a few more...

..this traveling exhibit of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was displayed in a nearby town. We visited today,after all it is on my list of things to see before I die, (I imagine I will eventually make it to the one in DC, but because of the proximity of this how could I not attend?) In a word it was amazing. I find that the words to describe it, escape me, so perhaps the pictures can just speak for themselves this time....

I am humbled....

by this.

curls..

so the picture isn't the best and you certainly can't see those curls on top of her head, but, trust me she has beautiful curls,which haven't disappeared as her hair has grown longer. They get curlier when the humidity is intense, and often just look like a riot waiting to happen atop her head. Now if you look at her face you may notice it appears greasy as do her arms, her legs also are giving off a shiny gleam, trust me it's there...here is a close up of the shiny/greasy face, adorable right?what caused it? well that would be ...this....the very expensive hair cream I just purchased (notice "just" purchased that is important since no child has ever attacked an almost empty container of anything in my house) guaranteed to keep the curl in my hair thru any and all weather conditions, no guarantee on the kid conditions. She used it as lotion, some ended up in her hair, but of course it was completely unnecessary since she obviously needs no help with her curls. She used plenty, one certainly wouldn't want to go sparse when slathering on lotion/expensive hair cream. Her skin looked a bit splotchy last night after I washed her skin repeatedly,but this morning she appears to be her usual self. I'm sure she is already planning her next round of attack.

Dance class

 

Tonight was the night she has been waiting for, dance classes started. To say she was excited would be an understatement. Giddy, giggly, completely and totally excited would be most accurate. She had a meltdown after class, she didn't want it to end. Ok so that is going to get old in a hurry. She hasn't stopped talking about "dance" since we got home. I imagine tonight as she sleeps she will be dancing on a stage somewhere.

Where's Rose?

By far her favorite game of late, she hides anywhere and then waits for you to find her. Of course it is even more fun if you walk around saying "where's Rosie?" Her Boo! when she pop's out of her hiding place is priceless.

Preschool days...

are so exhausting. This is Yahaira at 6pm yesterday. Preschool is in the afternoon twice a week and on those days this little wonder doesn't take a nap. She of course doesn't think she needs a nap ever! but, as you can see in the pic above sometimes that little body just needs to recharge. She is all about coloring now, and she can only use markers since color crayons are for babies like Rosie.

For Beckie

This is what Rose was doing while talking to you last night on the phone.
No fear in this child, no fear at all!

Boo to you!

Getting ready for Halloween. I am a softy for the T-shirts that Target has each holiday season. I started buying them with Gracie and have continued to do so with the girls. Halloween brings matching leggings, they both started out in those this morning but as is the nature of little people clothes have a way of needing to be changed often throughout the day. Yahaira is loving her shoes, and so far Rose doesn't mind that she doesn't have shoes just like Yahaira's. What she did care about was having a hair bow in her hair. This just started and two weeks ago she was more annoyed than thrilled about having anything done with her hair. Then one day she is pointing to the top of her head and telling me "fix" a note, Rose has enough hair for a ponytail but it is a teeny tiny one at the best, certainly no strength to hold a bow, but to Rose that is simply details. I found some bows that clip in her hair instead of needing to be attached to the pony tail so far a workable solution, she is thrilled, since she has stuff on top of her head just like Yahaira. Now they go around in their Halloween outfits saying "Boo" loving when you play along and act scared. Aren't they just the cutest little 'scary' things you've seen?

Homecoming...

Friday was Homecoming, (a bit earlier than usual). This year they changed things up a bit and held coronation after the parade (previous years it was on Monday night) I decided to take my older daycare kids and not only attend the parade (we have been doing that for years) but also the coronation. Good idea in theory...not sure what possessed me to think 6 preschoolers would enjoy sitting thru an hour of talking. Sigh, it was interesting to say the least, and in case that wasn't enough let's remember that it was during nap time and some of those little people certainly needed their nap. We sat in an area full of middle school age kids, they lasted about 15 minutes into the program not sure why those who plan these things don't remember that kids don't care to listen to long drawn out speeches on pretty much anything, actually neither do most adults. That night I took Anthony and Alonso to the football game, and of course manged to sit in the section of die hard football fans, sigh. It was a long night! a very long night. Anthony asked why the people on the field kept staying at the one end, "why don't they go the other way?" he wondered (oh because they aren't as good as the other team) is what I thought. No I didn't say that, I certainly planned to walk out of there alive and I was sitting in the home team section and since that above thought could in no way be considered flattering to the home team I kept silent. No they didn't win,actually I don't recall a win in the past many years on homecoming. A person standing next to us at the parade commented to me as she watched the excited chatter of the kids "I've forgotten how excited little kids get when there is a parade. One of the many things I love about my job, little people find the exciting in the most ordinary of things.

First haircut

A bit overdue,but such is the nature of things at times.
Needing permission to do the most basic of things sometimes takes
an enormous amount of time to receive. So here is the little cutie
before (yeah he doesn't look to excited does he?)and here is the after. I can't believe how much he looks like his bigbrother and what a trooper he was. He simply sat and watched.

He looks so grown up here, still a cutie tho.Not so sure that he is ready to say thank you for that experience

but certainly curious about what just happened and who this person is.
Sara was amazing with him, she is so cool!

