A little help for the underdog please....

ok - so maybe it is the "underpenguin"....

I love this story! This is Pierre a 25 year old (ie elderly) penguin who started losing the feathers on his hiney, which led to an "embarrassingly exposed, pale pink behind." And it left him shivering because he is really just a scrawny bird under those feathers that are suppose to keep him warm. Think Betty with no feathers. He would shiver and shake.

First they tried a heat lamp and then the decided to make him a customized wetsuit. He loves it and frolics in the chilly water with his buddies.

Just goes to show...all species and age ranges can benefit from a little accommodation.

A heart story....

Last week we were going to the art supply store to get supplies for Drew to do a project on the Nile River. On the way there, Gracie asked if she could get some stuff. I thought about it for a second and said "no" we have plenty of art supplies at home. She protested and said she really wanted to make a model of a heart using a styrofoam ball cut in half! I changed my mind in a split second and said "ok". But we discussed it a little more and talked about how she would need to do research to make sure it was correct and she responded that "yes" that is what she had planned to do.

Here is a pic of the final project and the paper she wrote to go with it.

The Heart

by Gracie

The heart is an organ in your body. It pumps blood in your body so you can live. Your heart has a beat. Before it beats, your heart fills with blood. Your heart does this all the time unless you are dead.

Your heart is made of four different blood filled areas, each of these areas are called chambers. There are two chambers on each side of the heart.

Here are some facts to keep or make your heart better:

* Don’t smoke
* Don’t drink a lot of alcohol
* Exercise
* Eat healthy foods

*****

This was NOT for a school assignment - this is just a project she thought up on her own.

To get the full effect of this story, you need to have this very important piece of data: Gracie was just diagnosed with dyslexia. What this tells me is that underneath that difficulty with reading and spelling is a little girl who is bright and creative beyond what we can understand. She sees the world a whole different way then the rest of us. And as I learn more about dyslexia, I wish I could get a view into how she sees it, because it is fascinating!

Stay tuned to my blog as I will be educating you all on dyslexia so that we can raise the awareness of this learning difference.

Water balloon fights!

I know it looks warm but we had a chilly weekend of 60 degree weather. But that did not stop the kids from having a water balloon fight!

Funny Faces!

Gracie got hold of my camera at hockey the other nite and took pics of people making funny faces! Crazy girl!

Cookie Time

My nephews and niece came over yesterday. One of the fun things we did together was make cookies. Meemers was totally into it!

How much wood does a wood chuck chuck?

Lumberdog.....

This weekend was the weekend we all played axe men. This was our first attempt at going out into the woods and hunting down our own firewood. We bought a $20 which allows us to cut down 2 1/2 cords of wood. Once we got our permit we went out to find downed trees - you can't just go out in the forest and cut down a healthy tree. We were thrilled when we found our first tree and yelled "Eureka", followed by "Hallelujia"! We were not sure what lumberjacks would say so we covered all our bases!


All in all we had a successful hunt! We found 3 downed oaks and cut them up! There was one injury, above, when a chunk of wood flew up and took a chunk out of Jim's finger. The highlight of the day was lunch! We had a picnic overlooking a canyon.

Our tongue twister of the day was:

How much wood could Chad Chubbuck chuck if Chad could chuck wood?

Chad was the beagle we were taking care of and Mr. Chubbuck is wearing yellow in the pics. We often accidently call Mr Chubbuck by the beagles name - which is what led to this rhyme!

You know you are a red neck...

When your butt is hanging out when cutting firewood.....

BEFORE

AFTER

Hot Mamas Book Club

I think I had mentioned that I tried to join a book club but gave it up before the first meeting due to the stupid nature of the book! It was about ghosts, incest and mental illness! DUMB!

Since that did not work out, I decided to start my own book club....actually it was Auntie Debbie's idea but she is making me do all the work!

So we have our first meeting on May 16th and we already have a club name and tag line:

Hot Mamas Book Club

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

But not to worry that we are stuffy and academic. On the contrary. We believe:

• That book clubs are for snacking
• That life is too short to read dumb books
• That "deep" is good for a lake but not for a book
• That People Magazine is classic literature

Our first book is Certain Girls - check it out: http://www.simonsays.com/specials/Certain-Girls/book.html

never show a chicken....

I showed the pic of Betty washing the car to a friend at work who is from Taiwan and she had the funniest response...."never show a chicken to a Chinese person...all we see are drumsticks!" I was rolling on the floor laughing!

Chores

I now have Betty helping with the household chores. Here she is helping Jim wash my rig!

text

My son now text messages me while I am at work! But he only texts the important stuff. Today it was: "do you want to go for a walk tonite?".

Hockey Pics

Our hockey boys are getting huge! This is Drew and his buddy Jared who he has been playing hockey with since he first started playing! They played today and last nite. Last nite after the game, Drew had a terrible stomach ache and said that it had been hurting throughout the whole game. When I questioned him as to why it might be hurting, his response was....."maybe it was those 15 breakfast sausages and waffles I ate for dinner! Duh!?!?!? Ya think?!?!?

Our Lake

I found these cool pics today of our lake. This is where we spend a lot of time kayaking, wakeboarding, swimming and fishing.

Chicken Drama

We built a chicken playpen for Betty in the backyard. It is an enclosed area that she can hang out in and get some sun. However, the little bugger keeps breaking out of her pen! She finds little spots and then wiggles underneath the fence! We keep finding her wandering around the yard....happy as a pig in mud.

A brain the size of a pea and she is a chicken Houdini!

School Decision

Many of you know that we have been considering sending Drew to a private school for Junior High and High School. It has been a long process in identifying potential schools and then applying. As we were going thru the process, we were gathering information about the local public schools also so that we could make a good decision once the time came.

Well....that time is now! And I can't believe it because literally we have been working on this since last September. Our strategy all along was to be prepared for both public and private and then make the decision which was best for Drew.

So we went thru the application process for private school, which included tours, testing, writing essays, filling out applications and an interview. And we did research about the local public schools.

And the last 6 months of work come to a head this week with our decision.....Drew had decided to go to private school! We are really proud of him because it was a hugely mature decision to make. It would have been way easier to stick with his friends and go to the local school. But he saw the unique opportunities at the private school and decided that outweighed hanging out with his buddies.....which at 12 is a very mature thought process!

It is a huge committment for our whole family. But we are all excited about the new adventure.

CRASH!

I have been so busy that I have failed to report that I was in an accident right before we went on vacation. I was coming out of a parking lot after interviewing someone over breakfast and ran into a poor young guy in a honda civic. He didn't have a chance agains my beast! Luckily I was only going about 5 miles per hour. What happened was he was right behind a huge truck in a turn in the road. He was on the far side of the truck so I literally could not see him. So I started to go, saw him and put on my brakes right away.....but not before making contact. I am pleased to report that I was NOT on the cell phone, changing the radio station or texting! I was totally alert and just could not see the little car behind the big truck on a turn.

He was a young guy and was totally shell shocked. I took a quick assessment of the situation, determined no one was injured and went about all the tasks necessary for me to move on.

All he wanted to do was call the police. I knew that was going to take hours in the middle of rush hour traffic. So I gave him all the information I was required to give him and told him I was leaving. I told him he was welcome to call the police but I was not required to stay and that I would suggest that if was going to call the police, he should make sure he had up to date insurance paperwork as what he gave me was expired!

I hit his front right vendor and tore it up. All that happened to my rig was my license plate got knocked off.

So I just got my truck looked at last nite by the body shop and they buffed out the paint on my bumper, put my license plate back on and we called it good! Everyone gives me such a hard time about driving such a beast but it literally is a tank and I feel so safe in it!

Play Structure

We are looking to get rid of our play structure. Let me know if you know anyone who is interested in purchasing it. They will have to come and pick it up.

World's Greatest Mom

No! Not me! It's....my mom!

I came home from work last nite and my mom had made us dinner! It was her mother's recipe of curry chicken and it was delicious! Plus it allowed me time to go out for a walk when I got home from work! What a treat.

Tonite she is making us Super Nachos - which is a big family favorite!

I really got lucky when I got her as a mom!!! (I sure hope my kids think that of me some day....) She thinks it's insurance that I will take care of her when she is old.....I hate to tell her, but I am committed to that without the chicken curry and super nachos....but of course, it helps!

Peep Wars

While in Washington DC, Jim's Uncle Richard taught the kids the fine art of "Peep War's". Peep's are those nasty marshmallow Easter candies with colored sugar coating. Richard gives each peep a sword (aka: toothpicks), stands them up on a plate and puts them in the microwave. They end up blowing up and stabbing each other. These are the pics of Richard, Drew and Gracie setting up and engaging in the Battle of Georgetown!

We are traveling which is why I have not been posting. We have been on the road since last Thursday and so far have seen the following:

Baltimore MD, Inner Harbor

• Saw 4 historic ships - the USS Constellation, a submarine, a light boat (a boat that is used as a light house) and a coast guard ship



• Saw a round lighthouse



• Went to the Baltimore Aquarium - saw a great dolphin show

Georgetown

• Went to an Ethiopian restaurant



• Went on a run thru Embassy Row narrated by Uncle Richard - saw Bill and Hilary's house



• Went on a run down the C&O Canal - out at Carder Rock



• Did a little shopping



• We are staying with Uncle Richard and Aunt Roberta in their awesome historic brownstone!

Wash DC

• Have taken a number of driving tours to see all the monuments, white house, the capitol



• Saw a Wizards basketball game

Took side trips to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Mt Vernon (Washington's) home

We have been busy!

Last week

Last week I was in San Diego for a conference that I spoke at. I talked about designing an ethics program to meet the nuances of your company's corporate culture. The session went really well. The conference itself was pretty good and it was refreshing to get out of the office and clear my head a little. I did see my hero there.....there was this great big guy who ate frosted flakes and drank coke for breakfast! CRAZY!

Leprechaun Trap

Drew and his buddy Tyler made a leprechaun trap for school. When they started off, they wanted it to be 4 feet by 4 feet. Jim talked them into something more manageable.

Betty the Bully

Whoa....has there been drama and trauma here.

I decided last week that it was time to find Betty an adoptive home because she had been an only chicken for almost a year and chickens like to live in a flock.

So I found a home for her. And Weds nite, after dark, we took her off her perch and brought her to her new home. We put her on the new perch next to the three other chickens in the flock. They warbled a bit and we left them there.

We talked to her new human mom, Summer, and were feeling good because she had three chickens and one was always left out, so maybe Betty and Poppy could become best friends.

That was NOT what happened. The next morning at 7:30 am , I got a call from Summer and it was not good news. In the middle of the nite there was some noise coming from the Hen House. So she took Betty out and put her in a cage. In morning, she left her hens in the Hen House and let Betty out of the cage to explore the yard. Betty made a mad dash towards the caged up hens and attacked the highest ranking hen! She chewed up her comb! That put the other hen in a tizzy and she started attacking her own hen mates! Lots of drama! And, apparently, lots of blood.

So, by 8 am Betty was back home! And boy was she mad.....and tired. She walked around the yard, doing what I can only describe as chicken swearing, for a good hour.

Pics from the Family Land

These are pics from Jim's Uncles land. This land has been in the family since the late 1800's! Those are redwood trees.

Hiking

Yesterday we went over to Santa Cruz and hiked around with Jim's Aunt and Uncle on their property. It is a cool plot that has its own redwood groves - which is super cool! I got some great pics but have not been able to upload them. As soon as blogger fixes whatever bug it has I will post them. They shared a bunch of family history which is so fascinating.

And Jim's Aunt shared her sourdough waffle starter which is really yummy!

Hound

I love my dog! Here she is with a muddy nose from digging at the cabin! Not sure what she was looking for.

American Idol Pool

I am in an American Idol Pool in which I choose which week I think the final 12 contestants will be voted out. We get one shot to make our choices - there is no changing your selections during the final weeks.

This picture shows how we are deciding our picks. There has been a lot of discussion and juggling of numbers. Final picks are due on Monday.

I will post my picks when I have a final decision so you can follow along.

Cost to get into the pool was $20 and there are 35 players! VERY fun!

Happy Day

I got new running shoes today! As you all know - new running shoes make me happy! I usually wait to get them until my feet hurt.....which is what I have done this time. So, I am fired up to go for a run tomorrow morning....or maybe even tonite.

Weekend Highlights

It was a busy weekend so I did not have time to blog. Two highlights:

1. Mountain Biking
2. Enchiladas

On Sunday morning Drew and I made vegetarian enchiladas so that they would be ready for us when we came home after a long day of mountain biking. The enchiladas were made with black beans, onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, fake ground beef, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. They looked so good that we talked about them all day while riding.

