On Being Right.

My pregnant/just had a baby facebook friend count is up to 37.
THIRTY-SEVEN.

There's something in the water, y'all. Exciting times!

To the thirty-seven: Congratulations! Now, change your profile picture back. I can't tell any of you apart! ;)

One Upped.

Know what's awesome?
After my run, yesterday, Reese woke up from a nap (yep. She's in 1st grade and naps on the weekend. My kids are really cool.) and asked me to take her for a run.
We headed to the lake trail, and not knowing how quickly she would burn out, I had us start out really slowly.

I kept waiting for her to ask to stop.
That girl has iron will and some crazy fantastic determination.
She made it to 1 mile without stopping before she said, "Ok, my legs are starting to get a little bit tired, now."
She had a sip of water, and picked up the pace until she was in a full sprint and I had her stop when we reached the car.

Reese ran a total of 1.3 miles yesterday! I'm so impressed! I mean...the girl is SIX (for a few more days, anyway). We walked for a while to cool down, stretched, and headed home with beaming smiles.

She surprises me.
Her goals are to run 1.5 miles next time, and run a "big race" (5K) in the spring.
I am totally confident in her ability to do it.

Plan B

I ran, today
for the first time in months.
It was. not. easy.
I only made it 3 1/2 miles.
It's going to be a long road back.

So to anyone out there with a resolution for the New Year to run:
The next time it is difficult, just remind yourself, "if Meg can do it...I can too!"
and get your booty moving.

Things that are so awesome I can hardly stand it.

This little gem arrived in the mail, last week. It's Aaron's letter to Santa circa 1982 (first grade)In case you can't read it, I will translate:

"Dear Santa,
I was bad when I hit my sister. I was good when I helped my mother with the dishes.
I want a blue G.I. Joe Motorized Sidewinder."

Aaron then tried to claim that this couldn't possibly be his letter in such good condition after all these years.
I reminded him who his mother is, and that she saved everything awesome from his childhood.
He was still skeptical.

Then we turned the page and whaddyaknow... the proof is in the pudding. Or, in this case, Santa's beard:

"Santa, put the presents in the family room, by the tree.

-Aaron Willardson"

and as if that didn't narrow it down, he continues to clarify:
"My house is brown.

Valencia.

25368 Via Dona Krista."

and then he adds a bit of true Aaron randomness,

"Magic Show."

We can only assume this is a Magic Johnson/Lake show refrence mash up.
I did a little research and discovered that in 1982, tv commercials apparently did their job.
G.I. Joe released a motorized (MOBAT) with sidewinders.

If Santa came through, I would bet a fat chunk of change that it is sitting in it's box in Rob and Lynda's garage, in perfect condition, next to a storm trooper gun and a cabbage patch doll.

List Hijacked

I left one of my fazillion lists on the counter the other night, and discovered a few changes had been made to it in the morning. Question:
Could this be considered hand written permission to get rid of the current boat?

I Can Eat Healthy Foods

Share: Bring Something to Taste with your friends
Books: Gregory The Terrible Eater By Mitchell Sharmatt, The Very Hungry Caterpillar By Eric Carle
Mixed Media: Reading Rainbow Gregory the Terrible Eater
Remember Reading Rainbow? I found this reading of Gregory the Terrible Eater and the children loved it!
http://vimeo.com/groups/wvpt/videos/6238843 (story begins at 2 min)

Dramatic Play: What’s Cookin’? Provide play food, chef hats, and dishes. Encourage the children to play restaurant together in the kitchen

Art:
Friendly Frogs: Cut Vegetable Paint Stamping
Busy Bees: What Color is your favorite food?

Fine Motor: Mr. Potato Head and Veggie Friend manipulatives

Fine Motor: Lacing Noodle Necklaces

Sensory: Feely Food Game
Place one or two different fruits or vegetables into a small brown lunch bag. Give each child a bag. Have children take turns reaching into their bag without looking inside and describe how the fruit or vegetable feels (soft, hard, rough, smooth, round, etc.). Encourage them first to guess what it is, and then take it from the bag to reveal what it is.
Science: Under the Magnifying Glass-how do the foods we eat everyday look up close?

Math: Cookie Bakery Pattern Match up

Language: Sign Language “Eat”
Practical Life: My body needs healthy foods to grow.
Music & Movement: There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly, I Like to Eat Eat Eat Apples and Bananas, Let's All Do the Tummy Tango
Goodbye Friends

Orderly Conduct

1) That weird narrow space next to the fridge. This is a $1/yard strip of fabric that I made into a curtain about 7 years ago. I cheated and didn't even sew it. I folded the top down a couple of inches and ironed it stitch witchery, then slid it onto a little tension rod. It fits perfectly to cover that 10 inch wide gap between the end of our cabinets and our fridge. What's in there?

We don't have a pantry, so I store our broom, mop (correction, the BEST MOP EVER), and dustpan back there. I also have a few hooks attached to the wall in there, for fly swatters (even if you do have a pantry, do you want your fly swatter hanging out in there with your food? blech).

2) Pet food storage.

We quickly realized with the buggy/humidity/grossness of the Arkansan summer, that we would need a storage solution for the chicken food. Granted, our hennie pennies would have no complaints if their feed was full of bugs, but we don't exactly want to attract the bugs to the garage, which is exactly what a giant, open bag of pet food does, in Arkansas. One of these storage. Also, pet food just sort of smells funky. And if the bag was full and tipped over it would make a huge mess. And no one ever wanted to reach way down into the back when it got low, to fill the feed bowl, because it makes your whole arm smell like pet food. Here is my solution:

I knew a flip lid was the only way to go because a) the kids needed to be able to access it, and b) I knew that we would get lazy and not want to mess with snapping down a regular storage bin lid in the tightness that the space offered. Now, we flip the lid open, fill the bowl and close it back up before any bugs can get in there. The bin holds a 50lb bag of feed, so I only have to refill it once every six weeks. Functional and attractive and it makes great use out of what was once wasted space. I imagine a similar idea would work for you dog and cat owners out there. (That is, if I even have any cat lovers left reading this blog.)

3) Garage trash can. I love our trash can for a number of reasons, and was totally stoked to pick up a similar yet newer one at a garage sale for $5. The old one was moved to the garage. It is really helping us (ahem---"us" meaning everyone else in this family.) to keep the cars clean, because we no longer have to haul our garbage into the house. It gets tossed into the can that was stragetically placed along the path to the door inside.

4) The Lid Drawer. This is a silly one, but it dawned on me the other day, when I opened it to get a lid, that many people still store their pots and pans and serving dishes with the corresponding lids. Here's my beef with that: I don't have enough cabinet space and everything must be stacked up inside of them...but that isn't possible with the lids on the pots. Lids roll around and clutter up the cabinets so the other items don't fit easily. Also, lids are flat, so they get misplaced easily and that drives me crazy. I have been using a "lid drawer" for years and it is great! I don't have a problem finding the right lid to fit on the right pan, and it makes it easier for the kids to unload the dishwasher, because they can toss all the lids into one place, rather than attempting to match up the pots with the lids inside the cabinet.