Earth Day MVP & a Crossing Guard

I am lounging tonight in a fresh smelling room, the byproduct of today's professional carpet shampooing in an attempt to eradicate evidence of recent (and not-so-recent) household events.  I won't gross you out, but let's just say that three small boys and two dogs means that our carpet perpetually looks like a splatter mat underfoot.  Okay, it's really not that bad, but about every three to six months I decide I can't stand staring at the offensive spots anymore and I pay a small fortune to a very nice and super competent guy who can make the ole' shag look almost new again.  Just kidding - we don't really have shag carpet.  But sometimes I wish we did, because it would most certainly hide some of the atrocities so much better.  Anyway, my tactile senses love the results too, because you feel this crisp crushing underfoot as you walk across newly cleaned carpet that is beginning to dry.  I know, I know - totally absurd.  Yet still satisfying.

Apparently this carpet cleaning got me in a rather proactive and productive mood, because I really shocked myself earlier by encouraging G-man that we should start on his Earth Day lunchbox project that's due this Friday.  It's only Tuesday.  This is a big deal for me - Miss Procrastinator Extraordinaire that I am. 

The instructions said to create a lunchbox out of something recyclable at home that they can tote their lunch in on Friday and parade through the other classes for all of their friends to oooh and ahhh over.  Well, this for sure demanded that I break out the fancy scrapbook supplies.  Don't worry - I didn't "girl" it up.  We found a sports paper pack and he made a baseball-themed lunchbox out of an old shoebox I had in the closet.  We cut and glued various paper to the box to camouflage the fact that it once housed a coveted pair of Arturo Chiang pumps, and then adhered some cut-outs of favorite players as well as several baseball stickers.  My husband broke out his power tool (project coolness factor: +25 points) and drilled two holes in the top and we created a handle out of a string looped through and tied underneath.  To make sure the box stayed together without the top falling off when he picked it up, we put some Velcro stickers on the underside of the box top and then on each side of the box so that the lid can be secured.  I'm guessing that Velcro isn't exactly "green", but I can't have his lunch falling out all over the hallway or who knows where else, because I know my son, and I can guarantee this thing will be put to the G-man test.  Only the strong survive.

And so voila!  We have a "green" lunchbox that is pretty cool if I say so myself.

Who's the Earth Day MVP?  G-man!

After cleaning up our mess and patting myself on the back for not only starting but also finishing this project so early, I revisited a pile of teacher notes and classroom work that B-man had brought home yesterday (he goes to an intensive pre-school three days a week).  I read more about the songs and letters they worked on, studied a very interesting abstract finger painting masterpiece, and then came across the below paper that I somehow missed in my quick flip-through yesterday.  

It seems his teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up, and she wrote down his response.

It made me smile.  Totally putting this one in my pocket for a rainy day.

Zoo Sunday

I know what you're thinking.

TWO posts, back-to-back??  What is going on here??  I don't know what's gotten into me either, but just go with it.

This morning's glorious arrival seemed to whisper the promise of a beautiful day, so we loaded up the three small men and the red Radio Flyer wagon and set off for the zoo.

If you've never been to the Fort Worth Zoo, you are missing out on one of the best in the country.  Don't quote me, but I think it is nationally ranked.  It really is quite amazing, and they are currently hosting a unique exhibit called Dinosaus Unleashed, which features life-size robotic replicas of the prehistoric beasts.  Some of them (the more imposing ones, of course) move their heads, tails and claws and even roar.  Wee-man did not care for them whatsoever, but the other two thought they were pretty neat.  The T-Rex and her baby garnered the most "whoa!" and "awesome!" accolades from G-man and B-man.

Mama T-Rex and baby

We are looking forward to an event later this month that we have attended for the past two years, which is Friday Night at the Zoo.  It benefits The Warm Place, a local non-profit grief counseling center that supports kids who have lost a loved one.  Our friends (and neighbors) are very involved with this group and asked my husband to reproduce the headboard he recently made for our bedroom as one of the auction items, so he's been busy in the garage again.  I hope it gets some good bids!

I am excited about the event because it's great people, good food, fun auction items, a scavenger hunt for the kiddos, carousel rides and a nighttime train ride.  I don't know why, but there's something kind of cool, primal and even somewhat eerie about being in the zoo at night.  Probably because you can hear the animals, but can't see them!

I'm signing off with a few photos from today.

You know how they say everything's bigger in Texas?
Check out the humongous suckers.
Not dentist-approved in the least bit, but totally kid-approved.

The Yellow Rose Express - we're not allowed to leave until we ride it.  Every time!

G-man and Wee-man on the train.  Choo choo!

A Week in a Nutshell

You know that old phrase, "in a nutshell"? 

Well, that's what today's blog is all about, 'cause I'm way behind in my posts.  But I do have some good excuses.  And, I'm summing up my week in a nutshell with one-liners (or maybe two) and photos.  So here we go.

SATURDAY:

One sick child, backyard water slide for the other two, roses galore and 2 birdhouses made.



The amazing rose bush in our front bed.
It was here when we moved in, and we have no idea what kind they are,
but the first bloom is always incredible.



B-man painting his bird house.
  

Wee-man didn't paint a birdhouse, but he did put his cute face in some
wooden frames just for grins.

SUNDAY:

Donuts with kids, mojitos with friends, Chuck E Cheese with kids and then one sick, sick mama.  My weekend blogging plans went down the toilet.  Literally.

