Ode To A Banana Muffin
Mood:  sharp
Topic: Lauren

Not yet have I tasted the mouth

And the potato chip like teeth.

Or the tongue, so like a sponge.

 

Lauren

on eating a banana muffin with a top that looked like a face. 

New Beginnings
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Lauren

We are just about to start the second month of school and the year so far has been surprisingly easy considering we switched Lauren to a new school.

In our state there is something called Open Enrollment where anyone living in one school district can enroll their child(ren) in any other school district provided there is space available. We had considered doing this for Lauren’s first grade year (last year) which was the year when the school district we live in was deciding whether to close a school and redraw the school boundaries. The school board decided on the option which kept Lauren at her school so we continued in our own school district.

But, we were not all that pleased with the curriculum for Lauren last year. She was reading at a 5th-6th grade level and while she was in an advanced reading group, it was every day in a different room with a different teacher. Now, how could they even begin to assess her growth with that scenario? In addition, we just weren’t sure about the rest of class curriculum. In the beginning of the year Lauren was capable of adding two digit numbers with carrying (regrouping as they now refer to it), but her class was starting out with tally marks. They did manage to end the year at adding and subtracting up to/from 18, but the teacher would never provide more challenging work for Lauren.

At the end of last year, and I mean the end…like the last week of school, after we heard a few things from neighbors about other issues at the school (class size and principal issues), we decided to think about switching again. It was a difficult decision and we went through a lot in finding our answer. We visited three other schools, talked with parents at the other schools, and had many discussions between ourselves about what it would mean to switch. In the end, we decided it would be better if we switched now, before she became that much more attached to her friends. So she started at her new school a month ago and has loved every minute of it. She is just so happy to be back in school, I’m not sure it would have mattered where she went just as long as she went. And when it comes right down to it, that’s more than half the battle, isn’t it?

Ulterior Motives?
Mood:  not sure

Last New Year's Eve I told Tony and Lauren that if I did not lose 30 pounds during 2008, I would pay them each $100. Maybe it wasn't a very good idea since my success rate is, oh, about 0%, but I was feeling optimistic. Since then I've had a few too many "hoorays" from Lauren when my answer to whether I had lost any weight was "no". She just can't wait to get her hands on that $100 even though she knows most of it would go into the bank. But not last week...last week there was a different answer. A change in tactics perhaps? Last week when I said I had not lost anything, she replied with a pout and a hug, "If you lose 30 pounds then you won’t be a nice, cuddly, chubby mommy any more." Well that was just so sweet, but it did leave me wondering.

Oh, and my dearest Lauren, you will definitely not lose your nice, cuddly, chubby mommy because, believe me, I will still have some cush left.

Seven!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Lauren

What can I say? Lauren is seven and it's just unbelievable! There have been many changes in the past year, but the one that really stands out is that she has blossomed when it comes to her interactions with others. In fact, a neighbor just mentioned a couple weeks ago how Lauren used to say almost nothing to adults, but now talks and waves when she sees them. It seems my cautious baby girl has been replaced with an outgoing, rather confident little girl.  It is amazing to watch her interact with both adults and her peers in ways she never has before. She initiates play dates, she contributes to conversations, she compromises, and she enjoys all of it. That's the kicker - there's no wish more important to me for my child than to be more outgoing than I am. It will eliminate all the troubles of the timid and serve her well for the rest of her life.

Lauren - Happy 7th Birthday and you go girl!  Love you! 

Her Father's Daughter
Mood:  silly
Topic: Family and Friends

Children generally take after their parents and ours is no exception. Tony and I love music…as does Lauren. I love to read…as does Lauren. I enjoy going out to eat and to movies…as does Lauren. Tony likes to turn a profit…as, apparently, does Lauren. 

Tony loves a good deal. He loves it even more when he can make a profit from a good deal. Actually, that is his business - buying and selling surplus equipment. Generally he buys the items, but he has been known to dumpster dive. You know, when you look in other people’s trash to see if there is anything you could use, or better yet, sell! Why not? One man’s trash… 

Somehow though, I just didn’t see this one as a trait that would be taken up by our daughter. I’m sure Tony didn’t either so I knew I had to tell him about one particular deal made in our house Monday evening about which he would be mighty proud to hear.

