4th grade

Today's Excite fortune said something like: "Take a moment to remember 4th grade."
I actually did that over the weekend, thinking of my tenth birthday party in fourth grade. Leila turned 10 this weekend- a busy weekend with only time for a family and friends dinner, but no real party. Apparently, double digits is too important not to celebrate, though, so the party will be happening, and soon.
In any case, my tenth birthday party started down at the lake with all the 4th and 5th graders, and then it rained so we had to go back to my house. The 5th grade class was super big, and the kids were older, and thus not necessarily thrilled to be at the party. I remember some sort of fight. I think the birthday girl probably cried, as happens at many good (and all bad) birthday parties. I don't remember the cake, but my mother used to make elaborate ones, so it may have been the year she did the piano.
In any case, it was 33 years ago. And Leila is now 10, which makes me a mother of 10 years. (I KNOW- always about me.) Most of the 5th graders are my friends now on Facebook, and we never fight.
Not enough of the 4th graders are ON Facebook, at least, not often, which is too bad since the other big even this year is our 25th year anniversary of graduating from high school.

Last Month in Pictures (May)

Sami got a new high chair.

 
 And he seems to like it.

Ali had a Pokemon Birthday party. There were water balloons involved!

And he got lots of Pokemon cards- a newish obsession.

They had to melt little blocks of ice to free their Pokemon characters. I froze them in muffin tins in my friend's freezer, since mine wasn't big enough.

Someone (Ali!) broke a window pane in our bedroom while trying to throw a softball (why do they call them that?) over the roof. It was a mess, and is currently covered in cardboard.

We had brownies on Ali's actual birthday, at his request.

He opened presents while Sami watched me.

Ali's good friend got the Firebird, which he traded with her.

Two Ali's trying to free their Pokemon. Dropping the ice blocks was very effective.

These photographs are not in order somehow- oh well. The Pokemon party was quite a success. I limited it to 7 guests, and one didn't show. They made Pokemon badges, traded cards (they got some when they came in), and melted their Pokemon. We tried a water balloon contest- the one where you toss it to a partner and keep moving back. Joy and I, who demonstrated, did really well, backing up across almost the entire yard. Almost everyone else dropped it on the first toss!

Then the kids just threw water balloons at each other. It was a hot day. And we played a version of freeze tag. I gave out prizes for various things- everyone got one. It was a very relaxed party. They came in side and had cupcakes and cheetos, and Ali opened all of his presents, most of them Pokemon related. That's why he has such a huge pile of cards now.
The goodie bags were little bouncy balls, m&m's, Pokemon cards, and little figures- one that they thawed, and one that was on their cupcake.

I tried to post these about a month ago, but had some trouble and abandoned the post. I just found it in drafts, so am publishing it now, rather belatedly. Now it's time to write about June since July is already on its way!

What we've done

Sami has been working on his sitting skills. He's gotten really good!

 He attends soccer games and works on his charm skills. Here he's smiling like Uncle Serge.

 He's also been teething like mad. 4 months of drooling have finally resulted in one bottom tooth popping out. It's jagged and sharp, and has been used as a weapon. Here he is enacting the "great white hunter" and eating a giraffe. (Sophie, from France, not Africa).

I've been doing yoga, but my "Happy Baby" pose is nowhere near as good as his, nor am I as limber. I wonder if he hurts his foot when he bites it with that one tooth?

 Leila turned nine. We celebrated with an enormous sleepover that went from applying makeup... (these two weren't interested in applying it properly!)

...to gathering bugs in the yard. This is such a great age! Only one girl cried, and it was her older sister, who had come along as a chaperone, who caused it, so it doesn't count.

13 girls (2 older sisters) were there for the evening, and 9 spent the night. Not a one had to go home during the night, and though I didn't make them sleep until midnight, they were all wide awake at 6:40.

Later that morning Leila had a soccer game. The season is winding down, much to my relief. I love that they play, and value it, but 3 different practices a week and two games at a field on the other side of town on Saturdays during high allergy season is a little much. The weather has been lovely- I just wish I could enjoy it. I also wish that the kids could win at least one game! It's hard getting beaten every week- but they are improving.

