She was so impressed with her creation, she wanted to eat it immediately instead of saving it for the next day's lunch (it wouldn't have fit into a baggie, much less her lunch box anyway)...
She made it through only a few bites, but she was happy!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
New Word of the Day: Dagwood
Last week, Simone wanted to make her own lunch for school the next day. She decided to make a jelly sandwich, and while she was spreading the jelly and stacking the bread, she was reminded of this scene in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. She loves to recreate scenes from her favorite movies, books and TV shows, so of course she had to bring the Peanuts' feast preparation to life...
She was so impressed with her creation, she wanted to eat it immediately instead of saving it for the next day's lunch (it wouldn't have fit into a baggie, much less her lunch box anyway)...
She made it through only a few bites, but she was happy!
She was so impressed with her creation, she wanted to eat it immediately instead of saving it for the next day's lunch (it wouldn't have fit into a baggie, much less her lunch box anyway)...
She made it through only a few bites, but she was happy!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Cub Reporter or Comedienne?
I saw a news story last week about a woman driving her car through the front of a convenience store. Nobody was badly injured, and the physical damage was fairly minor (broken glass and banged-up displays), so it really was just a curiosity kind of story – What was she doing while she should have been applying the brakes? How will the store owner deal with the economic losses of missed alcohol sales just before the big New Year’s Eve holiday?
Yesterday, we happened to drive by that convenience store. Simone noticed plywood covering some of the windows on the store and asked why that was there. I told her what happened and explained that the plywood is covering the holes in the building until the owners can replace the glass. She was concerned that someone may have been hurt, and I told her that nobody was injured, just scared and surprised to see a car coming into the store.
She thought it over for a minute, then wanted to know how I knew all of this, so I told her I saw it on the news. She wanted to know exactly what the news story said. Word for word. When I couldn’t give her what she wanted, she started grilling me:
PH: Did they say the lady’s name who drove her car into the store?
Me: Yes, but I don’t remember it.
PH: Did they say how old she was?
Me: Yes, but I don’t remember.
PH: Did they say the store owner’s name?
Me: Yes, but I don’t remember it.
PH: Did they say what did he thought when he saw a car coming into the store?
Me: Yes, but I don’t remember what he said.
PH: Did they say what the customers said?
Me: Yes, but I don’t remember what they said. Something about being very surprised and scared.
PH: Did the car knock everything down?
Me: Yes, there was a picture of broken glass and smashed merchandise all over the floor.
PH: Oh. So it was breaking news?
Da da dum.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Fun Art
Simone and I spent the afternoon at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. One of the exhibits there was a room filled with almost 9,000 orange balloons. And you are allowed to touch this particular piece of art - you can actually go into the balloon room! I wasn't sure what Simone would think about that, but I wanted to see it myself.
It was so much fun!
We ran around the room completely blinded by the balloons - they reached a few feet over my head.
We raced around in there for about half an hour (and I am not kidding!), and she was so excited when she found out a little later that we could go into the room as many times as we wanted. So we went in again. And again. We shut down the place and left with the employees.
In between sessions in the balloon room, we saw the rest of the museum...
After the museum, we had dinner and walked around the JFK Memorial and Dealey Plaza. Simone agrees with the theory that there was a second shooter near the grassy knoll.
The highlight of Simone's day? Not what you would think. She talked all the way home about the homeless man who gave her a penny to throw into a fountain and make a wish. I hope it was a good wish!
It was so much fun!
We raced around in there for about half an hour (and I am not kidding!), and she was so excited when she found out a little later that we could go into the room as many times as we wanted. So we went in again. And again. We shut down the place and left with the employees.
In between sessions in the balloon room, we saw the rest of the museum...
After the museum, we had dinner and walked around the JFK Memorial and Dealey Plaza. Simone agrees with the theory that there was a second shooter near the grassy knoll.
The highlight of Simone's day? Not what you would think. She talked all the way home about the homeless man who gave her a penny to throw into a fountain and make a wish. I hope it was a good wish!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Wow. She's tall.
The pumpkinhead is tall. Very tall. At six years, she is 4'2". Depending on whose height chart you look at, she's either completely off the chart, or within the 97th percentile in height for six-year-old girls. And she has been in those upper percentiles her whole life. All six years of her life.
As you can imagine, everyone comments on her height. Adults, anyway. Kids don't seem to notice it. Strangers at the grocery store; other parents at school, the library, day care; teachers; my co-workers; her doctor; family members who don't see her every day; neighbors...and the list goes on and on.
Sometimes it's said like it's just so remarkable that a kid can be so tall; sometimes it's just small talk - something to say while watching the kids play or while waiting in line; sometimes it's said like they think they're actually giving me new information. Like I didn't know my kid is tall.
