On Babies...

Yesterday I had to wait for the customer service person at the bank and while we were waiting a lovely little 8 month old girl occupied the chair next to us. She was standing supporting her own wait and babbling (or at that age vocalizing might be the term) and I was warning her mother that J was like that at an early age as well and now never stops talking.

As I was in with the CSR filling out a form for my lost debit card, the girls stayed in the lobby. I was out and we were on our way talking about babies.

J: The baby had the tiniest little hands.
S: and tiny fingernails
J: Oh yeah - the tiniest fingernails and hands and the fingernails were so tiny and just perfect tiny little fingernails
S: I wouldn't want a baby...you have to feed them every day...and they pee and they poop...disgusting
J: what I think is the best about the little babies is their organs.
Mom: what?
J: Yeah, their organs...as tiny as they are you know their organs have to be really really tiny in their bodies.
S: The only good thing abouut them is that you can dress them in a lot of outfits...

Once again, the glimpse into how my very different girls view the world.

"The Zoo Disaster"

Not my disaster, mind you, this is the title of J's essay that just won the 2nd grade's representation in her elementary school's Writer's Hall of Fame.

The Zoo Disaster

by J

Tomorrow we are going to a field trip to the zoo. So, me and my class tried to make this day go fast. Today we're going to the zoo. We got stuck in the lion's cage. Tion, the lion, tried to eat us. Luckily Ms. McClendon had her cellphone. She tried to call the zoo police, but we were too late, the lion ate Ms. McClendon's cell phone and then burped. We all ran corner to corner, but suddenly Tion's ("King of the Jungle") wife came out, and she hadn't eaten for six weeks. She pictured us as yummy delicious steaks. We tried to get out, but we couldn't. The police came over and asked, "How did you get into the lion's cage?" We saide, "We wanted a closer look, so we fell in. Ms McClendon just tried to help and she fell in too." The police got us out, but when he opened the cage so we could get out, he got eaten and we got ran over. The whole entire zoo was in peril. The lions became the rulers of the entire zoo. Nobody liked how they ruled. They ate all the zebras, beat up the giraffes, and treated the people like savages. Somebody finally called animal control. We finally went home.

The End

I LOVE a Food Drive!

Second grader J came home from school today with her normal weekly newsletter. As is frequently seen this time of year, there was a blurb about their annual food drive. I had recently rearranged some cabinets and I had found some things I knew we would not use that I set aside to donate.

As I am bagging up the whole wheat pasta (too sweet), the B&B pickles (that isn't the right kind...) and a couple of other items, I start to tell J that I want her to take this to school, "J, your school is having a food drive-"

"Great!!! I LOVE a food drive! Last year La's mom sent six packages of noodles and I got them all!"

??!!! I flashed back to a year ago when J came home with noodles saying that La had given them to her..."because I love them and her mom didn't want them"

I explained what a food drive really was and in her trademark J response, the head bobs and I hear the "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

....I guess I owe the food drive 6 extra packages of noodles.

Kids say...

I miss my blog...my best way to record adorable children moments is here. So, I am back...

One of the conversations from the car...

J: I would like to go to a mind reader

M: Really, why?

J: so they could tell me my future

M: Mind readers tell you what you are thinking, fortune tellers tell your future

J: Then I want to go to a fortune teller.

J: how can someone read your mind...(pause) I would not want someone doing that, I've got a lot of personal stuff going on up there...

The Museum Experience

My kids both went on a field trip this week to the Martin Luther King Jr Museum…they both went to the same place but they went in different groups/different days because of how daycare splits them up and they went on VERY different outings…

(overheard)
J: S, how did you like the museum?
S: Boring…a museum – just stuff to look at…
J: I know, but for the historic part, how did you like it?
S: Everything was really gray
J: But is was so historic! The gravestone that said Free at Last…the white man who marched with them and got beat up…what did you think of all that?
S: All you did was walk…there wasn’t even anything we got to buy!
J: Lacey took money and she bought a water bottle… (at this point J realized she couldn’t pull S into her experience so she crossed over to S’s…)

S Coordinates Fabric

Today we went to a nearby quilt shop hunting a fabric that I need a 2 1/2" strip of to make the current 'design wall' quilt a size that better shows off the pattern...we didn't find it but the girls each picked out fabric for new pillowcases -just for them.

