Mama Bear

Pumpkin Patches Rock!

Mama bear — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:17:45 GMT

Another awesome thing to look forward to in the fall: Pumpkin Patches!!

I love pumpkin patches. I especially love the patches that are not overly commercial --not sponsored by a company on the Dow Jones, or open until midnight with special 1,000-watt bulbs you can see in space, or crawling with costumed characters. I know, I'm probably uber-boring, but I truly love the patches that have pumpkins, some hay, maybe some farm animals... and if the "added value" is low-tech, I'm all the more excited about it.

The pumpkin patch we went to when Megan was a baby closed down, but it will forever be in my memory as The Perfect Pumpkin Patch. It was called Westside Farms, and it was way out in the country, and it WAS country. The barn was a working barn; the animals were true farm animals, not just some rented pony from some 4-H student; and the fields of pumpkins stretched as far as you could see. There was a hay ride, but it was practical: the hike out to find the pumpkin was a delight, as you only had your mental image of your perfect pumpkin to hold; the trek back with the actual gourd was a little more harrowing!

Westside Farm had a hay pyramid, and children of all ages swarmed up and down the bales with gleeful abandon. They had a little kiosk with farm-fresh veggies and gourds available for purchase, too, but most of their focus was on providing an opportunity for families to find their Halloween jack-o-lantern material and give them a taste of a working farm.

When the farm closed down when Megan was a toddler, I was distraught. Now where would we go for a pumpkin? Sure, we could buy a pumpkin at the grocery store, but where was the fun? Where was the tractor ride and the hay bales and the snuffly snort of a freakishly large pig? (And no, the checker's impressions don't count.)

We found a couple of other places, and they had their charms -- one was a vast field dotted with old tractors you could climb on, another featured a preschool-aged craft area with colored macaroni noodles to thread on long strings, a third had a maze built into their hay pyramid -- but none had that perfect mix of professional, local, and family that we were looking for.

This weekend we decided to visit a farm based on a few things which may or may not make sense to you. One, I went to school with a guy with that last name, and I was pretty sure this was his family's ranch. Two, it was close to Matt's mom's house, and we were there for breakfast. Three, it had signs. Four, it had a website with pictures.

The farm was out in the country, but not too far out. (Bonus points awarded.) It had a decent selection of pumpkins gathered, and a hay bale pyramid. (Again, ding, ding!) It had a sophisticated hay maze, with doors and an entrance and exit -- but it was so dark we couldn't get more than a few feet in before we got overwhelmed with panic. Enter the farmer himself (and yes, it was his son that I went to school with) who led us through the maze with a flashlight -- and down into the secret haunted house portion, built underground and populated with all manner of creepy Halloween-y stuff! (We totally lucked out and got there as it was opening, and tagged along for his safety check... I assume they also go along with other families, or no one would discover the tons of work that went into this display!)

At the far end of the patch there was a fence divided into two sort of gate-type openings, with two lengths of rubbery stuff attached to the openings. It looked like a giant slingshot... but how could that be? Just beyond the fence separating the patch from the working farm was a herd of cows, sort of staring at us like we were there to entertain them. There was a pond on their side, too, and in the pond were the remains of several pumpkins. We could see a big box of pumpkins standing nearby, and sure enough, there was a sign inviting us to try our shot! It was a slingshot! And we got to fling pumpkins! At the cows! Across the pond! Let me just say right now we had more fun stretching back that slingshot and attempting to launch those pumpkins than we've had in a long time! Apparently the goal was to get across the pond, to the bank where the cows were, but I'm guessing you had to produce an acutal degree in Agriculture to be able to meet that goal. Ours were lucky to make it past the gate to roll down the close bank -- mine fell at my feet at the starting mark, in fact!-- but that didn't diminish the fun one little bit! The cows were eternally hopeful, however gimpily we flung pumpkins, patiently standing and watching as we launched shot after shot their way.

The kids chose ginormous pumpkins and hauled them to the pay station in wagons, and we loaded them into the minivan's way back with happy sighs of contentment. THIS was a pumpkin patch and a half!

Sure, a pumpkin patch pumpkin costs a bit more than one you can pick up at Home Depot or along with the broccoli, waffles and dryer sheets at the grocery store... but how often do you get to slingshot pumpkins at cows in the grocery store? And how would you ever get pictures like these without your friendly local farmer? (Totally worth every penny -- and then some!)

Sneak Peek!

