We Saw Him!

From soccer moms to stalker moms...

Charity and I decided to ignore all of our "mom" duties this afternoon for the chance to see George Clooney and it paid off! We made our way down to the Old Market and scored awesome parking for our 11th & Howard destination. Seeing a crowd gathered we joined in and wondered, "Would we see him?" After standing a mere 28 minutes in the rain, George appeared across the street. With a bouquet of flowers he went to work while we all asked each other, "Do you think he'll come any closer?" In under five minutes the scene was complete. The crowd cheered as George walked into the street to greet fans but he was quickly surrounded. 

And then he was gone. Bye George. Thanks for brightening up our Wednesday afternoon.

George walks across the street to greet people. Why didn't you come to our corner George?

In between takes.

Hi George!

Adding to the excitement - seeing this little guy in our neighborhood on the way home. After a little researching, I've concluded that it's a muskrat.

George Clooney and a muskrat. Did anyone have a better Wednesday than this?

National Poetry Month

Poetry is like a substance, the words stick together as though they were magnetized to each other.

David Gascoyne, Stand, Spring 1992

It's not too late to celebrate National Poetry month. Dig out your poetry books and let the words flow. I keep a basket of ever changing books for the boys to go to when they're looking for something to read. Easter and spring books are out and poetry is in! Classics by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky never get old and themed poetry about dinosaurs, insects, etc. are always fun. In honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day here is a selection from The Earth Is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems About Our Planet, edited by Barbara Brenner.

Two Ancient Pine-Trees

Two ancient pine-trees...

A pair of gnarled

And sturdy hands

With ten green fingers

Ryoto

Now, if I could only find Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices....

Another Egg Hunt

Yesterday, Joshua's decorated Easter eggs were left on the kitchen table and not discovered in the necessary four hour time limit to still be edible. He was disappointed, but I did keep them to have out last night as decoration. This morning he decided to hide/decorate the house with them. I informed him that we would need to throw them away tonight before they started smelling but sure, hide away. As I looked around the house after they went to school I was only able to find seven eggs. That would be seven out of nine??? He started with 12 but I know we have eaten a few. That still leaves one or two eggs unaccounted for. Hopefully, he will remember where he put them and we won't be playing "find the egg" by smell.

Never the Right Answer

Why does every comment or choice lead to more questions? Why is it that what they want usually involves more work for me?

Me: You can wear short sleeves today.

Kids: Can we wear shorts?

Kids: What can we have for dessert?

Me: There are fudge bars or ice cream bars.

Kids: Can I have a spoonful of frosting?

Me: Why don't you play out back or ride your bikes.

Kids: Can I finger paint?

Kids: I'm thirsty. Can I have pop?

Me: You can have water or juice.

Kids: Can I make chocolate milk?

Just once I would like to hear, "Thanks Mommy" or "Great!" I know I'm living in a dream world but I don't know why they ask me questions when they don't want to know or use any of my answers. Frustrating! By the way, Noah just came out and asked if he could wear shorts again. Ugh!

***All the "can" questions reminded me of the movie Avalon. During a school lesson on the proper us of may and can the kid asks his teacher if he can go to the bathroom to which she replies, " You can, but you may not."  

It's The Little Things

I have thoroughly enjoyed using this pink gel pen I found in our living room. The bright Springy color bounces off my planner pages amongst the black and blue ink making my grocery and to-do lists a little more exciting. Sometimes it really is the little things that give the most pleasure. As it turns out, the pen is Joshua's. He saw me using it and asked why I was using his star student pen. Hmmmm, does this make me a star mom?

Swimsuit Season Already?

The boys and I escaped for a few days with Aunt Charity, Ian and Spencer to play at Great Wolf Lodge. 

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Noah did ask if Kansas City was the same way as Lincoln. He thought we could pick up Ava and Maya on the way down. That was the last pleasant thought before everything turned to potty humor.

The Ants Go Marching

We have become ant obsessed. Okay, maybe I'm the only one obsessed, but we have definitely all been fascinated as we've watched Harvester ants create their tunnels. It is amazing how much they have accomplished in less than 48 hours. What an awesome birthday present Nana and Grandpa! The habitat has been lit up in Joshua's room at night but moves to the living room during the day so we can watch their progress.

April 8th, 4:48 p.m.

Joshua pokes starter holes in gel and ants are added.
April 8th, 7:58 p.m.

Starter tunnels are being widened.
April 9th, 3:19 a.m.

Yes, I woke up in the middle of the night and had to check on the ants. Look at all they've accomplished in seven hours!
April 9th, 8:07 a.m.

Guesses are made on where the tunnels will connect.
April 9th, 12:14 p.m.

We were wrong. They turned before connecting. Those crazy ants.
April 9th, 1:35 p.m.

Apparently they heard us and decided that joining the tunnels would be a good idea.
April 10th, 9:53 a.m.

From the front...
....and the back.
Harvester ants are famous for being the first ants to travel into space in 2003. This habitat is similar to the one used on that space mission. 

Tole's Kitchen

I've finally started my food blog called Tole's Kitchen. It is going to feature recipes, kitchen tips and gluten-free information. I'm still working on it, so things will be added and changing but for now, it's a start. First up - cinnamon rolls.

Impress your family with this tasty breakfast treat!

The Grammer Defense

This morning's verbal assault as we were getting our coats on for school:

Joshua: Be quiet lame-brain!

Noah: Don't call me a lame-brain. You don't even know what a verb is!

Noah's response was so funny I couldn't even address the name calling. I guess Joshua needs to spend some time here or here so parts of speech can't be used against him.

The Illusion of Depth

Is there ever a time when 3-D glasses aren't funny?

Hmmmmm.....
....that would be no.