i saw it

The lights go down . . . .

doop doop dooo whop (the beginning introduction music plays)

The people sitting in the packed theater around me start to clap and cheer. I am about to watch. No. Embark on the movie that is . . . . Sex and the City.

It was an event. The theater was full. The ensembles the women adorned themselves with and the jeans the men next to me wore made me giggle. I imagined that all the women in the theater would be on the same menstrual cycle before the 2 hours were up.




Even though I wasn't a die hard fan of the show and I don't own any box season sets, I knew enough about the characters and background. And even that wasn't all that necessary. It was a good movie and I laughed a lot. The labels were fun to google at too.

pretty fat, bitterness and big asses

I was flipping through an old People issue, when I came upon something that piqued my interest. "Such a Pretty Fat" was the title by Rennie Dyball about an author slash blogger named Jen Lancaster.

Hmmmm?

What was that?

A blogger you say??

I ran downstairs to check it out because I wasn't in the bathroom or anything. Nooo, not me. Anyway, after a quick Google search, there it was . . . . Jennsylvania. Land of the Free, Home of the Bitter.

Tharwp!

(That was the sound of me being instantly hooked.)

It is my new favorite! Just like that. Jen Lancaster is funny and relatable. Anyone chronicling the struggles of weight loss with humor and confidence makes me want to read on. No doubt you will too.

dreaming

I saw this picture from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and I was instantly smitten with these over-sized daisies. My dream would be to copy/create these huge flowers for our back yard birthday party (Alice in Wonderland theme) for The Divine Miss O. Wouldn't that be a blast for the kiddos??? I think they would love playing underneath the shade of these fabulous creations with imaginations abound.

Hmmmmmm . . . . Maybe Grandpa Rich and daddy can rig something up for us???? Some plastic piping painted green and white mess perhaps???

picking poesies

i hope you dance . . .

The Divine Miss O at her dance class. She takes tap and ballet and loves it so.

new to the herd

Introducing . . . Neenah!!

My mom's faithful mare had her second baby just a few days ago. It was a surprise pregnancy and the result is a little Aztecan filly.

You can read more on mom's blog. She is a Natural Hoof Care Practitioner (a farrier that doesn't believe in shoes for hooves) and she is very passionate about her work and her business.

(Lucy's watch)

you know you love me . . . . you know you do

You know you love me! You know it! You do! Don't deny it! Even when I chew up the deck just after you get it re-stained. Or when I poop on the deck because it is so much easier to do my bidness on the deck then walk all-the-way-down to the grass. I've got short legs you know and it gives new meaning to "poop deck". Or when I pee on your carpet, even though I've been let outside 50 million times. Or when I nip at your feet when you are trying to walk away from me. Or when I bark at the vacuum cleaner and chase it around the house while you try to vacuum. OY! That contraption drives me crazy!! Or how about when I chewed on your dining room chair and you didn't find it until way later. Wasn't that funny?? Or when I pop every possible ball filled with air. You know the kids didn't really want that soccer ball and just think about all the fun I have with it. You know you can't resist my nose and my cute beard that makes me look wise beyond my years. But remember I'm only seven months old and I'm still learning the ways. You know you love my silky black hair and my perky ears and that adorable way I stand on my hind legs to get treats. Or how about that oh so charming way I tilt my head when you're talking to me. You love me! You know it! You can't fight it! I'm irresistible. Love Angus

things i learned in preschool land

1. My family is just too young for me to work outside the home.
2. 2 and 3 year olds don't care about lesson plans, they just want to play and socialize and run around and get dirty and be loved and sing. They LOVE to sing!
3. I have more patience than I ever thought I had.
4. I do pretty well under pressure and can make it seem like I have everything under control, when I don't really.
5. When I do go back to working outside of the home, I don't think I want to go back to teaching in the classroom.
6. I have some really great friends!! Friends that pick my children up from school and friends that drop my daughter off at her dance class.
7. I can only be disappointed so many times before I just give up.
8. 2 and 3 year olds love you best when you have snacks!
9. Sometimes adults behave like 2 and 3 year olds and I find that ultimately frustrating.
10. There is always, ALWAYS, time to stop and marvel at the greatness that is the garbage truck.

curiouser and curiouser

Let me see:

four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen,

and four times seven is -- oh dear!

I shall never get to twenty at that rate!

~Alice

The Divine Miss O has a fifth birthday coming up in June.

She is soooo excited!

We are planning a very merry un-birthday tea party in our backyard complete with crazy croquet and one giant lump of sugar or two games.

I've wanted to throw an Alice in Wonderland birthday themed party for months now but I've just gotten my wits about me to actually do some planning and making invites recently.

I think they turned out pretty cute!

crack

just how many calories should I eat

My friend told me about Daily Plate a few weeks back. I finally checked it out. It's basically a website (much like Weight Watchers' etools however it works with calories instead of points) that lets you plug in what you've eaten during the day and keeps track for you. You have to register, but the basic plan is free. You enter a few facts about yourself and it calculates how many calories you need to consume to meet your goals. I clicked on losing two pounds a week *cough!*. We'll see how it goes.

the story of my life

This morning I left the house with the girls to take The Divine Miss O to speech. I hit the side streets and back roads to avoid school traffic. I was in a line of cars easing up to the back of a school bus when "SPLAT!" something hit my front window with a thud. The bright orange-yellow goo slipped down my window. I was stunned but reached for my cell phone and dialed 911.