J picked out Basketball Players and Basketball trim - not surprising as we are a mere week away from the oh-so-anticipated basketball camp. We got enough fabric to make one case for J and one for her friend T who she'll be accompanying to the camp.

The bigger surprise was S. S zeroed in on a fabric that had lots of teeny tiny squares in appealing colors and then started pointing at bolts to pull off and lay next to her chosen fabric as she matched colors. (She laid them on the floor which made me cringe but the shop owner just laughed at how the 5 year old found a way to get the bird's eye view she needed.) None of the fabrics she selected were from the same line or even same manufacturer...she truly coordinated them! Topped it off with an accent from my stash and below you see a (blurry) pillowcase totally designed by my little fashion diva...and her tomboy sister's one too, of course.

I have said for a while that S was born for fashion design and today was another step in that direction.

Pillowcases for smiles...

For a little over a year, I have been involved with ConKerr Cancer...A case for smiles.

Born from a mom of a cancer stricken teen, this organization blew into national recognition through Martha Stewart's show recognizing Cindy Kerr for her efforts. After cheering up her son's hospital room with new pillowcases whenever he went into the hospital, Cindy expanded to the ward...other wards...recruited helpers...expanded to other hospitals...and now, with (at least) 83 chapters in the US, Canada and South Africa, kids everywhere are getting a little bit of fun and color added to their hospital rooms. I think everyone can be cheered with a personality filled colorful pillowcase when they are feeling crappy and I love the novelty fabrics so this charity effort is tailor made for me.

You can find a local chapter to support or our own Georgia chapter if you like...

I made a few more cases this week (seen above) and here is my fabric update...

as of June 7 :

Fabric usage goal – 66.66
Fabric Added This Week – 4 yards (YIKES!) border fabric on project and 1/2 price irrestible kid wizard fabric for pillowcases.
Fabric Added May 2009 to Date – 6.83 yards
Fabric Used This Week – 10.69 yards
Fabric Used May 2009 to Date – 31.44 yards
Net Usage - 24.61
Left on goal - 42.05 (about 6 yds each month...)

What, I wasn't going to notice?

S had to get rid of a tangle in her hair and she certainly managed to do that:

(not a great image-I had to use my phone)

And here she is with her new 'do':

Belt Testing

When S had her gymnastics showcase, J was scheduled to have her orange belt testing at the same time about 20 minutes away. It couldn't happen. Today was the makeup test.

When I first got there I thought this makeup test was great...not near as many people, easier to see...

Then he said testing would last about 2 1/2 hours. I know it hasn't lasted that long in the past...he would say that the kids had already passed the testing and that 'gathering' was to show their parents what they could do. Not so today.

The short version of the story is about 2 hours of karate style calisthenics, repetitive kicks and punches - 50 reps on each for orange belts - and then forms and board busting. We were also there for the grueling sparring that the brown belt candidates went through. Watching people who have been working out for 2 hours get pummeled was not that fun...

Here's my gold belt girl doing her testing and my new orange belt with her karate master - he told me he was so proud of her.

You decide...

She's over 17...she either deserves the crown or she deserves not to have to wear it...

Yardwork

After a couple of years of drought and very low lake levels most are enjoying the rainy spring we are having. Lakes are returning to their full pool and lawns are green again.

But really...enough is enough...it has rained A LOT lately and often weekends...getting dry time when one is off work so that yards can get mowed has just not happened. Add to that a backyard that is 'au natural' and there are areas that are very much resembling the South American rain forest.

