron had a panic and went searching for them. Oh the excitement on his face when he rescued them from hibernation. He sentimentally went through the stack, giving each abandoned cat some much needed love and affection as he tried them all on.

Let's meet the Felidae:

First up, The Billabong Shirt. This baby was part of Aaron's regulart t-shirt rotation when we were dating. I remember thinking, "I am 18. He is 24. 24 is kind of old. Definitely too old to be sporting Billabong."

That was 11 years ago. He still wears the shirt, occasionally.

Next, Quicksilver. Also from the 10-15 yrs old collection. This was actually a nice shirt in it's prime.

Back when it was light blue. Excessive washing and wearing has faded it to an unsightly seafoam white. the collar and sleeves are threadbare.

we had to take a break for a sniff-test.

The Souvenier Maui shirt was brought back by my parents, from Hawaii, for Aaron in 2001. There is a big tear across the chest caused by some branches he was clearing out of the backyard. It also got chainsaw oil spilled on it (which is what put it into retirement)...I think that's what he was sniffing for.

And now, a video clip to demonstrate just how much he loves his t shirts:

Do you see how excited he is to "introduce" you to his cats t-shirts?

Following the Sleeveless Fresno State shirt, he modeled the 1994 Santa Clarita Stake Basketball Champs T-shirt. This shirt has become less of a threat, because when it hit 20 years old it was given "heirloom status", so the risk of him wearing it out in public is minimal.

The Enormous Green Bay Packer's Shirt also got pushed out of my concern, because we're in Razorback country, now, and no one cares about the NFL.

When we were engaged, we painted our ghetto kitchen table a crackled red. It was pretty rad. Unfortunately, Aaron's BYU Intramural Basketball Champion shirt was splattered with red paint. He still keeps it, but is bitter about not being able to trophy it around on his person anymore.

There are easily 40 more shirts. Just as dirty. Just as faded. Just as old. Just as holey. And just as loved by my husband as the other shirts. Monogamy is too cruel a rule for this guy.

Until Christmas.

Aaron gave me one present that was better than all of his other gifts to me, combined. A gift that changed everything. A gift that tells me how much he truly loves me.

First, a little back story for those of you who didn't watch Big Brother last Summer are respectable human beings. Let me fill you in, the last house guest to be kicked out of the Big Brother house was Enzo, the insurance adjuster from Jersey (WOW am I really typing this? Yes. Yes I am. Confession: We totally watched Big Brother last Summer. Moving on...) Enzo got "the shun" by Big Brother and was forced to hand over his clothes, and wear a Penguin Suit for a week. (Still with me? Ok.) At the end of the week, the houseguests gathered around for a ceremonial "shunning" of the Penguin Costume.
They "Shunned the Shun".

And because Aaron is Aaron, he would randomly shout, "shun the shun!" for weeks after the episode, when anyone in our house would complain about not liking something, particularly.

And because Quincy is Aaron's kid, she picked up on it, and still says "Shun the shun" for no reason at all.

Ok, back on track here.....
Aaron gave me one truly FABULOUS Christmas gift. A gift that supercedes all over Christmas Gifts ever given.

A Shirt Shunning.

Forget Penguin costumes, I get to select a shirt to shun, and it's utter destruction will ceremoniously be documented in an upcoming post.

My selection?
The Alpha Male of fugly t shirts.
The Big Don Dada.

It's only appropriate that we begin with the 15 year old Sacrificial Belizean Nakie Guy Shirt.

How should we go about handling the 2011 Shirt Shun?

Will it be cut into a fazillion pieces?

Burned by fire?

Eaten by cats?

Rescued by Hoarder Henry?

Hanging? Stoning? (not with My Love wearing it, of course)

What will be the fate of Mr. Tied Up Fugly Shirt?

I think we need a contest.

Let's hear your best suggestions for t-shirt destruction.

Winner gets a Championship Ring, bragging rights for removing something unsightly from the earth, and of course, a Free t-shirt.

Contest closes at mignight on Thursday, January 13th.

Leave a comment. Enter now!

The Purple Pinkie

My Pinkie is Purple.

What?
Why?
That is weird.

In many countries, when children are given the Polio Vaccine, their pinkie nail is stamped with purple dye.

Did you know that the polio vaccine is live and must remain cold, or it will spoil?

The effort involved in manufacturing, transporting, and administering the Polio vaccine to the ends of the earth so it can be available to everyone, is pretty beautiful (Don't worry, this video is a happy success story, not a sad one about the horrors of Polio)



Incredible, right?

