Food Is Memory

#12 of #100grateful days:  Happiness is date night with me, myself, I and a small dish of birthday cake batter Coldstone Creamery at the movies.  "Food is memory."  - The 100-Foot Journey

Although somewhat simplistic and at times a little too glossy, it was a pleasant sensory movie experience overall on several different levels.  Always a fan of Helen Mirren.  Has anyone read the book?  Worth reading?

Hobbit Cafe

Can you think of a more perfect lunch spot?  The Hobbit Cafe?  It was as amazing as it sounds.  Met some friends there for lunch before a beach day in Galveston.

 

  

 

  

 

 

Frankincense and Myrhh

Have you done your 50 Things You Must Do This Summer, yet?  #5 - Pamper yourself with a DIY pedicure.

You had me at frankincense and myrhh.  My bright blue toenail polish was down to just chips, but I have been too lazy to do anything about.  Thank goodness for a little "50 things you must do this summer" list for a kick in the seat of my pants to pamper my feet.  Walking around all day on the rough cement at a water park a week ago Tuesday did wonders for my calluses, but I was still needing a little help.  I hadn't given myself a DIY pedicure in too long.  Strangely enough, it also motivated me to clean my tub.  And soak in it.  Life is good.

This past year during the long winter... the one that just drug on and on and on and would never end... really had me using my tub again.  As I get older, I appreciate those luxurious, quiet soaks more and more.  Pretty sure that's how my Mom survived our childhood.  She had this huge claw foot tub and she would fill it to the brim, lock the bathroom door, and sink down and soak.

Since having kids, I enjoy those "quiet" soaks more and more.  For example, let me illustrate with an excerpt from how bubble baths go around here from this past January...  Gollum (and may I just say... Gavyn plays a convincing Gollum) appeared bath side and started fishing for "Precious" in my bubble bath water (no worries, Mommy was completely hidden in bubbles).  Then, Mommy got kicked out of the tub so her two boys could take a bubble bath instead.  *sigh* No wonder my Mom used to lock the bathroom door.  Someone bought me this book.  Maybe I should buy it for my Mother.

"Born to Run" Ambassador

Runner #6: Martha

Team Running for Sunshine wouldn't have been complete without a runner that runs in flip flops. I think Kendra would have approved. So our very own "Born to Run" ambassador took the baton with a hug, an "I love you" declaration and a smile; turned on her pretty little heels; and flip flopped off into the horizon... leaving a trail of spectators with dropped jaws and disbelief in her path. "Is she really running in flip flops?" This woman championed our Runner #6 hill, the hill that earns the third leg of the race the title of "Very Hard", without batting an eyelash. Just a steady flip flop pace up a long, intimidating hill and a megawatt smile. Simply. She was not intimidated. Just willing and ready to fit in whenever and wherever. She crossed two fords, a bridge and a couple of killer hills for a total of 5.5 miles. For never having run a race before, she sure came across as a veteran. So, Martha, I think you earned your stripes. I couldn't think of anything that would have made our team more complete. Cheers to running in flip flops!

If You Give a Mom a Blog...

My husband says it's time for me to start posting again.  He comes home from work and reads it on his lunch hour.  Hey there, Sweet Cheeks.  Heh.  His words last night... exactly...  "You're kind of a binge blogger.  You don't post anything for awhile and then you post a bunch and I can't keep up with them all."

So... where to begin.  Where I left off?  Because if I do, there's guaranteed to be a flurry of posts to catch up with where I've been since Thanksgiving.  Lots can happen in four weeks.

I don't ever think I reviewed my field trip with Gavyn to the "Give a Mouse a Cookie" theater production.  What a total blast.  I may or may not have been the only adult in the entire school children auditorium packed audience that laughed out loud at the fun acting.  And I discovered a few new children's books I'd like to try out, too.

I well remember my first theater production... it was a field trip to a local community college campus theater for the symphony performance of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.  And it was magical.  The next year it was for the symphony performance of John Williams' The Star Wars Trilogy.  And it was also magic.  I wanted to be a part of that magic with Gavyn's first experience so I made a mad scramble to sign up to be a chaperone (limited adult supervision on this one) when the chaperone sign up list came out at the first of the school year.

I think my favorite was the book they started off with, Martha Speaks!  You'll have to check it out, Ethel.  An adorable story about a dog that eats a little girls alphabet soup and can talk.  However, she ends up talking too much and the family grows weary of her speaking and hurts her feelings.  They leave for the evening and a burglar comes in to rob the family house.  To keep Martha occupied and from barking, he feeds Martha alphabet soup.  Big mistake.  When Martha speaks and calls 911, it gives the burglar such a shock it foils all his plans of thievery and gets him arrested.  Clever.

Then there was Imogene's Antlers broke into three parts.  Gavyn got quite a kick out of that one.  Well, *ahem* his Mom did, too.  Especially Part I when the doctor comes in and while hesitant to do a diagnosis regarding a little girl who's sprouted antlers out of her head overnight and maybe even made a few escape attempts, finally is forced to just solve the problem by prescribing lollipops for the whole family before making a mad dash out the door.  Makes sense.  Lollipops solve everything.

It was cute, however, to hear a collective rumbling murmur of excitement ripple through the audience when it was finally time for Give a Mouse a Cookie.  It was apparent, this is what all these elementary kids had been waiting for.  A collective expression that said... finally!