"911 . . what's your emergency?"

"Hi. I am driving and I think I was just hit with a raw egg or maybe a paint ball."

Although I drive these roads often, I never remember street names. So as I drove up to the stop light I was able to tell the gal on the line just where I was.

"I'm on Issaquah-Pine Lake Road SE, driving towards the intersection of SE Issaquah-Fall City Road. I was near the construction heading towards the church, that I don't know the name of, when I was hit with something."

"Where are you?"

"Pine Lake-Issaquah . . . . .I mean, SE Issaquah-Pine Lake Road . . . . no wait, Issaquah-Pine Lake Road SE" "Ugh" "Near the construction."

"What happened?"

"I think someone is throwing eggs or shooting paint balls at cars and I was hit."

"What intersection?"

"Holy crap! I'm at the intersection of Issaquah-Fall City and Pine Lake-Issaquah . . . . I think." "Oh I don't know! I was near the construction on whatever road I said I was on."

"wlkhtoienlknldhoht . . . . Just a minute . . . . "

Huh?

About a minute later.

Man's voice: "Hello ma'am, what happened?"

"I have no idea at this point!" "Okay . . . . I was driving down SE Issaquah-Pine Lake Road, near the construction before the church, when I got hit with what looks like a raw egg or a paint ball."

"Did you see the person?"

"No"

"What intersection were you at?"

"Oh my God!" "At this point, I have no idea!" sigh "I was on Issaquah-Pine Lake-Fall City something SE . . . . .What was the street I said I was on the first time?"

"Issaquah-Pine Lake RD SE?"

"Yes!" sigh "That's it!" "Near the construction, before the big church."

"I'm not familiar with the area ma'am."

"Ugh!" " I was on whatever first road I said I was on, Issaquah South-East something, driving towards the intersection of SE Issaquah-Fall City whatever road. When I was about a mile and half before the stoplight, I was hit with something that I think is a raw egg."

"Did you see the person?"

"No, I'm driving." "I just passed two Issaquah police officers very close to where I was hit though."

"Are you driving South?"

"I have no idea . . . . . "

"Okay, please hold and I'll transfer you to a non-emergency line so you can file a report."

"Thanks!"

silence

silence

silence

"Hello, all our staff are currently busy helping other calls. Please hold."

silence

silence

silence

silence

"Hello, all our staff are currently busy helping other calls. Please hold."

silence

silence

silence

silence

"Hello, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

And with that, I hang up . . . .

mother's day tea

The Divine Miss O's preschool class invited all the moms to school yesterday for their annual mother's day tea. They sing songs and serve us cookies and juice. As always it was so sweet you could have eaten it with a spoon. Miss O's preschool is pretty darn amazing. I love it!! I love it so much (dirt and all) that Baby Love is already signed up for the 2009-2010 school year.

Singing songs about rainbows with sign language.

Miss O welcoming everyone to class.

The new baby goats get lots of attention and extra treats.

Baby Love making funny faces with the sheep.

And what is a trip to preschool without visiting the horses.

hungry? chew on this

I've known of the Hungry Girl website for about a year now. It's been quietly sitting in my "healthy blogs" section but I rarely check it. I don't know why. Then this week my friend asked me if I had heard about her new book. Which I hadn't. She picked me up a copy and dropped it off today. (Thanks Amanda) I thumbed through it and her Hawaiian pineapple chicken skewers (scroll down to the bottom) jump out at me. Only three Weight Watchers points and easy enough to make. I have to say, it was fabulously yummy!! And healthy too. I think I'll be making a lot of meals from this cookbook!!

and then it was purple

Last week our house was painted. We love it! The painters came on Monday to stain the deck. I was out all morning but when I returned home, I realized the painters were here. The back side of the house was all taped off. I heard the blower going and footsteps. After an hour or so, I heard the sprayer going so I went upstairs and tried to peek out down to the deck. I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized they were painting our deck PURPLE!!! At first I thought it might just look like that because it's wet. Maybe it dries darker?? I went outside to talk to the men, but they just kept reassuring me it was the same color as we requested. However, the purple color glistening in the sun was screaming at me. If I had requested a nice shade of eggplant I would have believed them. I just couldn't get over the purple shade. So after a few phone calls, the working suddenly stopped and we wait.

kidmade, mom approved

With my newest adventure as a preschool teacher coming to an end, I was reflecting all the all the cool creative blogs I have been perusing for ideas to do with my little class of seven toddlers/preschoolers. Exploring art with children is pure joy and messiness. I was looking at some of my favorites just now and thought I would share.

Camp Creek Press - Book and Curriculum for the Artful Child

The Crafty Crow - a children's craft collective

a bit of this and a bit of that - a Montessori mom with a long list of loves

The Artful Parent - The intersection of art and parenting (also a nice list of other creative blogs)

Art for Creative Kids - inspiring creativity for children

scrumdilly-do - things to make, read & do for you and yer kidlets

Let's Explore - creative activities for preschoolers