I relayed to him how Lauren came into the room to ask me if Build-A-Bear would take payment in coin. “I can go to Build-A-Bear! I have $25. Most of it is coins, but $2 is dollar bills that I got from Grandma because I sold her a pencil sharpener” she explained. “Hey! I made my first money deal!” she added with great excitement.

Tony enjoyed the story, chuckled to himself, and said he wished he had heard it from Lauren. Then he gave me the version he had already heard from his mother. R had offered to buy a porcelain cat from Lauren for the fair price of $2. Lauren, a lover of anything cat related, did not want to part with her cat, so she insisted offered Grandma the used pencil sharpener instead.

Bum deal for Grandma, but nice tidy profit for Lauren ;-)

My Life Mosaic
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Cool

A friend's blog had this entry, so I followed the link and did one of my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My answers linked to the photos I chose:

1. Joy  2. Pizza  3. Appleton 4. Forest Green 5. Brad Pitt 6. Peach Bellini

7. Cinque Terre 8. Apple Crisp 9. Happy Happy 10. Daughter/Mother 11. Responsible 12. Dean

 

Sin City And Missing Feathers

We arrived back from a fun-filled family trip to Las Vegas to a cold and snowy midwest.  It was a shock that left us wishing we had been able to stay at least another day or two. Another day to lounge by the pool or check out the things we didn't get to (a 117,000 gallon saltwater fish tank or the masquerade parade at the nearby casinos) would have been perfect. Even with the missed sights and the Excalibur hotel/casino power going out (funny how it was back up in no time in the casino section of the establishment, but it took two hours to come back up everywhere else), the trip was well worth it. I was a little concerned at the beginning of the trip because the first night Lauren said she didn't like it. It was too big, too noisy, and there were too many people at the casino (you have to walk through the whole casino to get to the hotel), but by the third day she said it was fun, and by the last day she said she wished we could stay longer.

Perhaps you're wondering "Why in the world would they take their child to Las Vegas?" and I wouldn't be surprised to hear you ask. Most of the reactions I received after mentioning we were "spring-breaking" in Vegas were looks of shock and disbelief. "Vegas with a child? How could you?" they seemed to say. Well, there are plenty of things to see and do in Vegas with children. Namely Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, the Atomic Testing Center, and the M&M Museum, not to mention all of the cool and free things to see at the different establishments. Things like the fountains at the Belagio, circus acts at Circus Circus, the lions at the MGM, and the gondola and canals at the Venetian.  But what about all the things that put the "sin" in Sin City? Well, I figure it was better to take her when she was 6 and oblivious to most of it than when she's 10 or 12 and "gets" it. Of course, Lauren wasn't oblivious to all of it. There was that billboard of the feathered gal with her whole backside in plain view - a nice looking tushy I have to say - but when I caught Lauren eyeing it I knew I had to say something. So I leaned over with my hand to my lips and whispered in a giggly 6 year old manner, "Her butt is showing". Lauren laughed. We then talked about how her dress was missing some feathers and needed fixing. It worked. And there were the pornslappers - those men (and women!) standing on just about every street corner slapping their deck of cards before handing one to any available looking man to pass by. Lauren wondered what they were doing and why so many of the cards ended up on the ground. A simple statement about them being not nice pictures of women and she was satisfied.  Other than that, there really wasn't anything else seedy or trashy to make us wish we hadn't gone. No stumbling drunks, no fighting, no nudity. And we were out walking the strip on St Patrick's Day to boot!

So, plenty to do and plenty to see and actually a decent place for a family vacation. 

Now That's Talent!
Mood:  surprised
Topic: Yowza!
What's a girl to do if she can't sing, dance, or play a musical instrument? Why, grab a knife and skin a muskrat, that's what! Get a load of this. Do you think the contestant should match her gown to the color of the fur, the blood, or the guts? Hmmm...tough call.

Aha!
Mood:  bright
Topic: Lauren
The truth comes out as to why Lauren was Jonesin' for that little inhaler. Apparently her best friend at school has asthma and once in a while Lauren gets to go down to the nurse's office and watch while her friend gets a hit off her inhaler.  So I guess she does want things other kids have, it's just not the normal every day things I would expect.

Too Funny Not To Pass Along
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Cool

 An old friend from my E2E days posted these on her blog www.SuburbanHippie.com and I just have to pass it along. Enjoy

 

Wickedly Funny

Monday, February 4, 2008