Good Finds: A Small Book for Small Hands

Mouse Shapes by Jim Arnosky is the cutest book for any child learning shapes. (It also throws in a few curves for kids who think they know all of the shapes.) Mouse takes us on a playful journey with his sticks and transforms them into many different shapes along the way.

I really like that the book is small enough to fit in the palms of little children. I also like that the only words in the book are the names of the shapes, which appear in a LARGE font every few pages. It allows for a lot of discussion, questions, and make-believe.

Little Things Add Up to Big Things

The kids and I met Aunt Sarah and her crew at the mall several weeks ago. We followed Aunt Sarah to Bath and Body Works where Aunt Sarah pointed out one of her favorite scents. Nicole loved it immediately and asked me to buy it for her. Seeing as I had already spent more than I had planned that day, and since I didn't think Nicole actually needed the lotion, I replied, "Not today."

Aunt Sarah intervened, "I'll buy it for you, Nicole." Nicole's eyes widened in awe, then she looked my way to gain approval to accept this invitation. I nodded, and Nicole's little heart leapt. Later on, we split ways in the parking lot and headed for our own homes. Accidentally, Nicole's lotion ended up in Aunt Sarah's car. Fortunately, I hadn't left the parking lot yet (because I was a lot slower loading up my car; can't imagine why), so Aunt Sarah found us and gave Nicole her cherished bottle of Juniper Breeze.

Now Nicole puts her lotion on every night before bed. One night not long ago, I happened right behind Nicole as she was rubbing the lotion between her fingers and walking to her bed. I tucked Nicole in, and from her bed, Nicole looked up at me and said, "That was a nice thing that Aunt Sarah did for me. I don't think I shall ever forget it as long as I live."

A Real Family Project

When we first moved to our new house in Phoenix, our backyard consisted of rocks and desert plants. It's very easy maintenance, and believe it or not, the kids actually find great entertainment out there. However, Clint and I felt it needed a little boost. So Clint came up with the idea to build a sandbox. "It'll be a cinch," he was heard to say. We decided it would be a fun family project -- our first ever, in fact.

We all went to Home Depot for supplies, then straight to work once back at home. It was probably 105 degrees outside that day, but the kids were sooooo excited to "help" that no one was concerned with such trivial matters as the weather.

You will see that Scotty had full intentions of being the best help north of the valley. Unfortunately, intentions don't always translate into results.

He started off observing.
Then he decided he might be of more use if he figured out how to work the tools. The easiest one to learn, of course, and also the one least likely to be confiscated, is the tape measure. Turns out it is equally fun as useful (even though Scotty didn't fully discover its power).
Once educated, Scotty advanced to researcher status. As a qualified research assistant, Scotty was the first to test the quality of the craftsmanship. This new role wasn't appreciated like Scotty was expecting, much like the work of an artist isn't appreciated until after his lifetime.
That must have been the cause for Scotty's blatant project retaliation.
Rebellion is a little contagious, and Grant just couldn't resist this little morsel of temptation (kicking up sawdust).
And, phew! If all this rebellion doesn't make one thirsty! Turns out there is more than one use for a spray bottle ...
If you ask me, I think Grant had the right idea.
Grant and Nicole took their turn at the power tools. Here, Grant demonstrates how to successfully drive a screw into a 2x4 with four fingers. Man, the strength!
He did go another round with the screwdriver, and this time with a little more umph (and two hands)!
Nicole took a more gentle approach to the screwdriver. It sort of reminded me of riding side-saddle. So lady-like.
Oh, but wait! She's getting the hang of it now.
The project was going really well, and much to my astonishment (Shh!), could have actually been classified "a cinch," just as Clint had told me. It was taking a little more time than the kids anticipated, though. So instead of abandoning Daddy to sit in the cool, air-conditioned house, we opted for a short game of catch right next to him. You see, we're of the compassionate sort around here.

Grant threw to Nicole.
Nicole threw to me.
And I threw to Grant. And Grant couldn't believe his eyes when he caught a ball in his glove. This may have been his first time.
After the shock wore off, he couldn't erase the smile off his face.