Mama bear — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:50:23 GMT

Yet another reason to love the photographer we chose... she puts up a sneak peek on her blog!

Let's see if I'm technologically advanced enough to copy and paste the web link! ;)

http://jeneanne.blogspot.com/2009/10/l-family-windsor-family-photography.html

Birthday Blast Weekend

Mama bear — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:01:01 GMT

On Wednesday Matt's mom is turning 70 amazing years old (although she doesn't look a day over 50!) and instead of a present she could unwrap we decided to have an experiential weekend. (I think that's a word... if it isn't, I get credit for it, okay?)

By the way -- once everything was booked -- about six or seven weeks ago -- we told Mom about the entire plan so she could anticipate and do whatever fun stuff she wanted to look her best. I thought that was better that way... because who wants to be that one week away from a full overhaul at the beauty parlor and someone says, "Surprise, we're doing family portraits!"

Dan and Randy flew in from Los Angeles on Thursday night and took up residence in our guest room (formerly known as the office/catch-all room). Andrea and Brendan flew in from Las Vegas the same night, and took up the guest room at Mom's. Friday there was a frenzy of activity during the day -- a hair appointment for Mom, lunch for Dan, Randy, Mom, Matt and I, a quick visit to his parents for Brendan and a visit to her old school for Andrea. Then the real flurry began: we all met up at our house, including my father in law, changed into our cute clothes and headed out the door to the regional park a couple of blocks away.

We had arranged to have a photographer meet us there and take all manner of family pictures -- Mom and each "kid," Mom with all her family, each family as its own unit, brothers together, siblings together, etc. -- and she was awesome! When I was looking for a photographer I was delighted to come across her website and see the various types of photographs she does, but even more so to see the relaxed, comfortable look on the faces of all her subjects! We spoke on the phone and connected immediately -- I warned her about Thomas, and she countered that she has a five year old son and fraternal twins that are 3 and a half! (She was sooo not fazed by Thomas!!) Her energy was calm, focused, happy and alert to the small moments -- in other words, perfect for a photographer of a big, gangly group of 8 grownups and 2 kids!

We got some great shots, and I can't wait to see the sneak peek we were promised in a few days... but in the meantime, I have a favorite "snap" of the experience to share here. :)

After the photo shoot we came back to our house and had take and bake pizza, salad, and drinks, plus a homemade pumpkin spice cake with numerical candles to represent both Matt's birthday (which is Friday) and Mom's birthday (Wednesday) to total 112. (I had to do the math a few times to make sure I was right... but 70 plus 42 does equal 112!) Thomas was in the other room when I brought the cake in to light the candles, but the second we began singing there was a thundering of kiddie paws and a flash of boy came by, blowing all three candles out in one passing flash!!

Saturday the crew went wine tasting and to lunch (although I stayed back with the kids, figuring we had childcare for later that night and I didn't want to overdo the sitter) and then Mom and her three grown children and their spouses went to a very nice restaurant and had a lovely dinner. I can't pronounce the food I ate, but it was delicious!

Sunday we had breakfast and visited with Dan and Randy some more, and Dan went to check in with their airline so they could get seat reservations. Alas, the flight was "oversold," and they were counseled to arrive at the airport 2 and a half to three hours early to see if they would get seats -- let alone choose where they were sitting! The airport is as big as a good-sized McDonald's, so it's sort of laughable to have to arrive that far ahead, but what are you gonna do? If need be, they'd get a flight home tomorrow first thing -- whee, another night! -- but they'd cross that bridge when they got there. With a deep breath or two (travel is soooo restful, isn't it?) they took off to visit another wonderful relative in Santa Rosa (a complicated extended relationship to describe, but she's my kids' grandma and we love her to pieces!). Andrea and Brendan and Mom came up here to visit for a bit longer, and Andrea decided she'd better check their reservations -- which were out of San Francisco, and therefore more complicated. (Also, she had made them at two separate times, because there was a chance Brendan was going to have to work through Friday, and Andrea wanted to come up on Thursday to see some friends, their journey home was actually on two separate flights about 45 minutes apart.) Andrea was horrified to discover that she'd accidentally booked Brendan on a flight FROM Las Vegas instead of TO Las Vegas. Arghhhh! A phone call and several dollars later, the situation was resolved -- and Brendan and Andrea got to fly home on the same flight, even!

