Wordless Wednesday - The field trip to....

Happy Windsday!

I'm surprised we didn't see Piglet flying by holding onto the thread from his scarf today.


It was that windy.

We only last an hour at Sam's School Play Day.
It was that windy.

Mrs. S was a real good sport to let me take her picture with Sam on such a windy day.



It was that windy.

Not Me Monday - 24th Edition

Where else can I talk about being caught in 'public' with make up under my eyes, no bra on, and my not brushed yet teeth but my Not Me Monday post?!?!?!

It's been one of those weeks.

At least twice a day some sort of Not Me Moment had me chuckling to my self or at the very least, shaking my head in exasperation. Of course I can't remember them all right now, but by the time I'm done spilling my guts I can pretty much guarantee that I'll feel better and hopefully you will too. 'Cause isn't that the point? To remind each other that we all screw up, we all take the easy way out sometimes, and we all have spent our fair share of days living in our pajamas.

So curl up in those lived-in jammies with your favorite beverage and enjoy commiserate with me, the 24the Edition of Not Me Monday - MamaBear style....

My cup of hot chocolate is long gone, but that's only because if I don't drink it fast, my kids will swipe it from me. Wanna know a secret? I (don't) put a scoop of cappuccino mix in with the hot chocolate so I can honestly say when they ask for a sip that, "It's coffee. Only grownups drink coffee"

One thing that I did this week to keep the kids busy working on their fine motor skills was to buy 6 pounds of rice to put in an under-the-bed storage bin. I am (not) second guessing that decision. Nope. Not one bit.

What do you think? Is it worth vacuuming up a 1/2 pound of rice each day if it keeps the kids happy for up to 2 hours at a time?



I have to admit it does free up time for me to get some things accomplished. PapaBear has been out of work for a month now so any time a job comes along that he's qualified for, it's a mad dash to fill out an application. Some need to be mailed, others hand delivered, and the easy ones can be emailed to the correct department. So imagine our frustration when an application was sent back labeled "unable to forward" a week after we sent it. Time is of the essence people!!!
I double checked the address and saw that it was exactly as the website had listed. Great. Now what? But there were other applications to deal with and with enough snow on the ground to rent skis we don't have much free time on the weekends.

It (does not) have anything to do with the fact that I have the kids enrolled in three different schools, I babysit on Mondays, and I'm working 10+ hours a day designing blog books & editing portraits from photo shoots. Not a chance!

PapaBear typed like crazy while I took the kids to school on Friday. He didn't have to start completely over on one application because I had accidentally erased everything. That would be silly and irresponsible of me!
Just wait. It gets worse.
Saturday comes and we hustle to get an application in the mail.
Mission accomplished.
I send PapaBear over to the office with a copy of that application so he can plug the info into a different job application.

The phone rings. It's PapaBear...
"There's a typo on the application we just put in the mailbox"

I rushed upstairs to fix the error, print a new copy, and grab a new envelope just in case I can't pry the original one open without ruining it. Armed with my supplies (scotch tape, a butter knife, and a new envelope) I bundled up and walked out to the mailbox (not) in my pajama pants, LaCrosse boots, filthy winter coat,and Mad Bomber hat.

A truck full of people (did not) swing into the park's driveway to ask me if we were renting skis today. Nope. Not out here in the middle of nowhere! I was (not) so flustered by my appearance and unbrushed teeth that I walked back to the house without the sheet of paper I was suppose to replace. (thankfully it was just tucked inside the mailbox) It was in the single digits so fumbling with a knife, 5 sheets of paper, a torn envelope, and a paperclip was (not) easy peasy. It didn't take me typing this out to realize that the extra envelope that I brought with me...just in case, was totally useless since I didn't bring a pen.

PapaBear was so fast in getting the other application done that he was able to run that one out to the mailbox too. We were feeling pretty good at this point. (except for my fingers - they took a little while to thaw out). The kids had (not) spread rice all over the floor from their sensory table, but I didn't care.



I got down on the floor and played with them until it was my turn in the office.

Sunday morning we woke up, got the kids ready for church, and arrived early to get a good seat. It was standing room only by the time the service started because the PreK -8th graders were singing. My Sammy was front and center and because we were early enough to get good seats I was able to photograph him singing his heart out standing sideways and giving the whole congregation 'the look' through the whole song.


I did not giggle my way through the whole song. Not me!


Then it was time for the Children's Message where the younger kids were invited to come to the front as well. Julia marched right up to the front and sat down as close to her brother as she could. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, not with a finger up her nose half the time. Not my daughter!

*sigh**

On the way home from church we picked up Saturday's mail. Remember the two applications we worked so hard to get in the mail on Saturday? They weren't sitting there with our incoming mail. Nope. That would be wrong. Very, very wrong.

