The Week in Review

It's been a busy month, with the last week or so being especially intense. I should start a graduation store. I now have lots of product...a DVD movie of the school year, a CD of music from the school, and a 40 page yearbook that any classy scrap book store could use as a sample in their classes (seriously, I spent at least 60 hours on that thing).

Not only is this all finished, but I've handed over my position at the school to the new VP. It was a huge weight off my shoulders to hand over everything. Plus, all the calls are forwarded to the new VP, so my phone isn't ringing off the hook anymore with desperate parents looking for a coveted Bay Area preschool spot.

On top of everything, American Idol is over. I'm having serious withdrawals, but the good news is I can recover about 3 hours of evening productivity each week.

So, to catch up, here is the week in review...or at least some highlights with a few shots I found time to take. Unfortunately, I don't have pics of the birthday brunch for my friend Margaret or our trip to Angel Island with our church on Memorial Day, both of which were fun.

Okay. Here's two from Mother's Day at Fairyland. I guess that was over a week ago, but what the heck.


Our kids love bubbles. They've figured out the amazing bubble potential of Palmolive Oxy (see previous post). Matthew put "some" soap in the sink and turned on the water full blast in an effort to make an erupting "volcano". The sink shot was taken after washing two tubs of dishes and spending 15 minutes trying to wash out the remaining bubbles.



Madeleine hanging out. Dad and Chris, do you recognize this outfit?


Visiting the store and running into a professional bird trainer. Notice the bird on his shoulder.


Matthew graduates.


Mommy makes a cake and the kids are happy.

Lickers?

Marc made Matthew's lunch the other day and he put something new in it. Matthew liked it so much he requested it the next day. "Dad, would you put lickers in my lunch again?" What the heck are lickers? Are they popsicles? Ice-cream push ups? Can't be...no sugar at school. It's celery sticks with peanut butter, of course (plus the pic gives it away)! He licks the peanut butter off and discards left over celery sticks into the ziploc bag for disposal. If I were writing a book with recipes for kids, I would definitely include lickers and hope that other kids eat the celery. It's just a great name for food.

BTW, the kids liked the Green Eggs and Ham from last week so much that they voted to make that for my MD breakfast in bed. Thank goodness I liked it too!

Will You Eat Them In A Tree?

I have read Green Eggs and Ham at least 100 times. I have read other Dr. Seuss books to the kids 100's of other times. I started reading Dr. Seuss to Matthew when he was about a year old. He took to them right away. I think all the rhyming was soothing to him in some way.

We have many Dr. Seuss books now, including 2 that are collections of many stories, one of which we had early on in our marriage. I think Marc was a fan and I became one. Madeleine likes them, but so far her excitement is a little softer.

Yesterday, for the first time, Marc made Green Eggs and Ham, using nitrite free turkey bacon as a substitute for the ham. They are holding up their plates because this is how it's done in the story. He used spinach to color the eggs green. Keep the spinach on the DL though (Dad, that stands for "down low"). The kids don't know about that part, or they wouldn't eat it with such enthusiasm.

Now they will eat them on a train, and in a car, and in a tree. They are so good, so good, you see! They do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Daddy-I-am!

Cars and ClayTON

This past weekend we made a stop at Marc's office. I got to hear the amazing mix that Marc did on the theme song of a new driving game AND I got to play it. I'm a long time fan of Pole Position and the reigning Queen of Go Cart racing in my family. We all used to race on Summer visits to the Russian River. The track is long gone, but everyone remembers who used to win, right?...at least I do! :)

This new driving game is fantastic. You can choose cars that exist in real life and customize them. So, when I found myself slipping all over the track, I was able to change the settings so that my car gripped the road and handled the curves much better. There was so much detail in the game...fans taking pictures on the side of the road, etc. My only recommendation was that Marc's office get a steering wheel control. It would make it so much more realistic than the regular controls.

Matthew played a different driving game on another screen. It was more like monster trucks in rugged terrain. I went to visit him and noticed that he was running up against the mountain and suggested he try steering to the right. He didn't change his steering, but he did increase the pressure on the gas. All of a sudden the back lights on the truck started changing colors and sparking and then the whole truck blew up. Matthew started cracking up laughing. Okay, I get the point and it's not the finish line.

Matthew was very sweet when we first arrived at Sony. Marc was setting up the game and Matthew leaned over and said, "Dad, you don't have to do this. I don't want to get you guys in trouble." Marc replied, "that's what we do at my work, play games. It's okay." Matthew always thought his Dad was cool, but now the bar has been raised.

After Sony we visited with family over pizza. The kids had a blast playing with their cousin Clayton. Madeleine always emphasizes the end of his name...I miss ClayTON, I play with ClayTON, pizza with ClayTON. He really is a TON of fun!!!


It was a beautiful evening in San Carlos. I especially enjoyed sitting out front on the lawn and eating yummy cheese and walnut pizza with an adult beverage, while the kids romped around with each other and the adults laughed and enjoyed the moment.

They have a couple very nice trees out front. I don't know tree varieties very well, but I'd say these are of the variety called HUGE. The perfect type of climbing tree for a child (with a boost from a parent) and the perfect calming and shade tree for adults.

After pizza, it was time for ClayTON to take a bath and get to bed. Before we knew it, all three kids were in the tub. It's going to be fun watching them all grow up together.