Tonight the house is quieter, but it's a happy quiet, full of contented memories of laughter, hugs, and fun conversations. There was no bow on the present, but I know my mother in law was thrilled beyond words to receive her gift this year -- and she'll never forget the year she turned 70!

family portraits and other death marches

Mama bear — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:53:16 GMT

Maybe I'm too tense or something, but in my mind "family portrait" is in the same category as that once-a-year appointment with the doctor who makes small talk while under the drape: unpleasant, but neccessary.

It's not one thing, really, but the whole thing that has me in a tizzy: the idea of getting my entire family looking clean, cute and sane at the same time is daunting. From the time I book the appointment to the time we're sitting in the studio I age a few years, like Presidents do in office. It takes weeks, literally --there's haircuts to schedule and the clothes to plan and the baths to run everyone through; then there's the timing of the event -- everyone needs to be in the Best Mood Possible, not hungry, tired, or running out of the benefits of medication. Finally we all have to look reasonably in the same direction and smile pleasantly -- not maniacally, not evilly, not sulkily. Oh, and if the boy child doesn't look too restrained, that's a double bonus of the highest order.

We recently took ourselves to Sears to redeem a gift certificate for a family portrait, and I have to say it went much smoother than I was bracing myself for... Besides the weeks of work, I attribute our good experience to three key things:

*Thomas was in an excellent mood, which was HUGE.

*The photographer was quick, alert, and snap-happy -- she'd click that button if there was the remotest chance the picture would be cute.

*Matt and Megan were their cute selves, and I had the first recorded Good Hair Day/Picture Day co-existence, EVER.

In the end, we had so many good pictures to choose from, it was actually hard to pick just one as our official Family Portrait. We finally decided on a nice grouping, and added a few sheets of some other cute poses -- the kids together, and the kids individually -- and left with our CD of pics.

Once home, I loaded the CD onto the computer and downloaded the pictures, marvelling again at the great expressions on Thomas's face, the cute freckles on Megan's face, the relaxed smiles of the four of us -- and then I froze. The cute individual picture of Thomas, where he's smiling in impish delight? It has another feature. I'll upload it here and add it to the bottom of this post for you to enjoy. Just remember, he isn't doing it on purpose... I'm pretty sure... LOL

Preschool ROCKS!

Mama bear — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:11:35 GMT

Five special-needs kids times four hours a day times four days a week equals X.

a) eXciting

b) eXcellent

c) eXhilarating

d) eXhausting

Answer: e) all of the above!

I still absolutely LOVE the job after the first full week of kiddoes! I've played pretend in the kitchen area, put together Thomas the Train tracks on a playrug, joined in all the songs, read my favorite Sandra Boynton books (oh my gosh, HUGE hit: Blue Hat, Green Hat), climbed and slid on the playground, ate goldfish crackers, painted, glued, and played in the water table.

Er, and the kids did, too... LOL

The personalities are shining through -- we know which child will share willingly, and which WON'T; which child will play in the sandbox, and which child will check the perimeter to see if a random gate might have gone un-checked (nope, we're on that one, buddy!); and which child likes which activities. Everyone is getting used to the schedule -- from bus drivers on down to the kids.

The first week was wonderful, and I can't wait for Monday morning to get here so I can see my friends' adorable faces again!

Update on the Job Thing

Mama bear — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:32:17 GMT

A little over a week ago I posted that I was offered a job as a paraeducator (class aide) in a preschool for special needs kids. In the last week I had my physical (I posted some observations of that "experience" in the comments section in the article below) and then had to wait for the doctor to get and view my records from visiting a chiropractor. (I'm assuming the box "yes" next to chiropractor has some sort of alarm signal that makes all the exits seal and the oxygen mask to come flying out of the ceiling.) The doctor (I'm sure acting in a CYA way, because the insurance folks breathe down her neck, but STILL) insisted I get a back x-ray to rule out degenerative disc disease (since I have seen the chiro for sciatica) and now I'm waiting for the x-ray folks to get the info to her and for her to decide if I'm enough of a non-cripple to actually work in a preschool. (My chiro snorted when I told him this. Actual snort -- it was awesome -- and told me not to worry.) But in the meantime, I am in limbo, unable to concretely plan anything because I need to wait for the verdict... sigh... Anyway, just bringing you up to date... :p

Whoo Hoo!