Ali has been working on his DS skills, and now that the kids got a Wii for their birthdays, playing on that. My folks came for a few days and played with the kids and helped organize the house.

Ali also got behind the wheel of a very slow go-cart at the party of a friend. When they offered him another ride for free, he refused. I don't know why. I guess "slow and steady wins the race" for him.

That pretty much sums up April. I've been grading like mad and trying to finish up some PhD readings, as well as working on the house. We want to put it on the market by the end of May.

Dinner table sillies

Last night we were getting silly at the dinner table, talking about the problems with counting sheep.
You know, like you are counting all these white sheep, and then a black one comes along and messes you up. Or you are counting: sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, goat... what????
Then we started talking about vegetarians, and what they might count- I said onions. Leila said, "but they will make you cry! But then you'll cry yourself to sleep."
Oh, the depths of that humor!
When I was in third grade, I played an onion in a play- The part of my speech I remember is: "Just because I make you cry, you leave me behind! I come in all different colors...."
Today is Leila's 9th birthday. Or, as I like to call it, my 10th momaversary! But really, it's all about celebrating her today. I woke up and heard a faint singing of "Rumor has it.." Leila was outside, swinging and listening to her ipod.
For breakfast, she got pancakes and sausages. Tonight she's requested chicken and dumplings and chocolate pie. She likes all pies, but she knows her brother doesn't, so she's being thoughtful. She also requested that she get to help me make the pie- so that's on today's schedule.

Birthday Present for Me!

I just pre-ordered Ann Lamott's new book as a birthday present for myself. After all, that's the day it's due to come out. It's called Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Year. It should be fun to read as I watch my own son's first year unfold.

Leila's 8th Birthday

Almost a month after, I'm finally getting around to posting about this. Leila had a fun party this year- we did a Movie Star Mystery from Dramatic Fanatic. 12 of her friends joined us for a red carpet walk and an award ceremony in the back yard. It wasn't quite as exhausting as usual- and having Grandma and Grandpa there was a big help.

On the day of she requested pie instead of cake.  Ali's gift was a gift card to Burger King- and a crown to go with it. He was going to get her a Sonic gift card, but we drove past it and found BK instead, and he REALLY liked that idea.

Birthday blessings

This morning I woke up to the sound of the kids in the kitchen. Leila was cutting up fruit for a salad. (With a table knife, not a sharp one!) They both brought breakfast in to me- strawberries and bananas in a salad, and a small glass of orange juice, plus a card from each of them.

I had to get up and make my tea and oatmeal before I could eat this breakfast, but then I got to open my presents. Leila has had some of them wrapped for over a week, and the bag has been high up on a shelf in my room. The gifts were from everyone in the family: a magazine that Leila made- including advertisements, a kaleidescope from the optical science event at the library, and some earrings that H took her to buy last night.

She left the price tag on the earrings but was very excited to tell me last night that what they had bought me was supposed to cost $50 but they'd gotten it on sale. That makes it even better in my opinion, as she well knows.
For lunch Leila decorated the table with a special placemat for me announcing "Birthday Girl!" and she even got a banner up while I was in the shower.
Tonight we're going out for pizza and gelato- yum!