As PapaBear likes to say, "Angry this makes me!"

I could go on and on, but I've already talked your ear off. Besides you (don't) want to hear that I'm going to pretend to like pinto beans for a taste test on Monday and Tuesday in order to get paid $100 or that I bought aluminum foil and green scrubbers while on a date with PapaBear - at the Mall of America on Wednesday night.

Does anyone really want to hear me describe me tearing my bedroom apart looking for my phone this morning when it turns out it was on a completely different floor of my house? I was (not) certain the vibrating noise was coming from my bedding.

Or that I was too lazy to bring in the best piece of artwork Julia has ever made at school from the car and it ended up getting dirty. I am (not) going to Photoshop the dirt away and still use it for my Alphabitty Moment post on Thursday because it is that good.

For more Not Me fun head over to MckMama's to see what others didn't do this past week...

Wordless Wednesday - The Teddy Bear Band Concert

Lost in Translation

Except for one post at the end of 2007, I haven't kept up with recording the words SisterBear is learning. Her vocab is too big and constantly growing. She's one of the only kids who sings all the words to the songs at school. It's not obvious to everyone what she's saying all the time, but for the most part she can get her point across. When we can't understand what she's saying BrotherBear is our go-to guy for a translation. 90% of the time he can tell us right away what she's saying. 5% of the time she has to repeat herself a few times and then he gets it.

Her latest phrase is "don't worry" which comes out clear as whistle with a touch of toddler cuteness that always makes me smile.

"Don't worry Mama. I'll get that." or "Don't worry Mama. I kiss that."

A couple days ago she started answering with "sure" instead of yes. It comes out more like "show" or "shoe" but it's clear what her meaning is. The significance of this word is that it means she's learning to say the 's' and 'sh' sounds.
What does she call her brother then if she hadn't been saying 's'?
Here's a hint:
They are often mistaken for sweet potatoes.

I think our days of living with a 'Yam' (or Yammy) are almost over. I caught a hint of a 's' this morning when she called out to her brother who was playing on the snow "moutain" at the end of the school day.

The potatoes Yams were sweet while they lasted.

If I Were A Butterfly

Now that you're all humming the tune you might as well sing along with Sam's preschool class as they sing at church:

If I were a butterfly
I'd thank you Lord for giving me wings.



(Those kids in the four year old sure sing loud!)


...If I were an elephant, I'd thank you Lord for waving my trunk...


And if I were a crocodile, I'd thank you Lord for my big smile...


But I just thank you Father for making me ME!


Cuz you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile.


You gave me Jesus and you made me his child.

I just thank you Father for making me ME!



I would have taken more pictures to have all the actions for the song, but with these moms in my way the whole time I let the video camera do it for me. Sam did so good listening to Mrs. W, doing all the actions, and singing the words. I couldn't really hear him, but that's ok.


When the kids were done singing their songs, (they sang Into My Heart first), the rest of the children in the church came forward for the children's sermon. It was very new for us to have a church full of kids. There are only a handful of children at our church each Sunday. At this church all these kids and their siblings sit in the sanctuary during the service.


Sam came home from school on Thursday saying that Jesus was going to be at church on Sunday. I thought he meant the pastor that would have a robe on similar to Jesus.
Then we walked in Sunday morning and saw the front of the church.

See Julia there in the front? I was so proud of her for walking to the front to join her brother. At first she freaked out when she couldn't find Sam, but Mrs. S helped her and she sat right down....for a minute. Then she walked towards our pew. You know how kids will get within reach and then back up? That's what she did. I tried to entice her with her paci which worked OK until she came running back up the aisle. Then I tried to get her to come back to me by showing her a sucker. That got her atention until it flew out of my hands and up the aisle.

Thankfully the rest of the service was uneventful. The kids worked on their suckers and their Color Wonder books.

A night out on the town

I felt like the luckiest girl in the world yesterday after a good report from Sam's preschool teacher at conferences and the first dinner out as a family (I don't count McDonald's) in six months. I made up for lost time by enjoying chicken wild rice soup, chicken noodle soup, salad, pizza, chicken, and cheese bread. Our local pizza joint goes all out for their buffet. On the way home we stopped at the library to pick up a few new books. Sometimes it's the simple things that bring the most pleasure - especially when it means spending time with the people I love most.

Have a great weekend everyone! We're expecting snow and for the first time in over 4 years WE DON'T CARE!!!! (Brian used to plow snow.)

The ABC's of a Field Trip

A is for animals
Sam and his classmates spent Tuesday morning getting up close and personal with the animals on the farm.