Mama bear — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:06:28 GMT

Great news! I got a call today, offering me a job! I'll be starting the 2009-2010 school year in a preschool class one town up from mine, and I couldn't be more thrilled! I still have to find out some of the pesky details, but I've already got a physical appointment set up for Monday and I'm looking forward to perusing some Back to School outfits for myself when we hit the aisles for the kids! LOL

Thanks to all the folks who sent good thoughts and well wishes my way... and keep 'em coming -- I'm gonna be neck-deep in playdough, tempera paints, and sand tables in less than a month! :)

Interview Today!

Mama bear — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:13:24 GMT

Wish me luck! My interview is this afternoon! I figure as long as there's no algebra test, I'll do just fine... LOL

New Horizons

Mama bear — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:35:46 GMT

The new school for Thomas is working out splendidly; they aren't intimidated by his energy -- they love him, in fact -- and he's thriving. Though he's only been in summer school for a couple of weeks (and sick for half of them), the promise of a wonderful school year is sweet, indeed.

The success of Thomas's school means some changes for me, too. As Matt gently suggested, it's time for me to bring in some more money... because while I adore the yard duty job, it's not exactly swimming in the dough.

I found a position on the school district website that is right up my alley -- paraeducator, which is a fancy word for one-to-one aide. (They fancy up the yard duty job, too: Playground Supervisor. I would have gone with Kid Wrangler, but okay...) To apply you turn in a form (the classified employment application), a resume, and three letters of recommendation.

The form was a cinch, and I easily rounded up three people willing to vouch for me... Leslie, a dear friend whose kids I currently watch; Cari, who is my best friend and a teacher, herself; and Debra, Thomas's special day class teacher for the last two years. (How nice is that?) The resume was a minor speed bump of sorts, because I think the last one I assembled was twelve years ago, but after an hour or so of quasi-panicking I managed to put together the information and have it look mostly resume-like. (It actually looks pretty doggone good, as a matter of fact... all that stressing was for naught! LOL) Finally I called my last two nanny jobs to let them know they could expect a call, and that was that!

I turn in everything tomorrow, and then I guess they review the paperwork and call "qualified prospects" in for an interview.

My goodness...

Perspective

Mama bear — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:42:46 GMT

A small article in the newspaper took my breath away this morning.

10-year-old Colby Curtin wanted to see the new Pixar movie, "Up," but she was too sick to go to the theater. This wasn't some summer cold -- this was the big "C," cancer. Colby was dying of vascular cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2005.

When the previews for "Up" came out, Colby told her mom she wanted to see that movie. When the movie hit theaters, she was too sick to be able to get there... so a family friend called Pixar and Disney Studios. Pixar officials sent someone the next day with a DVD copy of "Up," stuffed animals from the movie, and other fun stuff for Colby. Colby was unable to open her eyes to watch the movie, but her mother described the scenes to her. When it was over, Colby's mom asked her if she enjoyed it, and Colby nodded.

A few hours later Colby slipped from this life.

The mom said she had no idea what "Up" was about, but the balloons rising and the word up gave her a stong feeling that her daughter was going up, up to heaven... and I, for one, believe the same thing.

I also think that Pixar and Disney have a good shot at making it there, too...

I cried when I read this, and I cried when I wrote it. My almost-10-year-old daughter was in the other room, laughing at something her 7-year-old brother did, and all I could think was, "Thank you, thank you..." Thank you for the reminder to appreciate health, and opportunities, and goodness in this world. Thank you for the heart of a company being touched enough to make a dying girl's wish come true.Thank you for a reminder to look up, and see beauty, grace, hope, and love.

Goin' Real

Mama bear — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:45:44 GMT

I feel so techie now!

I changed my avatar to an actual picture of myself, instead of the sweet Mamabear from the Berenstein Bears.

This is only a big deal to me because when I came to PNN, I was so intimidated by the whole setting-up thing (even though it is soo easy and intuitive and user-friendly), the founder of the site actually did the intial set up. That was something like 20 months ago... so maybe my growth curve is a little on the low side, but hey! I got here! LOL

Zoo!

Mama bear — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:04:15 GMT

We spent a good part of yesterday at the San Francisco Zoo, enjoying all the animals -- both inside and outside the enclosures! (There were several schools' worth of field-tripping groups there, herded around by parents with that dazed "oh, God, what have I gotten into?" look... which is a green light to act up and get away with whatever you can as fast as you possibly can to any kid worth their salt. Let's just say the day was sodium rich and move on, shall we?)

We invited Matt's (wonderful and easygoing!) mom to join us, and planned on taking my minivan so there would be plenty of room for everyone, but that was before my van ended up in Shop Hell. (The transmission is out, and the shop is trying to get the warranty company to greenlight fixing it, but it's now Friday and the van has been at the shop since Tuesday morning at 8. No work has been done, and it's not looking like any will be done in the foreseeable future... and no, this shop doesn't have replacement vehicles, so we are down to one car. Sigh... ) Luckily we were able to take Mom's car for the SF trip, or we'd have been crunched into Matt's pickup like sardines in a can!

We downloaded maps before we went, and handed one to each child so they could begin enjoying the day. Thomas loves maps, and he spent a good portion of the hour-long drive down to San Francisco poring over the paper, announcing venues as he found them: "Lion! Look, Mom, lion! Giraffe! Look, Mom, giraffe!" Megan tried to map out a route to take us to the animals she wanted to see, but it turns out they don't have pandas -- her first pick -- and we somehow missed the koalas, if they did have those.

I forgot how expensive it can be to do an outing like this... even with packing snacks and lunch, and a comp'ed parking ticket (thanks to a friend), it cost us $66 just to get in! ($6 bridge toll, $15 each adult, $9 each kid, and $12 for a senior.) We got one cotton candy and one order of fries, so there went another $10 or so... and the train was running, so we plonked down the $4 each to have a ride on THAT, of course...ka-ching, ka-ching... sigh... Blam, there went $100~! I must say, though, that we got our money's worth: we did have a great day!

I was able to get some awesome pictures of animals with my new camera, zooming right up to capture their faces. I had some sort of magic touch going, too -- the animals would look up or seem to pose perfectly just as I went to click the shot -- and I ended up with postcard-quality shots! (Double drat that I am still having technical issues with uploading them!! Rrrrr!~)

I've noticed before that several animals are not all that exciting to see... the lions and tiger just lay there, looking vaguely stuffed, sunning themselves, and other animals seemed to be hiding just out of camera range, chuckling to themselves as they presented hunched backsides (warthogs, the seal, the capybara and most of the polar bears). The really disturbing exhibit, though, is the kangaroo habitat, on the Walkabout. Never once have I seen one upright, looking like a kangaroo ought to look... instead, they are all stretched out on the slight incline, looking like some sort of massacre has happened on the grassy slope. Guyana comes to mind... do kangaroos drink Koolaid?

Luckily, several other animals were animated and fun to watch, like the bears, penguins, and giraffes. We took some video of the river otters frolicking in their little river and waterfall area (easily the best exhibit of the day!), and a funny little scene as the kids attempted to feed the animal kids in the farm animals area, and an accidental few second's worth of two turtles sunning themselves on a log. (I hadn't reset the camera, and I thought I was getting a still picture. Well, even with video, I got a still picture! LOL) The best video was taking some footage on the train, getting Thomas's reaction and then panning up to get the sensation of riding along for a few seconds. We played it over and over again once we got home, and each time the kids were delighted all over again!

The playground was our after-lunch stop, but that idea seemed to have occured to every field trip group, as well. The place was swarming with kids, hell-bent on being on every piece of equipment as fast as they could before they had to go back to filling out their "educational" booklets on animals. One group was wearing some sort of uniform -- black pants, white shirts, and burgundy blazers -- but several other groups were wearing bright red tee shirts, which surprisingly enough, was also what Thomas was wearing. A huge number of kids had also gotten their summer buzz cuts, too... just like Thomas. For the twenty minutes we were on that playground I was frantically trying to keep up with and maintain visuals on a racing red-shirted buzz-cut boy, and constantly double checking to make sure it was the RIGHT boy! Good Lord, that "break" nearly broke me!

At the end of the day we made our way back across the zoo, stopping for one last gaze at the pink flamingos outside the Leaping Lemur Cafe. Matt had a firm grip on Thomas -- who has been known to plunge into bodies of water in a heartbeat, and whose impulse-control medication was nearing expiration -- but somehow Thomas was able to grab Nona's sunglasses off her head and fling them into the enclosure, all in the blink of an eye. We stood there in stupefied silence -- did that just happen?! -- and then Thomas let out a hoot of nervous laughter: even he was surprised by his actions!

I guess we'll just add on the price of a pair of sunglasses to the zoo trip and call it a day...

Where'd the Week Go?

Mama bear — Sun, 31 May 2009 04:46:45 GMT

According to my calendar, the last week was short... only four days of work and school, with Monday being a holiday... so why do I feel like it was at least three weeks long? Probably because I packed three weeks worth of stuff into it!