Monday afternoon I declared we were going to do 30 minutes of yardwork...I called for long sleeves and long pants and here we have the results...In S's defense, I did not say anything about hairpieces.

Motor Mouth

Let’s see…in a period of 6 days S lost a toenail, graduated from PreK, had a gymnastics showcase and lost her first tooth.

Today we’ll talk about J. One of the things I have been doing with the kids is whenever I send an email about an accomplishment or a ‘kids say the darnedest things’ incident I save it in a file for them to see when they get older. Such was not the case from the beginning, though, so this particular story can’t be cut and pasted I have to retype it…

When J was quite young (9-10 months?) and we were grocery shopping, she was sitting in the toddler seat part of the cart and wanted to hold the groceries. I gave her the havarti dill cheese to hold (cheese type I know, child’s age-not so much). She held that cheese and babbled at it non-stop for the rest of the shopping trip. She was so animated in her chatter that at one point a man walking by said, “I don’t know what it did, but it is never going to do it again.” I told people then, that I had a feeling I was going to have a very verbal child.

She is very articulate, social, inquisitive and there is never any reticence in discussing any topic at pretty much any opportunity. One of her teachers has nicknamed her motor mouth…so, no surprise she has gotten talked to more than once about talking. She has come home a few times lately complaining that no matter how many people are talking, it is always J that gets in trouble. WELL…in addition to the standard parent line of “If you are quiet when you are supposed to be…” I have pointed out to her that she has a very loud, strong voice and perhaps that is why people hear her talking easiest – she insists that she IS whispering very quietly.

Last night she came bounding out after school saying, “oh and mom, bad news. I can’t have field day…I got in trouble for talking…but C and H and G and T were talking and I was the only one that got in trouble…” More discussion about how come only she got in trouble, when it happened, why she shouldn’t have been talking (and I’m thinking – “well, I am NOT volunteering for that field day if you aren’t going to be there!!!!” )

We left school and were on to S’s last gymnastics class. J and one other big sister were allowed to participate…dive rolls, tumble track, through the raised hula hoop rolls, vaults….all around fun for all involved. Well, almost all fun…there was that issue of standing in line waiting your turn and there was J chattering away with the other big sister. From the other end of the room I couldn’t hear a thing but what I saw explained it all…other big sister was standing still looking at J and talking. J was chattering away smiles ear to ear, hands gesturing, bouncing from one foot to the other, head bobbing…I have more than solved the mystery of why she is always the one caught…

Today's lesson to J - it is just as important for your body to whisper as your voice.

Note: J's teacher was out for the 'barred from field day' incident and she intervened...J got field day and below we see her after a hard workout...

It’s a Milestone…

...or rather a ‘smilestone’. Adding to the big week of graduation and gymnastics showcase, S has lost her first tooth. Yesterday was the big day on the ride home and she excitedly told J as soon as we picked her up from school. In a good big sister moment, J babbled on all about what to expect next, how to eat as new teeth come in…and how the tooth fairy brings a gift AND a dollar for the first tooth…good thing J was there to give her the lowdown because I would only have thought to tell her about the gift…I hadn’t remembered J got a dollar along with the gift.

S woke this morning and excitedly found a gift (and a dollar)…a kit to make her own flavored lip balms…and she loves her lipsticks and glosses! I wonder how many people got to hear about that today…and I wonder how many recent PreK grads will be telling their parents all about the tooth fairy bringing a gift for a first tooth. Not unlike when we first learned of that grand tradition when J’s BFF F told her about it in first grade and then my lucky kids got blessed with the Puerto Rican (?) Tooth Fairy visit for their first tooth…

Present Yourself!

It has been a very busy week for S. After graduation on Thursday night she then had a Saturday morning gymnastics showcase. She is the youngest in her Level 1 gymnastics class and has struggled with a few things...basically whatever requires momentum. She is best at the beam as that is where s-l-o-w works to her benefit. She also enjoyed the 'present yourself' step that comes before and after everything.

