what a memory

Yesterday Samuel brought home a progress report from school which said he was doing everything well, but he didn't know his phone number. So last night we spent some time trying to teach it to him. We said it over and over and then wrote it down for him.
Anyway, first thing this morning John asked Sam if he could remember our phone number. James piped up first reciting it perfectly! Sam couldn't remember. John and I couldn't stop laughing. You gotta love how much kids pick up when you think they aren't listening!


btw I added a picture of Sam's face after his meeting with the road on a previous post.

grammar

I was listening to NPR today and the topic of the news story was some insane skateboarders who were louge boarding down a scary curvy mountain road in the midst of traffic. Talk about a death wish! Anyway, I don't know if the reporter felt obligated to make her report hip because the report was about skateboarding, but she stuck in some words and phrases which stuck out like a sore thumb.
Case and point: "The Malibu government isn't hating on all kinds of skateboarding..." and "To find an adrenalin rush? Whatever! (said in a valley girl tone)"
Since when does any self respecting journalist use the phrase "hating on"? Much less a middle aged, well educated, probably caucasian, female reporter! Seriously! Someone needed to smack this woman or at least have the charity to edit that mock English out of her report. I was truly embarrased for her.

the mystery of the missing garbage can or Samuel meets pavement

So last Wednesday (as in a week and a half ago) I dragged myself off the sofa to put out the trash and recycling before I collapsed again and didn't resurface until Saturday or Sunday. On Monday, trash day again, I went to put a bag in the trash can and... I couldn't find it. Seriously, the trash can was GONE. I asked all of the neighbors around us and no one knew where it went. I called the garbage company and they didn't take it. It just disappeared. So after a week of no trash pickup (the company we use will only pick up trash in the designated trash can) I started getting desperate and left notes on some of the neighbors houses all along our street. This morning I got a call. I woman who lived across the road and down toward the opposite end of our street called to let me know they had our trash can. Thank goodness! Although we were puzzeled as to how our trash can made it quite that far. I think it must have had some help other than the wind. Do teenagers go joy riding on trash cans these days???
Anyway, I decided to take the boys for a walk this afternoon to get some fresh air and so we could reclaim our trash can. We were about 8 minutes walking distance when Sam, walking with his hands in his pockets, tripped and did a face plant on the road. He started screaming and looked up at me with blood oozing from one side of his face.

We are talking some serious roadrash here. The picture doesn't really show how bad it was. My poor boy! Being pregnant and recovering from the flu it took all of my energy just to walk in a straight line so there was no way I could carry him. We started the walk back home stopping to pick up our trash can on the way. I made sure I help his hand the whole way just to be sure he didn't trip again. Seriously, Samuel inherited my grace. Not many people can walk across a perfectly flat surface and land flat on their face. That takes real talent!

awesome story

I am still recovering from the flu so look for a blog with original thoughts sometime next week. In the meantime, I came across this story on Yahoo and it was so amazing it made me cry... or maybe it is the pregnancy hormones.

chuck norris

For some reason my husband has no idea who Chuck Norris is. Can someone explain that to me? Well, I found a fun google search on a friend's facebook.
1. Go to Google
2. Type in "find Chuck Norris"
3. Press I'm feeling lucky.

The results are too funny and so... Chuck Norrisesque.

flu head

It is official, I have the flu. Yuck! It is amazing that such a little word contains so much physical suffering. I am lucky on one count-- at least it is not the stomach flu. But still. All I have done for the last 2 .5 days is sleep and cough and sneeze and blow my nose and ache and shiver and...well you get the idea. It amazes me that with something so horrible that our society hasn't come up with more creative uses of the word flu. Seriously, to me it holds worse connotations than most of the 4 letter words people use as insults. Think about it next time you are yelling at the driver who cuts you off... who knows, maybe you will curse them with the illness by calling them names. "You flu head!"

Does anyone know what paraskavedekatriaphobia is? (hint: it has nothing to so with the flu)

the great preschool search

So we are planning on putting James in preschool this fall to get him ready for Kindergarten. I really wanted to put him in a program similar to the preschool lab we had Sam in at Upper Darby High School. The problem is, the program at Strathhaven HS only allows for 15 kids, half girls, half boys, and kids in the program the previous year get first pick. That basically leaves only a couple of spots which are filled by pulling applications out of a hat. Ugh! So I have begun a preschool search in the area trying to find 1) somewhere that is close 2) somewhere not outrageously expensive (yeah, I know, good luck with that) and 3) somewhere that still has openings. Pretty much all of the four year old programs in the area are already filled! So far James is on two waiting lists.
So after calling and emailing programs friends had recommended, I did a google search for preschools in Wallingford and started calling. Well, Friday I got a call back from The Pumpkin Patch Preschool. Their program had seemed pretty nice online so I was waiting to hear from them. However, as the woman on the phone was giving me directions to come for a tour, I realized I had made a big blunder.

Me: Now where are you located?
PP Woman: Just down Route 5 across from the shopping center that has Lowe's and Home Depot.
Me: Huh. (Figuring out why Rt 5 doesn't sound familiar at all) I didn't realize there was a Lowe's there. I'll talk to my husband and we will get back to you.
PP Woman: (Not realising that anything is off.) Ok. Bye.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Philly suburbs I will clue you in on the problem. There is no Route 5 in the area- none, zero, zip, zilch. Apparently in my haste to find a school, any school, with open spots I contacted a school in Wallingford, Connecticut! Umm. That is a little too far a commute for my taste.

I think I made the Stupid List with this one!

It's a pin!

Samuel had his first win this weekend! We were starting to lose hope that he had any of John's wrestling ability at all- and maybe he doesn't, but at least he has a win. I don't know who was more excited about it, John or Sam. Of course they did have to import a wrestler from another county to find one as inexperienced and carefree as Samuel. I have spent all week trying to figure out why I can't post the video. When I figure it out I will let you know. It is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. The ref is cracking up through the majority of the match. Something about 5 year olds trying to wrestle and grinning from ear to ear at the same time...

marker mania

Sundays are the longest day of the week for our family. Mostly it is because John has all of his meetings for high council and has to visit other wards- which means I am on my own with the boys all day. I'm not complaining, it is just how it is.
Anyway, when John got home around 2 yesterday he went upstairs to take a nap because we had all had a long weekend and he had been up since 6am. I set the kids up at the table with paper, safety scissors and markers so they could make light sabers to their hearts' content then laid down on the sofa so I could put my feet up. I, of course, promptly fell asleep. When I woke up about 45 minutes later, the house was in pandemonium. The boys who were arguing over who got to use the tape dispenser, had cut several pieces of construction paper into little tiny bits which were strewn all over the kitchen table and floor. Under the paper the table was covered in red marker, James had apparently run out of paper had continued to create masterpieces without it. As I was drying James' hands off after scrubbing them to try and wash off some of the "washable" marker, I noticed that he had marker all over his feet as well.
"James, honey, what did you do to your feet?"
James looked guiltily down at his ruby colored toes, "I'm sorry Mommy, I was trying to trace my feet with the maw-kers and I couldn't do it right."
I searched the floor for any James sized marker footprints but am happy to say this experiment must have happened before he ran out of paper.
Whew! Sunday makes me tired! Or maybe it is the two kids...