Meanwhile, since Scotty doesn't play catch, he found a car to drive. Scotty loves cars. He always holds cars in his chubby fists, he carries a fire truck that is nearly his same size around the house, and whenever he gets the chance, he "drives" the cars outside. He also likes to ride in real cars -- even though he has to be strapped in his car seat (weird). He clearly inherited his Daddy's interest in cars. Won't be long now before he's under the car changing the oil with him. You know, more of that "helping" stuff. Well, here's Scotty in his element.
Near the end of the construction phase (for Clint still had the phase of filling the box with two tons of sand ahead of him), the kids hopped in the box and started "shooting" ants in the tree. (Gee whiz, another use for a spray bottle!)
At the end of our family day, Clint finished gracefully, the kids played in the rock box, Scotty drove his car, and I still had my camera around my neck.
And that's a family project with three kids 6 and under.

Name That Bug

Nicole drew this picture and asked me for the name of this bug.

I incorrectly guessed "scorpion."

A Child's Prayer

Nicole: "Please bless that we can get our house cleaned up so that Grandma will be able to relax when she's here because she's our guest."

(If I had been saying the prayer, I would have said something more like this: "Please send an army of angels to clean my house while I sleep so I can play with my mom while she's here.")

Happy Big 30, Daddy!

Clint's 30 today. We (Nicole and I) had elaborate plans to give him a gift a day for 30 days leading up to his birthday. We saw it on a friend's blog, and it was called the 30 days of 30. Well, I have a hard time with commitment, so we ended on about day 12 or so. (That was actually pretty good for me.)

This was the first present, and so far, my favorite one. I hadn't made a candy gram since girls' camp.
We still have 18 or so more gifts to give Clint tonight, so we're going to be wrapping all day. "Always late, but worth the wait." That's what I'll tell Clint when we give him the mound of presents.

Our Protest

For those of you who aren't on FaceBook, I'm posting our rally pictures here as well. I just have to say that I had the privilege today of associating with a couple thousand very fine and dignified people. The overall sentiment among people -- everyone was speaking with everyone else (it totally reminded me of the good old days when people used to talk to one another) -- was one of losing freedom. Most people's main concern was that the government is meddling into territory where it doesn't belong. A secondary concern was that socialized medicine is poor care.

But don't take my word for it. See for yourself!

The shirts we made for the kids.
At this point, I don't care if they read the bill. I read the bill, and I don't want it passed. But, yes, please read the constitution.

As I said before, this is about more than health care. It's about control.

Talk about young! Tons of people rubbed Scotty's head and took his picture.

Average Jane.

I think I'll do that -- after the government issues me a subpoena, imprisons me and tears off all my limbs one by one. Oh, wait, it might be too late then.

Funny old people. A lot of them kept commenting about how many young people attended. They seemed genuinely surprised.

My second favorite sign. No, my favorite. Oh, I can't decide.

Read My Teleprompter ...

Another white coat.

Shame on AMA as well.

Some things are too true to be funny.

My favorite sign of the day. (Wish I had thought of it!) The doctor was wearing his scrubs with his name embroidered on the front. He's an otolaryngologist (ENT).

Phew! Finally a real person; someone who isn't a GOP robot exhibiting "manufactured anger."

Oh, dear. Poor Harry Mitchell. He might face a tough re-election next year. Too bad he wasn't brave enough to face his constituents today.

While you're at it, take an aspirin if you need a pace maker, and call your pediatrician if your child needs tonsils removed.

Couldn't have been said better.

A look at some of the crowd.

That's my girl!

Clever.

Front row seats to honking cars. Grant asked me why we clap and say, "Woo!" when the cars honk. ("Were they driving like stupid idiots, Mom?" Oops.)

Just my doctor and me.

I had to laugh.

Grant and Scotty exercising their right to assemble.

Clint with one of our home-made signs.

One of the speakers at the rally.

Witty. I like this one.

One corner of the crowd. People were assembled on all four corners, one to two blocks in every direction. It was truly amazing! It gave me hope to see that others have hope.

Family minus Mom on our way to the rally.

One of our signs.

Ha, ha.

Karen, a protester at John Shadegg's (R) town hall meeting.

The town hall meeting was held in the gym of a municipal building of some sort. There was no A/C, and I am not even exaggerating when I say that there was not enough room for even a flag to fit in. It was standing room only, people were packed in there like sardines, and everyone was cheering on John Shadegg. It was a great American moment. Too bad we couldn't all fit in and listen to his speech. I'm going to write him and request another town hall, but in a bigger facility, like the Diamond Back stadium.