We rode 15 miles at Wilder Ranch Park north of Santa Cruz. The ride was incredible - it was 10 miles right a long the water up on a bluff overlooking the waves. And the weather was outstanding! It was one of those days which made you realize why you spend a million dollars to live in a shack on a postage stamp size piece of property. It is for the weather and beauty of California!

We were all beat when we got back so we were very happy the enchiladas were made and ready to go in the oven. While they cooked I made "green rice" - which is rice made with cilantro, onions, green chiles and garlic ground up and cooked with the rice. Whoa! Was that a good dinner!

All in all, a great day!

The NEW Mr Rogers

Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HoMjeA2uZI

This is Marty's brother. Is he not the Mr. Rogers of the new generation?

Exercise Neurosis

I am convinced that I have a mental illness associated with exercise. I was out this morning at 5 am - it was dark, drizzly, foggy - most people would be have been angry about it. I was happy as a clam. I was sweaty, wet (from the fog) and happy. Genuinely happy! That is not right!!!

Employee Foundation

My company has an employee foundation that is completely funded by employees and provides grants to charitable organizations. I give money to the foundation out of every check which makes me eligible to:

• Champion an organization for a grant
• Review and approve grants

Right now I am reviewing the grants and rating them for approval. The gal that runs the program is ready to throw me out of the process because I keep asking questions! :-)
The thing is....I take this all very seriously and want to make sure I am giving each group the appropriate consideration. The grants I am considering are worth about $350k. And all the organizations are trying to do the right thing, so it is tough reviewing them.

Gotta Love those Pre-teens

Yesterday I had such a funny converstion with Drew regarding my going on a field trip with his class. His teacher had requested that I participate and drive on a class field trip to a cinema event. Being a committed mom, I moved around my schedule and opened a 4 hour block of time on a Tuesday morning. And with how crunched I am right now, it was quite a feat to open up the time.

So.... I tell him last nite that I am planning on participating in the field trip and here is our converstation:

Drew: "Oh - I really want to go with Tyler's Mom. But you can still go."
Me: " Why would I go if you are going with another Mom?"
Drew: "Well, you can just take some other kids. I still want you to go but I REALLY want to go with Tyler's Mom."
Me: "Oh yea, just what I want to do, experience a 6th grade field trip with someone else's kid!"

So, the window of 4 hours is now open again! When I told his teacher about the conversation, she cracked up - such a pre-teen!

Two in braces?!?!

We now have two kids in braces at the same time! Gracie got her expander yesterday.

It goes in the roof of her mouth and we turn a key every nite that causes her palate to expand or widen. This will help with her bulldog cross bite.

This pic gives you a great insight into why she has trouble with "S's" and "R's" - her palate is so narrow and deep and her tongue is so BIG that it is hard to get the right position for the R and S sounds.

That is a scary looking mouth. And in it, I see dollar signs....it is going to cost a fortune to fix!

Student of the Month

I am proud to report that Gracie was student of the month in her class for February! This is not your normal parent brag....this is really significant. This is the kid who struggled to learn how to read and was tenacious in her pursuit! She deserves this recognition! I am proud!

Mango

Jim and Gracie are hooked on mangos - Jim will buy 6 at a time and the two of them will eat them in one day....or at one sitting!

On Friday Jim came home from the grocery store with this gadget -- a mango slicer! It cuts out the pit leaving the fleshy outside to eat.

The two of them are thrilled!

Retro

I had to bring back this old pic because it makes me crack up everytime I see it. Chad and Daisy as Sonny and Cher!

Loss of a friend....

I got the bad news yesterday that a friend from my previous place of employment died on Wednesday, unexpectedly. We had just exchanged emails and pics of our kids last month. She was one of those folks that was down to earth, kind, honest.....all the good qualities you can name. She was someone you couldn't say anything negative about.... probably because she never said anything negative about anyone else! She was early 40's and had a 2 year old son who was truly the light of her life. She beamed with pride and amazement when she spoke of him.

The world is not as vibrant with her gone. And I hurt for her son who won't ever realize how much she loved him.

Maria....you will be missed.

Tree down

Today PG&E came to take down a tree that was dead and threatening power lines. It was a huge event for all of us to watch. We counted the rings and found the tree was about 90 years old!

Fishermen

This is my favorite pic from the weekend. Check out the size of that trout!