To begin with, I should say that I finally succumbed to a sinus infection (stupid allergies have been hideous this year) and on Monday I began a course of antibiotics. To get the proper idea of this week, imagine a stuffed head, crackling ears, a headache and pressure each time I leaned forward -- plus, enough sneezing and blowing to put Kleenex in the black for another quarter.

Tuesday was Field Day at Thomas's school. I volunteered, and offered to be put wherever they needed me most -- which happened to be in the childcare center, watching the little ones of the other parent volunteers. There were a good handful of us in there keeping an eye on the 18 kiddos signed in, so the 3 and a half hours went pretty quickly. I went straight from there to yard duty, and spent another hour and a quarter racing around the lawn with very hot, very tired kids who were done with a capital "D." (The rule of thumb seems to be for every five degrees above 60 Fareneheit, at least two children will need to tattle on a perceived wrongdoing every three minutes. This week we hit the low 80s. Sigh...)

Wednesday was minimum day, but Megan had a choir performance in Healdsburg in the afternoon, to be followed by a potluck picnic dinner at a local park. The performace was actually a taping at a local access television station, so the kids sang for an hour and a half in front of a huge green screen, melting under the hot lights in their all-black ensembles. Poor little munchkins! I dropped off and returned for Meg, and when I got there the kids had strippped off socks and shoes to stand on the cool concrete floor, but there was no water to be had... luckily I carry a case in my van (da-da-da-da-da-da! Super Mommy!), and carrying the handful of bottles into the studio I was rushed by the entire group with gleeful cries of "WATER! THANK GOD!" For all the discomfort, though, the kids did a great job of maintaining... ah, showbiz, eh?

The potluck at the park was fun, too, with hot dogs and lots of fresh strawberries and veggies with dips and of course, the most popular course, desserts. (Strangely enough, many parents brought popsicles as their potluck offering -- clearly making up for the super-hot studio experience!) The magic cookie bars I brought disappeared in no time at all -- maybe that's part of their magic? :)

Thursday was Field Day at Megan's school, and I had signed up to volunteer there, as well. As I was getting into bed on Wednesday night I had that sudden cold dread feeling of "UH oh... Did I sign up to bring some food, too?" Yep. Each class had an assigned category to attend to, and Ms. Jordan's class had "Healthy Snacks." We raced through our morning routine and hit the grocery store, snagging a veggie-and-dip tray to bring as our offering, which was just perfect... whew! When I showed up to do my volunteering, there didn't seem to be anywhere they needed me... so I went to the cafeteria and helped sort the food offerings into some semblance of order. There were tables full of hot dogs -- more packages than I've ever seen in my whole life, just piled up in a huge mound in all sorts of packaging: beef, turkey, chicken, Kosher, ball park, plumping, generic, you name it. The tables (plural: TWO of 'em) next to the hot dogs had mountains of hot dog buns. To the other side of the hot dog table were more chips than most grocery stores have in stock on any three-day weekend: tortilla chips, plain, ruffled, barbeque, sour cream and onion, sun, and every flavor Dorito the company makes. The drink table had Capri Suns in more flavors than I had ever heard of, too -- fruit punch, lemonade, red berry, strawberry, mixed berry, swizzle berry, island berry, berry red, berry-berry... okay, I can't name them all, but you get the idea. Then there were the desserts... if you can picture it, it was there, with at least three packages' worth on hand. Same with the healthy snacks -- fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese, muffins, granola bars, fruit rolls -- we had it all.

Except, it turns out, a way to cook the hot dogs.

For 300 kids.

So two teams were dispatched to two houses, and my fellow volunteer (and Girl Scout co-leader) and I got to cook a tub o' hot dogs and stuff them in buns, stand them in rows along big cafeteria trays, wrap them in foil, and then drive them back to the school. That took the entire morning, up to yard duty time... but I heard reports later that that lunch was the "best hot dog lunch they'd ever had!!" I think the endless supply of chips and desserts may have had a hand in that, but I welled up with pride, anyway. :)

(Oh... by the way... I now know I don't want to be a cafeteria lady when I grow up... so the day was useful for that bit of info, alone.)

Friday was the last day, but it felt sort of anticlimatic with all the other hurrying I had to do (haircut, grocery store, and going out for an evening with relatives in San Francisco)... In a way, I was glad for the busy-ness, as it prevented me from getting too sad about missing the on-going first graders, and the retiring teachers, and all the friends I've made this year on campus. I'm planning on going back next year, so that's something to look forward to... but it's going to be different with Thomas at anther school and a whole new batch of kindergartners!