The competitive groups are very small to keep positive reinforcement at a maximum. Everyone got a medal and S managed to get first on beam. She was 2nd on vault and 3rd on floor. J says she was second on uneven parallel bars and S said she was third. (I think 2nd but then, I was busy taking pictures...) I'll have to get that clarified.

Photo rules were you could take what you wanted but couldn't leave your seat...a very good rule and an interesting vantage point.

Beam....

Floor is S's weakest...J's advice to me: Take the photo right before she does her backward straddle roll and it will look like she is going to (be able to) do it.

We went with a 'present yourself'.

Fabric Update

Here is my chart – as of May 17:

Fabric usage goal – 66.66
Fabric Added This Week – .33 yards (inner border shortage)
Fabric Added May 2009 to Date – 2.83 yards
Fabric Used This Week – 9.25 yards

Fabric Used May 2009 to Date – 19.75 yards
Net Usage - 16.92

Left on goal - 49.74

I can already tell there are too many lines in the recap as presented before...so I pared it down a bit or in the words of American Idol, I am taking it and making it my own.

I have also realized that 66 yards is a lot to get through. Thank goodness for UFOs and pillowcases...I know I can hit that goal with pillowcases....

This weekend's completion - a queen size quilt top. Pattern is Keyhole and the fabric is mostly Paisley Party. Here is a shot of the borders...

The Graduate

Tonight was the big moment...S graduated from PreK. The kids worked so hard (and the teachers even harder) on a really nice program with 7 or 8 songs/skits. They had props, movement around the stage, showing off their phonics knowledge...a lovely slide show recapping the year. All around it was a great show.

Then came the big moment of the kids in their caps and gowns getting diplomas. I had the camcorder so J took the photos. We have several not good at all but I think she did the actual graduation shot very well!

AND to make this a perfect S moment...right after graduation when I got up to the stage the first words out of my little graduate's mouth..."Sky had the same dress on as me". (adding insult to injury as she had wanted to wear one of her halter dresses and I insisted on a different one).

Here are a few pictures...

In the moment... (J took this photo)

After the ceremony...

Here we have the sisters - each mugging in their own way. No, S is not taller than J (yet) - J just launched into the shot from the side and is somewhat crouched.

Stats and progress…

First let me say, a home computer failing can really put a glitch in daily photo posting to a blog and I was much better at keeping up on my blog when the possibility of the photo a day was still looming…now that I have admitted I will never pull that off, I easily let the blogging slip too.

Today’s topic is quilting and my fabric obsession…I have too much fabric in my stash…I love too many different fabrics…I can’t possibly sew all the quilts that I plan for…but still I try.

On one of my e-quilting groups we freely use the term STABLE (that is Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy). I truly hope that I am not there yet, but in the interest of making sure I can say that next year, it is time to start watching that stash shrink instead of grow.

I found this little chart on a group of quilters’ blogs and decided to throw it out here – these are her numbers not mine:

Fabric usage goal --100 yards-- 115.47 to go (going the wrong direction)

Fabric Added This Week - 11 yards (gift)

Fabric Added Year to Date - 58.75 yards

Fabric Used This Week -6.99 yards (or -4.01 cumulative)

Fabric Used Year to Date - 32.08 yards

Fabric Used this month - (11.77) yards

Net year to date: (15.47) yards (increase)

Notice that the originator of the charts does not indicate a ‘yardage on hand’ , that is because a real quilter has no idea how much fabric they have…and measuring it would mean finding all the places in your home where pieces of fabric have been stashed, unfolding, measuring, refolding,…you probably should organize while you are at it…too many sewing hours lost-lol.

In my normal OCD mode, I have to wonder about how the 'used' measuring is done. If you use a 2 yard cut then 2 yards disappears…but scraps are generated so do they reduce the amount used….and if you use scraps then how do you accurately take that measurement…what about those UFOs (unfinished object) do you take credit for them?