Taste of Home Cooking School

Last night Linette and I attended this event. After browsing the vendors (a new feature this time) we settled into our seats way in the back (I always seem to end up in the back) and got ready for the show, the fun and of course the prizes! We watched 12 recipe's be prepared in very little time (Ok so I would never be able to pull that off, ever!) and did I mention there were prizes? (a note the previous cooking schools I have attended I have never won a prize, I held out little hope that this time would be different.So imagine my excitement when Linette won! She received a bag of groceries, how cool is that?

(Ok so briefly I was a bit jealous, but really it lasted seconds :) She actually did get more than that certificate she just had to wait until the show was over to get her actual bag of goodies. Which ended up having some pretty cool baking supplies in it.The program drew to an end and we watched all those amazing dishes being given away, at times I wasn't sure if it would have been more cool to win the food or simply the serving dishes they were arranged on, pretty amazing stuff. As the final food item was given away they then drew names for the final few prizes including the grand prize! (a microwave oven) and no I didn't win that...but! I did win something...care to guess what I walked away with last night from the Taste of Home Cooking School?

Well if you guessed leaf blower than you would be absolutely correct! There it is...... my prize.
Wow! (Ok is this where I can interrupt and without sounding ungrateful wonder "who??? donates a leaf blower to a cooking school?)
Perhaps I can use it to clear the air when one of my cooking disasters occurs or as Linette suggested I could use it to clear the table after a meal.

Preschool

Rosie began preschool classes last week. She was super excited about going to "school" and then she got there and suddenly she was singing an entirely different tune. She has watched her big brother and sister head off to school and she certainly felt she was old enough to go. She had a backpack (so it is bigger than her and if it had anything more than air in it she wouldn't be able to carry it) so in her mind she was set. Kevin took her to ECFE the first night, it's a program that you spend the first 1/2 of the class with the child and then separate for the remaining 1/2 of class. She did awesome while Kevin was present once he left, well it wasn't quite so great. This week went a bit better, she only melted down for a few minutes. Sigh, who said she is allowed to grow up?

do you see that?

so the picture rather stinks (give me a break it was 5:37 am, yes am!) but there you go that is the picture I took last week. Yes it is on my TV screen, if you doubt it is on my TV screen just check out the wealth of fingerprints on the lower 1/3 of screen that should clue you in, little people leave their marks everywhere! (no I didn't think to clean the screen for my big photo debut on national cable TV) So do you see there in the upper right corner what cable channel that would be? ummmm yeah a picture "I" took appeared on CNN this morning how cool is that??? and just in case later when I am fully awake and wonder if I dreamed it I took the picture so I could say that yes that would be my name and photo. Of course the meteorologist did explain what weather phenomenon caused the clouds to line up like that but, I was a little bit wowed! by the fact that my picture, the one I took, was on the television screen, to completely catch that explanation. Good thing I DVR the show so I can go back and listen :) edited to add another picture, so apparently they are showing it repeatedly on the news and this time I was able to take a picture of the entire TV, and no I didn't wash the screen it's all in the angel of the pic.

this was the view....

on my way out of town last week. At first glance as I stopped at the traffic light in town I thought it was a couple of trails from passing jets but as I made it to the outskirts of town I realized it was simply clouds. (don't the clouds look like the exhaust left by a plane?)
It stretched for miles and with the sun setting in the west that view in particular was breathtaking.

Edited to add: I just received a call from Turner Broadcasting, and CNN's Headline News, Robin and Company morning news program is going to air the top photo during tomorrow's (9-19-07) program. How cool is that????!!!!

10 signs fall has arrived...

1. The chill in the air in the evenings.
2. The apples are ready on my apple tree.
3. School has begun.
4. It's dark when I get up. (well it's always dark when I get up but it stays that way much longer than it did during the summer)
5. Pumpkins are arriving at the farmer's market.
6. It's cold in the morning when I first peek out.
7. The air smells of woodsmoke as people start using their fireplaces.
8. The geese are flying overhead.
9. I unpacked my long sleeved t-shirts and sweaters.
10. The leaves are beginning to change.

Fall was my mom's favorite holiday, and even tho I can't say it's my favorite (that would be summer) I do love the change that fall brings, the crisp air, the colors, the scents, now if only fall didn't have to usher in winter, I shiver just thinking about the snow and the cold :(

35

would be my sleep number, of course last week it was 50 and sometimes 45 seems quite comfortable. Sigh, of course I wouldn't make things simple by having just one number....that would be rather dull don't you think? I do know this 5 is not! a good number for me, it was much like sleeping in a hole, (not that I can say I have ever done that, slept in a hole that is) but I imagine it must be comparable. No, to answer you unasked question I did not choose that number, Rose programmed it, she is a button pusher that's for sure :) I must admit I do sleep better at night, not so sure it's the sleep number bed or just simply a "new" bed in general. The pics above are of the bed being assembled, rose was most curious and had to watch the complete process, and yes she was the first to sleep in it...since the timing was perfect for her nap.

riding the bus

according to Anthony riding the bus is definitely a highlight of going to school.
ummmm wondering if he will still think so when he is a teenager.