B is for Brrrrrrr
It was a chilly morning, but I didn't hear one complaint from the kids. They were too busy having fun.

C is for Cow
We watched how a cow gets milked, saw where the milk gets stored, felt the wet noses of young calves...

D is for Devin
It was Devin's grandparent's farm that we visited

E is for Egg
The kids searched for eggs in the chicken coop. After a few minutes Julia started freaking out. Then it dawned on me that she had just remembered that she'd been bitten by a chicken at the zoo this past summer.

F is for Farm Equipment.
The look on the kid's faces when they watched Devin's dad drive the combine was priceless.


G is for Group.
What a great group of kids Sam has in his class. It was fun to watch him interact with his classmates and for Julia to feel part of the group. For the most part she fits right in, except for when she stands behind the tallest girl in the class. :)


H is for Hay Ride.
We took a spin around the property.



I is for Interesting.
The kids were mesmerized by all they saw and experienced at the farm.


J is for Jealous.
Sam got to ride the school bus to the farm even though we could see the house from the road the farm is on. Julia was so upset that she didn't get to ride the bus too. I told her in two years it would be her turn. It didn't go over very well. Gee, I wonder why?


K is for Kitty
There were kitties everywhere. Both my kids loved to pet them.

L is for Ladder.
Sam couldn't wait to get up the ladder to sit in the combine. I couldn't wait for him to get down. The little stinker wouldn't stop touching the levers and buttons. Have you ever seen how BIG combines are? Not good.


M is for Milk.
After seeing where milk comes from it made a fitting drink to wash down their snack.


N is for Neighbors.
It was nice to finally meet some of our neighbors. (The farm is right across the lake from us.)



O is for Oyster Shells.
We learned that the chickens eat oyster shells with their food to make the shells of the eggs stronger.


P is for Pumpkin.
Each child got to get off the hay wagon and pick their own pumpkin from the field.


Q is for sQueeze.
At least one egg didn't survive all the handling by preschoolers.


R is for Running.
Sam ran to get the furthest pumpkin.








S is for Sunny.
It may have been cold, but the sky was blue and the sun warmed us as much as possible.


T is for Tractor.
My kids never get tired of sitting on farm equipment.





U is for Upset.
At first Julia was excited to be on the pony, but then...not so much.


V is for View.
It was refreshing to see our lake from a different view.

W is for Wild.
How else can I describe Julia's hair that day?














X is for eXact.
Having grown up on a horse farm I really wanted my children's first horseback riding experience to be more than the walk-in-a-circle carnival pony ride. Today they got a taste exactly as I imagined they would - a gentle ride on a pony that wasn't tied to the spoke of a giant wheel.


Y is for Yawn.
After all that fresh air and excitement, both kids slept soundly at naptime.


Z is for Zellman.
What a nice family to let a group of preschoolers come out to the farm on their 54th wedding anniversary and Mr. Zellman's 75th birthday.

I'm so sorry Sammy

I'm sorry I made you late for school this morning because I didn't have my paperwork collected for my 9am appointment.

I'm sorry you got upset because your entire class was missing when I knocked on your classroom door.

I'm sorry you missed out on an impromptu field trip to see a classmate's daddy's big rig around the corner of the school.

I'm sorry I had to leave so quickly and not comfort you while you were upset.

I'm sorry I was late picking you up because my entire morning got screwed up by my tardiness and then having to try to figure out where you class disappeared too.

I'm sorry I got myself stuck behind a Buick* making me extra, extra late.


"Can you forgive me?"

I didn't get a verbal response, but the nod of his head was enough.



* Does anyone else find that 9 out 10 times they get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle that it turns out to be Buick?

The Big Day

Sam went to his very first day of preschool all by himself today. Last year in his Mon/Fri class I would drop him off for Monday's class and go down the hall for Julia's class. I was right next door, but this time I leave the building for 2 1/2 hours.












I got all choked up as I watched him give Julia hugs and kisses goodbye.

























Then he was off to play with the cars....
My heart about burst watching my first born go off to begin his first day of school.

While Julia and I were at home it was so tempting to try to get some housework done, but I want to make the most of this special time with her so we read stories in the library and enjoyed a long snuggle in my favorite chair.

When we picked Sam up he was soooo tired. I think all that structured activity wore him out. He really wanted to ride the bus home and my excuse that the driver didn't know where he lived didn't sway him. "I can tell the driver where my house is," he explained.
I played along. "Ok Sam. Where do you live?"
Silence...
"You live in ****** ***** Park. Can you say that?"
Sure enough. He repeated what I said.
"Good job Sam. We'll talk to your teacher about letting you ride the bus soon."
I guess he had to grow up sometime.