LOL- Nothing like good analysis on a ‘supposed to be helpful’ tool to paralyze one and render the tool useless…If I use a 2 yard piece and have less that ¼ yard left the whole 2 yards will disappear. Otherwise subtract the yardage left. Scrappy quilts will be ‘high level’ (read not obsessively) calculated to account for scraps used. UFOs will be stash until they are done and then calculated as yardage in project.

I’ll be going from the first of May so will make my goal 8/12 of the 100 yards (66 2/3) for the year out of my stash…that allows me to take the superhero quilt I just finished for J and the pillowcases I made for myself and S out of the totals – all finished a week ago.

I purchased yardage for the back of J’s quilt so that is the ‘added’ this week. Honestly it is the super wide (108”) so it really should count for more than just 2 1/2 but in the interest of staying in the spirit of the challenge and not OCD-ish...

Here is my chart – as of May2:

Fabric usage goal – 66.66

Fabric Added This Week – 2.5 yards (back for a quilt)

Fabric Added May 2009 to Date – 2.5 yards

Fabric Used This Week – 10.5 yards
Fabric Used this month – 10.5 yards
Fabric Used May 2009 to Date – 10.5 yards

Net year to date: 10.5 yards

Below we have the recently completed top for Js bed and up top is the done-done (quilted and bound) project from the Hoffman Bali-Pop.

Our first sports injury...

J takes karate and has since she was 5. She also plays basketball with a passion and I believe she was 3 when that started. She is one of those kids that wants to climb on things and turn everything into a playground, so you knew sooner or later it had to happen. S got a sports injury. Yes, that’s right, S got injured.


Now, like most kids, mine get out their magnifying glasses and if they detect a tiny spot of blood they are whining and need a bandaid-if I am around…So no one was more surprised than me a few weeks ago after gymnastics. Miss Beverly had a few minutes waiting for her private lesson to come in and called S over to work on her cartwheel. “What happened to your toe?” she asked. There it was - S had a bloody big toe…must have slid under something as she was practicing. We put a bandaid on it and went forward.


I left the bandaid on the next day and told them at PreK that S had a legitimate injury and should she complain about her toe they might want to check it out.


As is likely with toe bandaids, it fell off when socks were coming off and S announced, “Look I can pick this (the nail) right up and look under it!” EWWWWWWWWWW….I couldn’t even bear to watch that toe fungus commercial where the animated creature pulled up a toenail. I can’t get excited about the live show. (That said, I could take care of the cat when he ripped his whole claw out in an accident and the shiny white bone was showing – it is just the nails…)


As weeks have gone by it is obvious there has been a severe compromise to the toenail. I can see where the new nail is coming in and where the old nail ends and will come off…However about 10 % of the old nail remains attached…and not the bottom 10% where I could carefully trim away as it grew – it’s the 10% closest to the next toe. So, like a wiggly tooth this nail is hanging there waiting to catch on something and cause a blood curdling scream (the only kind S emits)…I am hoping it is not at her first competition next week.


Note: I couldn’t subject anyone to a real photo and don’t even google toe injury images! Here are toes of happier days…

The art show!

Right before spring break J announced that her art project had been selected to be in the art show. She didn't know what that meant or where it was just that she was the only one in her class that they had called her teacher about.

Today she came home with a paper I had to sign...up to 2 children in grades K-2 from each school could be entered in the show and J was selected - her medium crayon and her subject an alien...how I wish I had seen the picture.

The details are confusing, what I signed looks like permission to compete in the county competition but she thinks she must first compete against her friend C...the one that edged her out in the spelling bee.

Whichever, it is big stuff to me that my child was selected in anything art...I missed that line when ablities were handed out.

Update: J's art teacher just called me for permission and she was asked to submit 2 pieces from the 400+ students in grades K-2...so quite the honor!

Snapshot Sunday

Ready for the egg hunt at Grandmommy's.

Playing Bubbles with Granmmalu's new pup

Bunny cakes from J&S - we made 24...one of those ideas that you have second thoughts about...but overall quite cute.