I don't mind people telling me that she's tall. At least they're not telling me what a brat she is or how annoying her cute little giggle is, or that she just broke something. I just never know what to say. I always agree and confirm that she is, indeed, very tall. I think I'll start telling people that I keep her into a stretching contraption at night because I want her to be in the Guinness Book of World Records one day. Or not. People don't have much of a sense of humor about that kind of stuff nowadays.
The best one came this weekend. We visit some people in a nursing home a couple of times a month. One of the patients we visit has ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), and cannot talk or get out of bed, but is otherwise just fine - sharp as a tack. She has a letter board and points to letters to spell out words when she needs something. This weekend, while Simone was poking around her room that is filled with stuffed cat toys and various feline knick-knacks (she is Simone's favorite patient to visit), the lady pointed to her letter board. I held it up for her, expecting her to ask for a nurse or to say something about one of the cats. She spelled out: S-H-E I-S T-A-L-L.
Yes, folks. She is tall.
As you can imagine, everyone comments on her height. Adults, anyway. Kids don't seem to notice it. Strangers at the grocery store; other parents at school, the library, day care; teachers; my co-workers; her doctor; family members who don't see her every day; neighbors...and the list goes on and on.
Sometimes it's said like it's just so remarkable that a kid can be so tall; sometimes it's just small talk - something to say while watching the kids play or while waiting in line; sometimes it's said like they think they're actually giving me new information. Like I didn't know my kid is tall.
I don't mind people telling me that she's tall. At least they're not telling me what a brat she is or how annoying her cute little giggle is, or that she just broke something. I just never know what to say. I always agree and confirm that she is, indeed, very tall. I think I'll start telling people that I keep her into a stretching contraption at night because I want her to be in the Guinness Book of World Records one day. Or not. People don't have much of a sense of humor about that kind of stuff nowadays.
The best one came this weekend. We visit some people in a nursing home a couple of times a month. One of the patients we visit has ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), and cannot talk or get out of bed, but is otherwise just fine - sharp as a tack. She has a letter board and points to letters to spell out words when she needs something. This weekend, while Simone was poking around her room that is filled with stuffed cat toys and various feline knick-knacks (she is Simone's favorite patient to visit), the lady pointed to her letter board. I held it up for her, expecting her to ask for a nurse or to say something about one of the cats. She spelled out: S-H-E I-S T-A-L-L.
Yes, folks. She is tall.
Six.
Simone turned six last month. In true Simone fashion, she had a big blow-out party. In true Debbie fashion, I forgot to take any pictures.
But trust me when I say it was a fun time.
There was an inflatable castle bounce house with water slide, a kiddie pool, a balloon banner, a heart shaped cake (that was awesome! a huge improvement over last year's pink brick), hot dogs, nachos, a book swap (instead of gifts - yay!), and about 20-25 of Simone's friends and family and their parents.
My house and yard were crawling with people. There were daredevil kids in the front yard jumping and sliding, silly kids splashing each other in the kiddie pool, water-averse kids riding scooters, tricycles and the electric car, giggling girls playing dress-up and house in Simone's room, curious kids looking for kittens under my bed, hungry kids and parents munching hot dogs and nachos, and parents trying to stay cool under trees, under the mister, and inside.
Everyone had a blast and went home tired with a new book to read.
The kittens survived and were glad to be able to make it to their food bowl and litter box unimpeded. Simone made it through, took a short rest (no sleep, just rest), then headed out with a friend to the dog park, sno-cone stand, and McDonald's. She's an insatiable party animal!
But trust me when I say it was a fun time.
There was an inflatable castle bounce house with water slide, a kiddie pool, a balloon banner, a heart shaped cake (that was awesome! a huge improvement over last year's pink brick), hot dogs, nachos, a book swap (instead of gifts - yay!), and about 20-25 of Simone's friends and family and their parents.
My house and yard were crawling with people. There were daredevil kids in the front yard jumping and sliding, silly kids splashing each other in the kiddie pool, water-averse kids riding scooters, tricycles and the electric car, giggling girls playing dress-up and house in Simone's room, curious kids looking for kittens under my bed, hungry kids and parents munching hot dogs and nachos, and parents trying to stay cool under trees, under the mister, and inside.
Everyone had a blast and went home tired with a new book to read.
The kittens survived and were glad to be able to make it to their food bowl and litter box unimpeded. Simone made it through, took a short rest (no sleep, just rest), then headed out with a friend to the dog park, sno-cone stand, and McDonald's. She's an insatiable party animal!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)