Share and Share Alike

Today was Irving School's W.O.R.M. (Work On Reading in the Morning) Club breakfast. Between last night and this morning, I made three coffee cakes to take for the breakfast. I got to school at 6:30 this morning to help set up. We had plenty of food to go around, and there was an entire coffee cake plus a little more left over at the end of the breakfast.  I divvied up the coffee cake among the volunteers who stayed to help with clean up.

I don't mean to brag, but this coffee cake is really, really good, and I truly enjoy sharing it with others.  SB wrote on my Facebook wall early this afternoon, "I am enjoying coffee cake for lunch...thanks to you for such a yummy treat!!"

And speaking of sharing, Erin babysits for the Rapp. family, and L makes fresh Challah bread every Friday.  She brought it to one of the school functions last fall, and it was so good I just about melted when I took that first bite.  I told her later, "You can pay Erin in Challah!"

So it was with great surprise and delight that I accepted a loaf of fresh Challah from L at pick up this afternoon!  And when I mean fresh, I mean it was still piping hot when she handed it to me.  What a special gift!  I asked her if I needed to wait until sundown to slice into it, and she assured me since I'm not Jewish, it was fine to take it home and dive in.

It was such fun to share my coffee cake this morning, and it was even more fun to get the Challah this afternoon.  In this case, I think it was more blessed to receive, than to give.

Happy Birthday Baird!

Today we celebrated Baird's birthday.  Since this is a birthday that ends in a 9, he was in a bit of denial that he's so close to The Big One.  Here are scenes from the day:

When Baird was born, the doctor told his mom, "Here's your miracle baby."  I'm so happy for that miracle!

Happy birthday,  Bairdo.  I love you!

My three kids have some things in common.  All three are high energy, athletic and smart.  All three were born at the same hospital, delivered by the same doctor, and came home to the same house.  That's about where the similarities end.  Today I give you three toally unrelated items from the kids' lives:

Erin has been running the mile for track and field this spring.  This afternoon she ran a personal best of 6:29, breaking that six-and-a-half minute mark for the first time.  Her legs are like tree trunks.  She is so strong and  fast, I don't think I could catch her in a race.

Drew, Kelsey and I went to Walgreen's to get birthday cards for Baird's birthday tomorrow.  Drew picked his out right away, then headed over to the toy aisle to wait for Kelsey and me.  Here's the conversation that happened between Drew and me when I found him:
Drew:  Mom, can you lend me a dollar so I can get this Bingo thing?  It's only $9.99 and I'm a dollar short.  You can pay me now for the chores I'll do on Friday.
Me:  No.  You need to wait until you have the money in hand before you make the purchase.
Drew:  But Mom!  Friday's almost a whole week away!  And by then I won't want it anymore!

It was Kelsey's job this evening to make the frosting for Baird's birthday cake.  As she was scraping the last of the Crisco into the mixing bowl, she asked, "What does Crisco taste like?"
"It's really not very good," I replied.  "It's a little like straight butter but more tasteless."
Kelsey drug her finger across the bottom of the measuring cup to get a bit of Crisco to taste.  She put it in her mouth and promptly made a face.  "Ew.  That's really gross.  I'm going to suck on a clove of garlic to get rid of that awful Crisco taste."
Alrighty then.

It's Just You 'N Me

Saturdays in the spring tend to be busy for the 5 Ring Circus, and today was no exception.  Kelsey and Drew both had soccer games this morning (they both won and Drew scored a goal).  Erin spent the day and evening at SSG's Bar Mitzvah ceremony and celebration.  Then this evening, with Erin still out and Kelsey and Baird headed to a battle of the bands at a friend's house, Drew and I found ourselves alone for the evening.

Almost since Drew could talk, he's loved having Mommy-Drew time.  When he was very small, we would drop the girls off for school, and as we were heading home he would get this little grin on his face, look up and me and say, "Now it's just you and me!"

Drew and I decided to catch a late afternoon movie at the Lake Theater.  We saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3-D.  Drew really enjoyed it.  I hadn't really wanted to see it because I was so hung up on the fact that historically speaking, Vikings aren't exactly tied to dragons.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to suspend enough disbelief to actually enjoy the movie.  If you can just put that aside, it's a cute flick.  There's lots of lessons on thinking outside the box, team work, and being true to yourself.  And I really enjoyed hanging out with Drew, just him and me.

