Rescue Pack

Grandma (and Grandpa) bought Jacob a Sammy backpack for Christmas. The backpack happened to have orange on it. There has never been a moment of doubt for Jacob that this must be a rescue pack. He is very proud of his "rescue pack" since Diego is his biggest hero. (Take a back seat Superman and Spiderman, you don't have anything on Diego. Diego goes around helping poor little animals and has a rescue pack with so many functions that it puts your superhero powers to shame.)

GO DIEGO GO

Sick Day

Xandy had a "sick day" at school today. All the 1st grade classes participated. The kids got to go to school in their PJs, slippers, and robes. They also brought in blankets and stuffed animals. The teachers were doctors, and the moms were the nurses. As nurses, we pulled students out one by one. They got a "check-up" complete with weight and height measurements. We also made up temperatures and heart rates for them. The students pulled out a diagnosis from a bowl. We recorded all of this in their chart and gave them a hospital band with their names and diagnosis. After all the children had their check-ups my job was done. The patients and doctor spent the rest of the days reviewing body organs, illnesses, habits to help reduce and prevent illnesses (hand washing class included!), and way to help get over illnesses you have. They had "sick day" snacks: jello, crackers, 7-up, and chicken noodle soup. It was great fun and the kids were super excited. It was a great way to re-inforce these topics as I'm sure the kids will remember this day for awhile.

Xandy and her friend Lexi. Xandy's diagnosis was pneumonia and Lexi's was strepthroat.My friend, Amy, let me borrow her coat and I had a blast diagnosing the kids. I probably shouldn't laugh, but one kid got really upset when a mom gave him his diagnosis. He kept saying I don't have that, I don't. He looked ready to cry and we had to keep assuring him it was all pretend. I also liked the reaction of little boy who laughed so hard he had tears when he found out that one of the symptoms of his illness was diarrhea. He kept repeating it and giggling for a good 5 minutes or more.

3rd grade Program

It was a cute program about how music helps students do better in school and having faith in themselves and trying their best. It was funny to since in less than 2 weeks they start the ISATs.
Please excuse the poor quality of our camera. A new camera is on my wish list but so are a treadmill and new couches so it may be awhile till I get one.

Katy had a small part in the middle of the song. (Katy kept looking at the sheet music next to her. I wish it hadn't been there cause she knew the words and did great the rest of the program. Having the music there distracted her)

Um...okay?

This is the conversation I had with Jacob yesterday after my friend Lisa left:

Jacob: was that my mom?
Me: NO! I'm your mom!!!
Jacob: No, you Aswan
Me: Huh? Who am I?
Jacob: You Aswan, the Lion (he means Aslan the kids have been on a Narnia kick lately)
Me: (after growling at him) Okay Peter, I'll be Aslan
Jacob: I not Peter, I Jacob
Me: If I'm Aslan then you must be Peter, you know the little boy in the movie...
Jacob: I NOT PETER! I'm....................................A BUCKEYE!

It was all a bit random. If only to be able to understand the mind of a 2 yr old boy............

February

With a busy past few weeks coupled with the a case of the winter blues, blogging was set on the back burner. Here's some highlights of what we've been up to:

Several illnesses:

to which every member of the family has been affected at least once. I'll spare you pics of that

A Snow day:
Yes, we really did have a snow day for this minuscule amount of snow. I know you're all thinking we're wimps for calling off school for this but hey, I'm not complaining. All kids deserve a snow day once in awhile and this one was perfect timing for Katy's recuperation.

Valentine's Day:

I saw this shirt at Target and couldn't resist

We decided not to fight the crowds Valentine's week-end and stayed inside. I was recovering from a bad cold anyway so we postponed our V-day weekend plans. But I was surprised when the doorbell rang and a flower delivery guy was on the other side. I LOVE TULIPS!!!!!

A Birthday:
Jared turned the 32 and for the next month and a half I can tease him about being an old man. The girls had the day off but he had to work. We played at a friend's house all day: sledding, crafts, lunch, etc while the B-day boy slaved away at work. We do feel bad but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. We got home an hour beforehand and somehow managed to clean the house and make stuffed pork chops and his all-time favorite- 4layer dessert. We were finishing setting the table when he came in. I love having 3 girls who love to help in the kitchen!

Kids against HungerXandy's school participated in this neat program. The students got to help package meals for children and families in Haiti. It was a great experience for them. Here is a blurb I copied off of the school website about the program: Kids Against Hunger packages highly nutritious, life-saving meals for starving and malnourished children and their families in developing countries and the United States. Kids Against Hunger's meals have been formulated by food scientists to provide a rich source of easily digestible protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins needed by a malnourished child's body and mind. It is made from four readily available, dry ingredients (white long-grain rice, crushed soy, dehydrated vegetables, and vitamin/mineral powder) that are easy to package, keep for long periods, and require only boiling with water to prepare. Despite the simplicity of the food's content, it is a nutritionally complex and well balanced meal.Each class was invited to participate in an “assembly-line,” where individual meals were packaged and prepared for distribution to children and families in Haiti. Children scooped, measured, and packaged 1,728 pouches of food. This filled 48 boxes and will provide 10,368 total meals for hungry children in Haiti

Science Fair:
Katy tested 4 commercial detergent and a Loni's recipe for home-made detergent against 4 different stains. Loni will be glad to know that her recipe worked just as well as Tide and Era, better than Oxi-clean. Gain worked the best but only by a tiny margin. Its probably fair to say the detergents are equally effective.

Tender moments

We had a movie marathon night Saturday evening. We rented Cloudy with a Chance of meatballs and Night at the Museum 2. Half-way through the second movie we realized that the little two were unusually quiet. Ahh, precious!!

On a humorous side note, Jacob's chair toppled over about 10 minutes after I snapped the picture. He was so out of it and confused that I couldn't help laughing. I know, I'm a mean mom..

CAT or cat?

We've all seen the email in which funny "test answers" are compiled into one list. From my time working at the high school, I had a seen some funny answers, but some in that email were alittle too ridiculous. I imagined someone with way too much time had sat down and invented those answers. But, who knows, maybe they are all real. Katy was doing her math homework the other night and I could tell she was at her limit with learning for the day. Her homework, by the way, I swear resembled my freshman geometry homework. Anyway, she finally let out a sigh of relief and pushed her paper away. "I'm done, can you check it Mom". I absently started skimming over the worksheet when something caught my eye. Trying to suppress my amusement, I said "Umm, Katy..." to which she got a sheepish look followed by a case of the giggles. "I was tired and couldn't remember what I was supposed to do!" she defended. After a good laugh together, I helped her correctly complete this problem: