Simple Pleasures

Sunday I took the girls to Oak Mountain Park for a little hike. As usual, it was beautiful and fun. We got off a trail for awhile and ended up having to do a little rock climbing, but they handled it like true hiking experts. After a couple of hours of hiking, we stopped at a stream, and I let them take off their shoes and play in the water. After our hike, we came home and they played in the sprinklers. Later that night, Sarah told me that she'd had the best day EVER. Now that's good stuff!



















And p.s. Sarah wrote a poem for a newspaper contest. I don't want to post it until after the deadline, but I love that
a) she likes to write poems and
b) she likes to enter contests and
c) she'll commit to something that requires hard work (like making up a poem, and writing it legibly, and getting it all done before the deadline).
Way to go, Sarah. I'm so proud of you!

Staying Active

We had a wonderful day. The girls had a tennis lesson this morning. They've been taking lessons for a couple of months, and they love it. I think it's their favorite activity. Surprisingly, Sarah seems to have better hand/eye coordination so she's doing a little better than Abby, but they both love it and are doing great. Today they learned how to volley.

After a short break, we headed to dance so they could work on their talent show act. I've been shocked pleased by the way they've committed to this and practiced their dance. The show is Friday night, and I think they'll be ready. They still forget a couple of moves, but we have time to practice and I think they'll do fine. I'm excited for them and really impressed that they have the guts to get up on the stage and dance.

It was a gorgeous and hot day, so after we got home from dance and the shoe store, they played in the sprinklers and the mud. Abby even completed her homework assignment which was to go on an Insect Safari and write a report about what she found.

We finished the day with a margarita a nice Mexican meal at one of my favorite restaurants. Debbie Debbie joined us and it was fun. My only regret today was that we live too far away to be with Emma Faith for her first birthday party.

Infinity Elves

Conversation with Abby on the way to school today:

A: Mom, I think Uncle Todd is an elf.
Me: An elf? Why do you think that?
A: Because he made my singing Barbie, and all my Polly Pockets.
Me: Well, he didn't actually make them, honey. He just works for the company that makes them.
A: Oh. How do the elves make toys, anyway?
Me: Well, toys are made in really big factories.
A: Oh right. Like on Rudolph. But there must be more elves than they show on Rudolph. Like 100 or something, because they make a lot of toys. No, not 100. There must be infinity elves, because infinity is a really big number. Right mom?
Me: Right, Abby. Have a good day at school, honey.

Catching up

It was a busy week. Leslie and her kids came up Wednesday, and I came down with the stomach bug Wednesday night. Fortunately it was gone by Thursday afternoon. Friday we all went to DeSoto Caverns. We really didn't know what it would be like - I'd asked around, and found a few friends who said it was fun, but with kids ranging in age from 5 to 14, we weren't sure if it would be fun for the whole family. Still, it was something different to do, so we decided to give it a try.
It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time. It only took us an hour to get there, and that drive out 280 is beautiful (if you go at the right time, when the traffic isn't horrendous). The Caverns are family-owned, and that becomes apparent very quickly. But really, we thought that added to the charm. The activities for the kids are simple, a bit corny, and a lot of fun for the most part. We made our way through the maze, rode pedal cars and electric cars and paddle boats and bathtubs (none of us wanted to ride the toilets), played some miniature golf, fired foam balls at each other, tried our hand at archery, and panned for gemstones. The caves themselves were really incredible, and I loved the tour (but thought the light show was hokey).
As usual, I took wayyyy too many pictures and couldn't decide which ones to post, so I put them all in a slideshow.

It's Out!

S&A both slept great last night (Abby in her bed, Sarah in mine) and woke up feeling better. Abby was hungry and her usual energetic self, while Sarah still didn't have much of an appetite, but they both went to school (a little late after a much-needed bath) and made it through the day.

While in the bath, Abby took her washcloth and wiped her mouth, and out popped her tooth! No tears, no pain, just a little blood! She was sooo excited, and I was pleasantly surprised by Sarah's reaction too. I gave Abby a tooth pillow that I had found at Prime Time Treasures months ago, and Sarah asked if I had one for her too. Of course I did, but I told her I thought we should wait until she lost her first tooth. She said she wanted to leave a note in her pillow for the Tooth Fairy, which I thought was a great idea.

So, here's the evidence:

The big tooth came in before the baby tooth fell out, so that's a hole in front of the big tooth.

Dear tooth Fairy
I Love you
You Give Good presents
from Sarah

Yucky

We had a busy and glorious Easter weekend, but things went downhill quickly last night. At 10pm, Abby showed up by my bed and told me that her tummy hurt. It had been an extremely busy weekend, and she had stayed up too late, and probably eaten too much candy, so I asked her to go back to her bed and try to go back to sleep. She said, "But it REALLY hurts," and then threw up all over me and the floor. I'm pretty sure this is the first time she's ever thrown up - she rarely gets sick. So she got in bed with me, and Perry went upstairs to get some sleep, and I was up most of the night with her. This morning Sarah's tummy felt "funny" and she didn't want to eat anything, and she threw up around 8:30. So this has been my day:

Sarah's CPK Field Trip

Today I went on a field trip to California Pizza Kitchen...again. This time it was Sarah's turn, and even though it was my second time, I still enjoyed it. I just think this is a great field trip. The kids were very interested in the tour, and they loved making their own pizzas. Unfortunately it was too cold to go to the playground after the restaurant, but it was still a great morning.
Notice the pictures of Teddy. He seems to have a crush on Sarah (and I think it's mutual, although she won't talk about it). He's a cutie.

The Princess Is NOT Tired

McWane Your Brain

Last Friday I chaperoned a field trip to the McWane Center. We took all eight kindergarten classes, which I thought was insane, but even crazier was showing up to find three other schools there also! It was chaos, but we had fun.

The Birmingham News Responds

One of my 4 faithful readers is my aunt, who just so happens to work at The Birmingham News! When she read yesterday's post, she emailed this to me:


Hey Janet,
I just read your blog and saw where Sarah was upset because her picture was not in the paper. Please tell her we apologize for that. We just can't run every picture and maybe she will have her picture in the paper some other time. Let her know that the Birmingham News did not mean to hurt her feelings or make her sad.


I LOVED this! When Sarah got home from school, I told her that the Birmingham News had read my blog and had emailed us an apology! She didn't say anything after I read it, but she did smile, so I took that as a good sign. Thank you, Sue!!

And, on another note, Sarah is sick again. She climbed in my bed this morning at 4:45 with a sore throat, but she seemed fine when we got up and she went to school. Tonight she started feeling worse and said her throat really hurt. I hope she's not too sick, because she and Abby have a fieldtrip to the McWane Center on Friday.