After 25 years of organizing and hosting national immunization days and administering BILLIONS of vaccines worldwide, efforts are finally paying off.

Polio has been 99% eradicated!

That is something to celebrate.

But what about the one percent?
Really. ONE percent is keeping a disease from being totally stamped out, forever.

The problem is that one percent can turn back into two percent, then grow to 3 percent, then five percent, then ten percent. And then we've got a problem.
But right now, it's only one percent. We are so close to never having to worry about Polio again!

Immunity works as a blanket protection and I can't have holes in the blanket around my children.
I refuse to contribute to the 1% keeping Polio alive, so I've painted my pinkie purple, and I am spreading awareness by telling everyone I know that vaccines are safe.

They are safe. You know that, right? If you don't know that...please, call me. Let's talk.

I'm keeping my pinkie purple until the official Purple Pinkie Day on February 23, which is when I hope you'll bust out the nail polish, and join me in the fight to raise awareness for vaccines, and stamp out Polio forever.

Sometimes, buried treasure should just stay buried.

Tonight is our Relief Society meeting for home, family, and personal enrichment.

The theme is "buried treasure" and everyone is supposed to bring 5 things that represent our hidden talents.

At first, I was like, I LOVE this idea! It is always fun to learn new things about people you know really well, and it's a good opportunity to get to know some new girls that I don't get to talk to very often.

But hidden talents? I'm not really one to keep many things secret about myself, so this was a bit of a challenge. What are my hidden talents???

Um let's see...

1) being a lazy schlub (<---did you catch that, Angie?). I haven't washed my hair since Sunday. Sunday! And no, this isn't one of those blogs that I typed up 3 days ago and scheduled to post today. It's Thursday. So, I pretty much rock at being gross. It's the whole "don't wanna work out cuz then I have to get off my butt and go change into workout clothes" thing...but backwards. Don't wanna get dressed, cuz then I won't wanna go run with my night group after enrichment, tonight. Hidden talent? Maybe. Are my friends reading this? I'll be the one that shows up to enrichment tonight dressed like Sue Sylvester.

Don't sit too close to me. I stink.

2) Freak Magnet. This is a divine gift that I've been blessed with. They come to me in flocks. Old ladies want to tell me about their recent surgeries and difficulty urinating. If only I had one of those giant U shaped magnets to take tonight...I could stick the word "Freak" to it and call it good.

which leads to my next hidden talent:

3) writing about my run ins with the freaks on this here blog. It's good for a laugh, that's a hidden talent, right? The problem is that I'm supposed to bring something tangible that represents my buried treasures. Is there anything LESS tangible than a blog? I think not. Perhaps all of my blogging has been a waste of time...sort of like how you are feeling while reading this post. You'll never get those 5 minutes back. Sorry. There's still time, if you stop now, you can save yourself!

Ha. You're still reading. Who's the freak magnet, now suckahs?

4) The super powered nose. Both a curse and a blessing. Hidden Talent? I can sniff out a chocolate bar a mile away, man. My nose is awesome.

A few weeks ago, I went to my friend, Tia's, and when she opened her front door, I said, "are you cooking rice?"
I was still outside and I could smell rice cooking in her kitchen.
Unfortunately, I can also smell a fart from a mile away. And I am totally aware of how bad I smell right now. (see talent #1)
But you don't have to have a super powered nose to smell that.

5) speaking of farts...(yes, really. I warned you to just stop reading. You didn't listen.)I should just take a bag of beans tonight for my "talent". My friend, Hillary, calls me the "bean whisperer" because of all my bean recipes...at least I THINK it's because of my bean recipes, but the name "bean whisperer" is probably because she's been running with me before, and she didn't have any music to drown out my my sound effects.

There.
Do you feel like you know me better?
What? Too much?

I so don't have any friends left.

So those are my five "buried treasures".
What are yours?

Social Influence

Last night during dinner, Reese perked up and shared some big news in a very matter-of-fact voice.

"The Razorbacks lost the Sugar Bowl last night. The other team was cheating. It's pretty sad."


Isn't she just a little Bob Costas?! ( Well, minus the fake hair and botox)
Question[s]:
Since when does my kid speak in Sports Center?
Does she hang around on the playground talking about the big game with her gal pals?
Does she even know who the Razorbacks are?
What kindergartener was allowed to stay up unil 11pm on a school night to watch the Sugar Bowl?

My head is so full of queries, it might explode soon.
Aaron is beaming.