Pirating tales

I'm too old to lead a pirate gang. Today was Ali's birthday, and we had a pirate gaethering here in the backyard. Thank God it didn't rain.
I planned this so last minute- when I am grading and writing papers right up until a week before, and then attending a fabulous reunion the weekend before, it's hard to get a party planned. So Monday night I called everyone and invited them, and amazingly, most of them could come.
We started off by inducting them into piratehood by walking the plank. They were rewarded with bandannas and eye patches, though some didn't want one. In fact, some boys didn't want to be pirates at all- party poopers. Should've had them swab the decks!
We also did some cannonball popping. The idea is to sit on black balloons until they pop, then run back and let the next person go. However, these balloons popped the minute they touched the grass, so it was pretty easy.
Then we pinned the treasure to the treasure map (think donkeys and tails). There may have been some peaking. The youngest player got the closest to the X.
I made tons of English muffin pizzas- most of the boys didn't even eat them. But we drank alot of grog (lemonade). It was HOT!
Bubbles got most of the kids doing the same thing, finally. Some of the bottles were gone pretty quickly, though.
We also had a treasure box pinata. Each of the kids hit it two or three times. It creaked, and some candy fell out, but the box held firm. Our story was that we lost the key and had to bash it open. "But it's already open," one of the kids said, because the chest looked ajar. Finally, after we were back at Ali and he whacked it five or six times, I took the stick and started hitting. It swung wildly, and some candy scattered out. At this the kids ran to get it, and I just tore the bottom out. Surprisingly, nobody cried, spoiling my theory that pinatas always resulting in crying.
We had brownies instead of cake, at the birthday boy's request, and then he didn't even eat any. I thought they were pretty cute though.
I finally let the kids go inside to open presents. Some of them had been trying to get inside for a while, but I wouldn't let them. Ali got lots of good loot- Star Wars predominated. They opened some of the gifts and played for a while before getting picked up.
It was a fun day, but exhausting! Next time, I'll make sure my parents are in town before planning such a strenuous party. H did the pinata- his first. Fortunately we didn't have any "funniest home videos" incidences.
So arghhh, and avast me hearties. I'm off to bed!

Happy New Year!

My friend wished me "Feliz Ano Nuevo" yesterday, and it is, for me.
Here's a quote another friend posted on Facebook and I find it a good reminder as I begin my new year.
"Today, may there be peace within. May you trust you're exactly where you're meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts you've received, and pass on the love that's been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this truth settle in deep, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, soar, and love."

40 is the new 30

Actually, someone said "40 is the new 20" but I prefer not to repeat that decade.
My birthday began as we drove back from a few days in Houston. It began again with the kids waking me up, several times. H and I slept in, but the kids had started their night in the car, so they were up sort of bright and early. Finally Leila couldn't wait anymore and brought me breakfast in bed- milk and yogurt. Ali then asked if I wanted breakfast in bed- he was offering cereal. But Leila let him know she'd already brought me breakfast. "Okay, I'll eat your cereal then," he happily announced.

I remember when my mother turned 40 I made her a lovely card with a picture of a hill- at the bottom was a grave, and the little figure was already started down. The message was something about being "over the hill." Here's the card Leila made me:


A little bit later, luckily when I was already drinking my coffee, Leila brought in a cheap, plastic lunch box. "The milk disappeared!" she told us. She had put milk in the box, and then put it in the freezer to see if it would freeze, but instead, it disappeared. In this case, that means it leaked out of the box which was in the top shelf of the freezer all over the rest of the freezer. Much as I appreciate her inquiring mind, I did not appreciate cleaning frozen milk off of the food, walls, and floor of the freezer, especially on my birthday.
Our neighbor brought over the mail she'd collected while we were gone, including several packages- a birthday package from my brother and sister-in-law, and the prizes I won recently from a publisher, including this camera:

The rest of the day was unpacking, replenishing the food supply, and making dinner. My plan was to make a fancy desert, but I opted to buy a Tom Thumb bakery cake, which is pretty good, and make a fancy dinner instead. Daffodils were on sale, so I got some to brighten up the gloomy day.


(this is this morning, after the blooms had opened.)
The day itself got a nice layer of frosting when it started to snow in the late evening.



(What we woke up to.)
All pictures taken with my new Coolpix.

Turning 39

The day started with breakfast in bed....

Then we had a picnic in the park.


The kids both blew out candles,


or tried to, in the brisk wind. I didn't.


Desert for grownups was delicious blackberry breakfast bars from Smitten Kitchen.
Then that evening the fam and I went to the Museum of art and met our neighbors for storytime and Olafur Eliason light magic. We finished with Tiramisu cake (also a recipe from Smitten Kitchen) back at home with the neighbors. Once the kids were in bed, I followed, exhausted but happy.