Modern Day Pen Pals

Erin's taking a class this year called Virtual Classroom.  If you ask the kids what this class is about, they'll reply vaguely, "It's computer stuff."  Dig a little deeper, and you'll come to understand this is so much more than basic keyboarding and clicking your way around the web.

Erin asked me if I'd be willing to get her up to school an hour early today for a special project for Virtual Classroom.  Using Skype, she and her Virtual Classroom classmates connected with students in Croatia for an hour before school, and again during lunch. 

The school in Croatia was having a Fairy Tale Week, and they were translating fairy tales from Croatian into English.  Erin and some of her peers were editing the translation into English to make sure it was grammatically correct.

In that special way that Erin has, she truly connected with the Croatians.  They are now all friends on Facebook, and she plans on chatting with them via Skype from home.  They are fascinated with each others' lives and are excited to be making friends half a world away. Here's a clip from part of their conversation over lunch.



Back in the day, I had pen pals in Sweden and Brazil, and we had to wait weeks between airmailed letters.  Erin and her pen pals have the luxury of instant communication.  This is modern technology at its best.

Irving School Part 3: Organized Chaos

Today was the annual Egg Drop and Academic Fair at Irving School.  For the past several years, I've helped chaperone the organized chaos that is the preparation for the Egg Drop.  Right after lunch the third, fourth and fifth graders converged on the third floor of the school to put the finishing touches on their Egg Drop projects.  My job was to stand at the top of the stairs and keep the crowd at bay until it was time for the students to drop their egg out of the third story window.

I spent a few moments chatting with each of the kids who participated in the Egg Drop.  I was impressed not only with the creativity these students used in planning their projects, but also with how articulate they were in describing their project to me.  These kids are smart, confident problem solvers who aren't afraid to talk to adults.  It's really exciting to watch them grow!

After the Egg Drop was over, I helped chaperone the afternoon portion of the Academic Fair.  There were exhibits on a variety of topics, from chewing gum to World Cup to what killed Michael Jackson.  My favorite exchange with a student went like this:

Me:  Your project is on the universe expanding. How do you know it's expanding?

Student: I read it in a book.

I love Irving School!

Irving School Part 2: A Splash of Color

MJ and I have been neighbors since our boys were toddlers.  We became acquainted because our sons are six weeks apart, and over the years that acquaintance has turned into a good friendship based on mutual admiration.  MJ can't believe the meals I put together for my family; I'm in awe over her artistic creativity.

Yesterday she coordinated the human green project on the school playground. Today we once again witnessed her ingenuity. MJ coordinated with Ms. Linne, Irving's art teacher, who worked with the students to produce this gorgeous pattern along the chain link fence that borders the school. Students cut apart water bottles, painted them, and then secured them to the fence with pipe cleaners and yarn. A beautiful, playful wave of spring color now graces what is otherwise a dreary stretch of gray.

Drew found one of the flowers he worked on and posed by it for me.

Thanks, MJ, for generously giving to our community!

Irving School Part 1: Going Green

In honor of Earth Day, and to support the Irving Green Space Initiative, the studens at Irving School spelled out the word GREEN on the playgrounnd this afternoon.  Drew is at the top of the second E.

This was MJ's idea, and it was a brilliant one.  This is a big week at Irving School.  Stay tuned over the next few days for more exciting events and inspiring ideas from MJ.

Prequel to a 30th Birthday

We met Vic at M&Bree's wedding five years ago.  He was one of M's groomsmen and Erin was the flower girl.  Vic has since become the big brother my kids never had.  This evening we went out to M&Bree's and celebrated Vic's 29th birthday.  We called it "The Prequel to the 30th."

Bree's friend Beth is in culinary school, with the goal of opening her own bakery one day. She's well on her way!

Happy birthday Vic!

Erin's Way

Erin has a way about her that draws little kids.  She makes them feel at ease the moment she meets them.  JS has a special place in Erin's heart - he was her very first charge when she first started working as a mommy's helper a few years ago.  She has a special place in his heart too - he lights up whenever he sees her.  It's such a joy to watch them together.