Orderly Conduct

When Reese was struggling with the adjustment to Kindergarten and having to be ready to leave the house at 6:40am (yup. School starts so early here. Cruel, isn't it?), fully loaded tantrums were blowing up in our house on a daily basis. It was rough. Even when we picked out clothes the night before, we still ended up with a problem in the morning, when Reese would change her mind and not want to wear the outfit she'd selected and demand her share (and a half) of our attention while we helped her pick something else out. I know that the problem was not actually the clothes, but getting dressed always seemed to be the thing that pushed Reese's morning anxiety into panic attacks and ugly temper tantrums. Reese was also always wanting to wear the same thing every day. Once she'd get over the discomfort of an outfit, she didn't want to change and readjust to something else. Call me uptight, but I'm not going to let my kid wear the same outfit to school, every day, for a week.
My sister, HolleeAnn (hollah!) gave me this fantastic idea that was the perfect solution to abolish morning outfit drama.



A closet shoe hanger!

There are two shown, here, because the solution worked so well, we went out and got one for Quincy. (and for those who know how bad my OCD is, YES. It totally drives me crazy that they are different sizes. The product changed in the 3 weeks between when we bought the first and when we bought the 2nd. Oh well. Aren't you proud of me for just letting it go? You'll also notice that I didn't go through and fold all the little outfits before taking this picture just so it would appear that I live a June Cleaver lifestyle. I did pick the apple core up off the carpet before I snapped the picture. Keepin' it real, folks.)

Anyway, On Sunday Night, Reese and I select her outfits for the week, and put one in each "cubby" of the shoe holder. Everything. Socks, underwear, jacket, hairbows, sometimes even shoes. In the morning, she can choose which outfit she would like to wear that day. We've had a few problems come up, usually on Fridays, when there was only one option left, or on a PE day when Reese's selected outfit didn't include PE friendly shoes. Also, Quincy still manages to work in at least one costume change every day. But, for the most part, our routine morning clothing drama is gone!

And now, there is a lot more room in the dressers, so we can actually see what is in them.
Works for us.
Thanks, HolleeAnn!

Happy New Year, Friendly Frogs!

Shape: Circle
Color: White
Number: 12
Letter: W



Book: Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
Book: Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak




Chicken Soup With Rice is one of my favorites because it's written in sweet poetic verses. A silly boy loves Chicken Soup With Rice so much that he eats it every month of the year, and there is a verse about each month. The children love the silly poems, and I like that the lyrics written in each verse incorporate something associated with the month. "In August it will be so hot/I will be a cooking pot/cooking Chicken Soup, why not/cooking once/cooking twice/cooking chicken soup with rice" The children love the repetition, and the funny pictures. Then, we could talk about how it is hot in august, or how October is Halloween month (the boy serves chicken soup with rice to witches ghouls and ghosts, that month). It is simple, beautifully written, and silly.

Books: A Year of Birds and A Year of Beasts by Ashley Wolff

These books are about a little girl that notices the wildlife outside her window throughout the months of the year. In the winter months, there is snow and cardinals out her window, flowers and robins in the spring months, etc. I also like how the illustrations show her pregnant mother getting bigger each month. It makes the concept of calendar time a little more comprehendable for preschoolers. The other book shows baby grow into a toddler in the illustrations. Perfect for ages 3-6.

Sensory: Tasting Chicken "Stone Soup" with rice! (aka Campbells. We keep it classy around here.)


The children enjoyed a sensory experience while I read Stone Soup to them at the table.


Halfway through the story, I realized that none of them understood what a "stone" is. I explained that stones are rocks, and Jacob said, "You can't eat Rock Soup! That's gross!" then he panicked momentarily. He looked skeptically at his bowl for a minute, then accused, "Hmmm, there rocks in THIS soup, isn't there, Mrs. Meg!"

Not unless Campbells put them there, Jacob!

Share: Bring something that begins with letter W

Language: W Words!

Dramatic Play: Ring in the New Year with a countdown to “midnight”.

Art: W collage with stamps and foam stickers

Music: Sing Through the Year, 12 Months in a Year

Math: Numbering the month pages with corresponding month numbers 1-12

Handwriting: Letter W on the magnet board

***See videos at end of post***

Game: Calendar Cake Walk
Place 12 month pages to a calendar on the floor and play music (Sing Through the Year) while the children walk around in a circle. When the music stops, call out the name of one of the months. The child that is on the month wins a cake!
Just look at the concentrated looks on their faces. Serious stuff! Little Debbi snack cakes are on the line, here! We played until everyone had won a cake.


Gross Motor: I got out the play tunnels and tent that I scored for <$3 on clearance when I was in Ca, this summer. The kids had a lot of fun with them.