Where I spent my evening.  Not by choice. 
 A damn shame all those mojitos went to waste.
I can't say the same about the Chuck E Cheese pizza.

MONDAY:

Mom still sick.  'Nuff said.  Oh wait, some "stylist" butchered my son's hair when Dad took him for a haircut.  He's not trying for monkhood, okay? 


See? B-man is horrified, too.  Thank God his hair grows fast.

 TUESDAY:

Hallelujah, Mom discovers her tight pants aren't so tight anymore.  Thank you, stomach bug!  And enough work piled on her desk that she had to stay late at the office. 

WEDNESDAY:

I got nothin', but I was so exhausted that I went to bed early despite my best intentions to blog.

THURSDAY:

I became an aunt again! We welcomed a new baby to our family - Miss Charlotte, 9 lbs 10 oz!  Reminded once again of the miracle of life and all its beauty. 

Me, my sis and Miss Charlotte.  She has no idea how much she's loved.  Yet.

FRIDAY:

Strolled through the local arts festival at lunch, visited my sister and Miss C again after work and tried to teach B-man how to use my digital camera.


As you can see, his centering skills are exceptional. :)

TONIGHT:
I have a hot date.  Gotta go get ready. 

Happy weekend everyone!

Take Me Out to the Ballpark….And Feed Me.

We took the two older small men (G-man and B-man) to Opening Day at The Ballpark in Arlington Friday afternoon for the Texas Rangers vs. Boston Red Sox game, and it was a phenomenal day.  The sun was shining gloriously, it was a balmy 85 degrees and there was a light breeze carrying the unmistakable smells of baseball – hot dogs with onions and relish, fresh roasted peanuts, sweet cotton candy, ice cold beer and sunscreen.

Only G-man had been to a major league baseball game before, but neither had experienced the ritualistic ceremonies of Opening Day and all of the fanfare that goes along with it.

Their little minds soaked it all in – the chants, the cheers, the songs, the players, the fans, the colors, the sounds, the smells. 

G-man about to give the ball a good whack at Little Sluggers Field.

And their bellies?  Well, their bellies soaked in all sorts of caloric goodness.  First it was hot dogs.  Then nachos and popcorn.  Then cotton candy and ginormous pixie sticks.  Then ice cream sandwiches.  All washed down with an icy Orange Crush.  The sugar high was off the charts, like out in homerun territory or maybe even past that.
  

G-man: 1.  Giant pixie stick: 0.



B-man and his pink cloud of cotton candy.



To top this off, we find out a few innings in that we’re sitting right beside The Cookie Lady.  No seriously – this woman has “The Cookie Lady” engraved in a silver plate on her chair.  As in, permanently.  I couldn’t be happier about this, because I love, love, love cookies.  So much so that my husband often calls me the Cookie Monster.  I peer over while she’s engaged in conversation with a friend and see that she has about six dozen homemade snickerdoodle cookies carefully stacked away in two large plastic containers.  Jackpot, baby.

Every usher in site and half the concession walkers working that day stop by to chat with The Cookie Lady and collect their sweet treat.  She asks them all about their kids, their wives, their jobs, their college classes.  I realize she is a fixture around the ballpark and a real gem as well.  She sweetly offered us cookies about halfway through the game, once she realized there was a small boy behind her fixated on the cookie container and repeating over and over, “I really do like cookies.”  And who could say no to his sweet face?  Certainly not a grandmother toting baked goods.

The other angels at the game who couldn't tell him no was the couple behind us - grandparents as well, with a brood of 8 boys and 2 girls (not with them - they came alone).  So, while they weren't rookies to the noise and activity of small boys, I figured they wanted to enjoy the game in peace on their Friday date night.  So much for that.  B-man talked them up the entire game, managed to eat half the guy's Snickers bar and a few of his cheese fries, and by the 8th inning was playing some game of arm wrestling with him.  I turned around several times to apologize, but they were so nice and understanding that they would hear nothing of it.  What I think is that most Rangers fans are just nice people.  Good folks.  And we hit the lottery Friday night in terms of seat-mates. 

The boys had a blast and can't wait to go back.  I was thinking that their affection for the game (at least for now) was entirely related to the endless sugar buffet, but then they surprised me this evening by joining their dad in the living room to watch tonight's game on TV.  I walked into the room and G-man was giving me the play-by-play on what I missed.  I love that they are developing a love and understanding of one of America's favorite past times.  I am all for any activity that will further sew the threads of our life closer together.

In fact, we basically turned the entire weekend into Texas Rangers family weekend, with dinner outdoors at our neighbor's house on Saturday night followed by the game on their patio TV.  I captured two photos that made my heart happy that evening on our way over - one of my husband toting our son's backpack (full of diapers and wipes for the youngest) and one of G-man and Wee-man manning the Radio Flyer wagon full of caesar salad and deviled eggs up the street, with B-man way ahead of the group (as usual). 

To me, it's the needle pulling the thread through more loops and a little tighter.  Like the stitching on a good ball glove.

"That's the way baseball go."  ~Ron Washington

 

P.S.  The Rangers won 9-5 that first afternoon (and continued their winning streak to sweep all three games of the series).  Off to a great start!

P.P.S.  We also went to Sunday's game with my sister and brother-in-law, and it just so happens The Cookie Lady was back – this time with homemade pineapple sandies with brown sugar icing.  Heaven.