Grand Prixe

Tonight was the Grand Prixe for the AWANA Boys and Girls Clubs.  Here are scenes from the big event:

Drew's car had mechanical problems and he didn't place.  He did, however, learn a lot about what to do differently next year.

Digging Up Bones

I've mentioned before that my minivan was Mommed long ago, but I think we've stooped to a new low.  I just found out today that we've been carrying some bones belonging to a deceased heron in a small compartment in the back of the van since Labor Day weekend.  Erin found several bones near our camp site at Devil's Lake, and I allowed her to bring them back so she could show them to her science teacher for proper identification.  Unbeknowst to me, she only took some of the bones in for the ID, and my van has been doubling as a hearse, carting the remaining pieces all over the Midwest.  Drew found them this afternoon.  When he announced his find, I glared at Erin, who was supposed to remove the all of the skeletal remains months ago.
Erin grinned a little and said, "Oops."
Understatement of the year.

Construction Woes

The Eisenhower Expressway is officially under construction for the next two years.  Since I'm frequently on 290, this has become a major hassle for me.  I found this on Dante Shepherd's blog, surviving the world.  It speaks to my frustration of trying to get anywhere by way of an east-west street or highway.  It's going to be a long two years.

Madden 2010 - It's On!

Today Drew's teacher, Mr. Gray, came over after school to play Drew in a game of Wii Madden 2010 Football.  I've never seen Drew so excited over company at our house! 

New Wheels

Baird has always maintained that when you live in the Midwest, it's sadistic to give a child a new bike for Christmas.
"Why in the world," he reasons, "Would you give a kid a gift they can't use for three months?"
It makes sense.  But Black Friday deals were just too good to pass up, and Drew wound up with a bike from his very generous Uncle Brad and Aunt Kris.  We had to leave the bike in Iowa at Christmas - we just didn't have room to bring it back.  Drew was very understanding ("I can't ride it 'til spring anyway), but was getting antsy to take advantage of the warmer weather and try out his new wheels.
We packed light over the weekend to be sure we had plenty of room to bring the bike back.  Drew's had a great time these last couple of days tearing around the block on his new bike.  I'm glad for him the wait's over.
Ride on!

Spring Colors

The trees and flowers around my house are so gorgeous right now, I just had to share. Happy spring!

Easter Sunday Dinner

After an inspiring Easter Sunday service at the Wrede Clan's church, we met up with Mom and Dad and headed down to Oxford, IA for a fabulous meal.  You can read my full review of Restaurant Augusta here, but here are some highlights:

The carrot soup is amazing, and, for the record, is not served as sloppy as it looks here.  Dad ordered it, took one bite and said, "You have to try this!"  We started passing the soup around the table, and this is what it looked like when it finally made its way to me.  He was right - it's incredible.  If you ever get to Restaurant Augusta, I hope you're lucky enough to land there when carrot soup is the soup of the day.

Mom's steak and potatoes were perfect, and she was impressed that she had three finishing sauces from which to choose.

The pork tenderloin sandwich is Iowa's trademark. They are served everywhere, and there are entire chains dedicated to them. Restaurant Augusta's version won the 2005 pork tenderloin sandwich contest at the Iowa State Fair, and it's easy to see why - it's one of the best I've ever had.

I'm already plotting my return to Restaurant Augusta!

1st Birthday Party

Today we caravaned with the Wrede Clan and Mom and Dad down to Des Moines to celebrate Lydia's first birthday.  Everyone from both sides of Lydia's family was there.  Here are scenes from the big day.

Happy birthday to my beautiful, sweet neice.  We're so glad you're a part of our family!

Back to Nature

I've mentioned before that there's a lot of reasons I love going home to Iowa.  Yet another reason is that it gives my kids a chance to enjoy nature in a way they can't living in Oak Park.  Erin found these baby brown snakes early this morning, and spent quite awhile charming these little critters.  She asked if she could bring them back to Oak Park and make them pets.  The answer was no.  I just didn't have the vibe that these snakes were making a bold move to domesticate themselves the way Les did this past summer.  And besides, there's currently five pets and five people in our house.  I don't want to be outnumbered.