The next few days are going to be quiet and dull by comparison... Thank God!! If you need me, I'll be the one in the corner, staring at the wall and mumbling about hot dogs and volunteering and did I forget to pick up that kid --???

100 List

Mama bear — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:01:41 GMT

Have you ever heard of the 100 List, where you write down 100 things you want to do, have, or be in your lifetime? It's a way of committing to paper those wistful "Someday I'll..." musings... Once you've written them down, it's like you've set in motion the universe's power to fulfill them...

When you first try this, you'll find yourself writing down small things like "go to Las Vegas," and then several dozen lines later you'll write the real biggie: "star in my own show in Las Vegas!" It's like you are trying to be polite, not greedy -- "I'll just have the salad, thanks... and a water, if it's not too much trouble." Then there's this sudden gust of possibility and you rush in with a what-the-heck attitude -- "And three appetizers, a 22 ounce steak, two sides, and hey, bring the dessert menu!!"

Here's a few to get you started. Feel free to add things in the comment box!

1. Write and publish a book. (Wait -- a series!!)

2. Visit Australia. (For a month!)

3. Attend the Writer's Conference in Hawaii. (Hang on-- be a speaker at the conference!!)

4. Go on a cruise in the Caribbean. (First class, money no object!)

5. Visit Washington, D.C. (Stay at the White House!)

6. Own a vacation home. (In France? Italy? The California coast? Hmmm...)

7. Find a practical way to help autistic kids and their parents. (Open a school and recreation center; franchise them to have a whole string across the U.S. and the world!)

8. Learn a new language.

9. Get a great family portrait every year. (Oooh, who is a famous photographer?)

10. Redo the backyard. (In our new dream home, of course!)

Happy dreaming!

Thoughts

Mama bear — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:20:17 GMT

One of my favorite things about PNN is the opportunity it affords us to think.

Among the very talented writers that post here on PNN we have a wide variety of experiences, ages, backgrounds, cultures, and lifestyles. We can skip from post to post and find every representation of life from student to teacher, single and loving it to looking for a life partner, parent to child-free, homebody to world traveler... and all the combinations in between. We may not always agree with a point of view -- we may not always enjoy another person's writing -- but we are free to choose what we continue to read.

There have been a flurry of posts recently about swearing, with lots of comments on each new piece. I've caught myself thinking about each point of view at random times during my day -- while walking across the playground to my "Duty Zone" for yard duty, while stirring a pot of pasta cooking on the stove, while showering or falling asleep or vacumming or whatever mindless task I am currently attempting to liven up with an internal conversation -- and I decided to chime in with a post of my own.

First of all, I have to confess I do swear. Not all the time, and not in front of the kids (15 years of being a nanny will give you the same skills Gretchen mentions in her post about being a dee-jay) but I do swear on occasion. I recognize the punch factor of a well-chosen word in context, and will use it if appropriate.

Occasionally I will do a self-check and realize I'm swearing more than I would like, in a gratuitous or mindless way; not like a drunken sailor on shore leave, maybe, but enough that I decide to scale back the dependence on the George Carlin list a bit.

WearsManyHats said she gets turned off by written swearing, and that a post full of swearing is likely to make her not want to read further. She's honest about this, and she's introspective enough to realize this may prevent her from seeing/hearing some points of view. When I read her post, it seemed to me that she meant a lot of gratuitous swearing -- not the occasional hot damn, but the whole enchilada doused with flaming f-bombs. I agree; at some point the punch factor of a well-chosen swear word loses its power to invigorate and instead becomes redundant and annoying. It's like the toddler "NO!" phase, where they answer no to every request as a matter of course, even when they WANT whatever you're offering... sort of reflexive, rather than effective.

The great thing about this post-flurry is that it made many of us stop and think. We thought about how we feel about swearing, and communication in general. We thought about how our communications are received, and how we feel about that. We explored the thoughts that came up from reading the posts, and then from the comments from other readers. In short, we took a moment to do some evaluations, and came away with a better understanding of our own thought processes as well as an insight into our fellow PNN posters' thought processes. How cool is that?

I, for one, am grateful for the nudge PNN gives me -- nearly daily! -- to think, to learn, to grow, to explore.

Just a thought...