Gavyn's favorite in our review on the way home was Master Man - described on the Theatreworks, Inc. website as  "A man whose muscles are as big as his ego earns his comeuppance when he claims to be the world's strongest man in this Nigerian tall tale." The baby who was able to lift all things heavy without breaking a sweat really cracked Gavyn up.

A fun, enjoyable discovery for Gavyn's Momma was Borreguita and the Coyote - described on the Theatreworks, Inc. website as "The classic Mexican tale of a little lamb, or borreguita, who uses her wits to escape a hungry coyote."

Over the past few years, I have discovered a new favorite.  Children's books.  I think I am going to start collecting them.  And they will fit nicely on the empty shelves in the room I have decided to make my fairy tale/nursery rhyme/children's lit themed room.  I think some Where the Wild Things Are mural art (and maybe a Jack in the Beanstalk one in one of the corners, too?)  will complement the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit decor already there very nicely.  I couldn't bear to part with it once the room was not a baby nursery room anymore and this will be my way of working around making it more "grown up".  Can't wait to get started.  Grown up is overrated.

Do you remember your first magical theater experience?  What was it?

Name That Book

Inspired by a good book we know.

 

Can you guess which one it is?  I know I'm his mother and all, but this kid continues to blow me away.  He's 6.  1st Grade.  Amazing.  Let the wild rumpus start!

Llama Llama

 

 

The first library book Gavyn brought home from school was Llama, Llama, Mad at Mama.  When I asked him about it, he said he liked it because of the mad face on the front.  Figures.  We do like the "Llama, Llama" books around here.  Supposedly baby llamas don't spit.  Here's Kekoa's close encounter with one this summer.  And then Gavyn's turn...

 



If Your Happy And You Know It

It's always fun to get mail.  Especially creative mail.  Imagine my pure delight to get this package in the mail.  It had a family picture of a delightful little family.  And with it came an extra fun surprise.  On twelve pieces of  cardstock paper there are printed each month and the days of the month.  They are titled the month with the year (January 2012) with the phrase "the best of my days" behind it.  The instructions are simple.  Each day, jot down the thing that made you the happiest that day.  It has been the best gift I've received in a long time.  It makes me stop and think, even on the darkest/downest of days, of one thing that made me happy during the day.  So instead of focusing on the fact that I spilled my breakfast all over myself that morning, I'm smiling when I think of sharing and laughing about bizarre police and hospital stories over bean dip and chips with good friends that evening.  See how that works?

My happiest moment today?  My seven-year-old, who is in full Valentine mode, inking up my arms this morning.  Not to mention the ink hearts he drew on each of my fingertips.

If I was a tattoo kinda girl, I'd go right down the local tattoo parlor and have these babies inked on my arms... just as they are written.  Instead.  I'll just be happy they are inked on my heart.  I love my boys.  Also, note we are paying "homage" to a children's book we love, "The Kissing Hand".

He's Four. Impossible.

I have a pretty sweet nephew who let's me read him books.  His name is Lincoln and he's four today.  I remember that pretty awesome day he was born.  Happy Birthday, Lincoln!  Sending you all the love I can muster today and everyday.  Love, Aunt Lani

Flowers, Lemon Drops and a Mazagine

30 Days of Fun - Day 19
Yesterday's fun was a trip to Grandma's house.

Grandma had surgery on Friday to remove her gall bladder.  The doctor came away with a handful of stones and found a hernia he fixed, too.  No wonder she's been in misery.  Craig took the day off to go with her and bring her home.  He spent the night to make sure she was ok.  We brought Grandpa and Daddy pizza on Friday night.  On Saturday, we took Grandma our homemade cowboy cards and later a blender so she could puree some things to eat.  Last night, we took Grandma some of her favorites - a bouquet of bright cheery flowers, a bag of lemon drops, some strawberry jello and a Better Homes and Garden "mazagine".  There was rotisserie chicken for Grandpa.  Every day we see more smiles, livelier conversation, and a stronger, happier Grandma.  Morphine doesn't get all the credit.  I think she is genuinely feeling immensely better.  She's not as strong as she used to be, our Grandma.  This surgery was a bit scary for her.  Craig told me as he walked her down the hall she started to cry a little bit.  The beautiful picture in my mind of him being by her side made me cry a little bit, too.  And secretly I'm hoping my boys take care of me the way Craig took care of his Mom during this time.  It was sweet to watch.  Reminded me of this page:

of the book, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.  The book excerpt I'm referring to?

"The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:
I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
my Mommy you’ll be."

One of our favorite fun things to do is go to Grandma's house and I'm hoping my boys (AND their Mommy and Daddy) get to enjoy that fun for many years to come.  We love our Grandma. And our Grandpa, too.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

One of our favorite books is How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague.  You'll have to check it out.  A story about a boy kidnapped by cowboys on his way to spend some time at his aunt's house.  We liked it so much we bought it as a thank you for Mrs. B who volunteered her time to help Kekoa with his reading this summer.  Lucky for us, Mrs. B is all set to be Gavyn's Kindergarten teacher, too. From July 2nd on, we have had a little cowboy of our own.  It's been great fun to have a cowboy around.  As a side note, other favorite books of ours include:

Tiki Tiki Tembo

If I Had a Dragon

Bark, George!

Each Peach Pear Plumb

How I Became a Pirate

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (any of the pigeon books, actually)

Good Night, Gorilla

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear

Stellaluna

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

 Purple Hippopotamus Pillow and Pink Penguin Sheets

I plan to add to this list as I think of them.

What are some of your favorites?