This is a thing from facebook to see what Lea thinks about Mommy and Daddy. These were the instructions: Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in. (My comments are in parentheses.)
Well Dan asked the questions to Lea about me, so I thought I'd see what Lea answered for Daddy. Here is the video and questions.
Video has the whole conversation, but answers are below if you can't understand some stuff. Lea got a little distracted at the end and started playing with everything on the desk instead of answering questions, despite me trying to keep it exciting using the microphone.
1. What is something dad always says to you? He always gets mad. (not always, just right before we did the interview, unfortunate timing.)
2. What makes dad happy? Me doing what he says
3. What makes dad sad? When I poop in my pants
4. How does your dad make you laugh? He tickles me.
5. What was your dad like as a child? A little boy.
6. How old is your dad ? I think he is 15 (I am 7... so I'm younger than daddy).
7. How tall is your dad ? Really tall
8. What is his favorite thing to do? Play on the computer
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? He spends time with Mommy.
10.If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? Because he was a prince and he would marry me the Princess.
11.What is your dad really good at? Asking
12.What is your dad not very good at? Juggling
13.What does your dad do for her job? Cleaning the house
14.What is your dad's favorite food? Cupcakes (coincidentally also Lea's fav. food)
15.What makes you proud of your dad? That he cleans the house
16.If your dad were a cartoon character, who would she be? a monster
17.What do you and your dad do together? We go to playgroup
18.How are you and your dad the same? We have one nose
19.How are you and your dad different? we have different hair
20.How do you know your dad loves you? Because he just does
We got a letter on Friday saying we are on a waiting list for Dealey, so its more wait and see. But whatever happens we're all fine with it. Perhaps Lea will just get to be 4 this year and that's ok with me.
For about 3 weeks now, Lea has been taking a class called "Sports basics for Tots." It covers the basics in soccer, basketball and T-ball. Also in the class is our friend Wilder. Dan has been escorting Lea to class and they seem to be enjoying themselves. Dan took pictures at the first class which (along with the second week) focused on soccer. They stretched before class. Stretching before class with Coach Chris (left) and Coach Liz (right) After stretching the kids do laps. Lea and Wilder do laps. Dan and the moms agreed that they would sign up for a class that just had the kids just doing laps around the gym. Anything to wear them out... not that anything does!
Wilder and the coaches work on passing Lea gives the ball a mighty kick. Lea stops the ball with the "airplane" move. A move she told Mommy all about after class. Lea gets a sticker at the end of class.
We had a wonderful St. Patrick's day this year. We were involved in the parade through a friend who needed a trust worthy sober driver for the float. Who comes to mind? Dan of course.
We met up at Michael's at 8am to be at check in at 8:45. It was a bit cold and threatened to rain, but none fell.
The float was for the ABC drinking club, named because they bar hop (on a monthly basis) alphabetically, as in a bar that starts with A, then a bar that starts with a B. We joined them at the Tipperary on T month. Lea went and had a blast with the Irish music so she is an honorary member of ABC so she fit right in.
So we joined the party. We got to sit safely (and warmly) in the truck and threw beads out the window. The waiting to get going was the hardest part (for Lea at least). But she made some grown up friends and I brought some distractions (like cartoons on the ipod). We did have one near disaster. Lea had to go potty (did I mention she's been diaper free during the day for 2 weeks... that deserves it own post but this will have to do for now.) We ran down the street looking for a potty and the nearest place was a strip club. Well, I think due to the "Let me in. My 3 year old has to pee" frantic look on my face, the strippers (and bouncers) with hearts of gold (and probably each with 2.1 children of their own) let us in to pee. So yes, Lea was in her first strip club. There were no dancers on stage. They were all milling about out front fully clothed and bundled up trying to stay warm. This was the same place we parked for free last year so I went around extolling the virtues of the strip club with a heart of gold.
When we finally got going, the parade sped along pretty quickly. It is much shorter to be in the parade than to stand on the sidelines. It was fun to throw beads and watch the crowds. It was very powerful. It is always amazing how valuable those silly plastic beads seem in the moment. I used to call it liquid greed in the streets of New Orleans. The need for beads was almost tangible. It was no where NEAR that, but it was powerful to wave at the masses and toss the beads. Although we did get things thrown at us. We got a little rubber duck, beads and (just missed catching) a football. Some people just have to shake up the order of power!
So that's a pretty good summary. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
St. Pat's Video of the parade
Art, the dude behind it all. Lea & Mommy's bead stash to throw. Mommy and Daddy ready for the ride. Michael and his girlfriends (including Lea). Lea blowing bubbles in Raney's hat. Note the shirt that Daddy helped make the night before! Lea and her new best friend Raney. She was awesome. She played with Lea and Wilder ALL day long. She even carried cheese stick snacks with her. She was a 3 year old's (and a mom's!) best friend! And she doesn't have kids. She was just that prepared. Also explains why she had the energy to play with Lea all day. King of the parade, Art. Mommy and Lea ready to start throwing beads to the awaiting crowd. Daddy, doing his scary leprechaun impression. On the parade route Throwing beads from the float. Lea on the parade route. We were stopped waiting for the authorities to check out a woman on the float 3 floats in front of us that fell off her float. I'm pretty sure she passed out drunk because I watched her fall like a bag of rocks to the ground. So we made sure the police knew it had happened and hung out in one spot for about 15 minutes. I heard the crowd cheer so I assume she got up on her own power, but by that time there was such a crowd I couldn't see anything from the truck. After the parade we dropped off the float and truck and headed to Lisa (and Art)'s house where we met up with the Scotts and Becky. Lisa always throws an excellent party. Its a fine way to spend St. Pat's. We had burgers and hot dogs and the kids ate their weight in chips and cookies! And perhaps we drank a beer or two. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the bottle Kris was toting. With the kid strapped to her back she had both hand free for drinking, hee hee. Actually the day was so long we probably drank alot, it was just over such a long period that I never even felt tipsy. It was also cold so that seemed to hinder slamming a cold frosty one. I will take this opportunity to confess/admit/boast that I started the day with cranberry and bourbon. I had drank three or four minis of Makers Mark before the parade was over. And still... no silly rowdiness... that I remember...
Anyway... here are pictures of Art & Lisa's.
It was a pretty big crowd at Lisa's this year. Perhaps a combination of the float excitement, the additon of Art's friends and the fact that we were making up for missing it last year.
Despite the crowd of 30-something drunks, the kids had a lot of fun. It was a little bit cold and damp. No rain, but it had poured the day or two before making everything soggy. Lea amused herself much of the day by leaping from stone to stone throughout the yard. She had Raney and Mommy and Wilder following her on her meandering path through the yard at different points through the day. The kids played on their own for a quite a while (oh and with Raney for about 2 hours) and then it was time for the parents (and Becky) to entertain them. Some how Kris and Becky found the energy to play 3 year old tackle. Here Kris awaits a big tackle from one of the kids. Lea enjoyed the tackle game as much as Wilder. I love this photo. Kris always points out Creepy McSips-his-beer in the background. No, no not Chapman... the lurking one. tee hee. Daddy kisses! And finally, as a last ditch effort to amuse Lea I gave her my camera and told her to go take a picture of Lisa. This is what I got. Lisa's feet. Oh well.
I say "last ditch effort" as though I was trying to get Lea to stay. I was SO ready for the day to be over when we went home at 6pm. We had been up and about since 6:30 am and I was tired. I tried desperately not to be the first of our group to say "I gotta go home," and I succeeded, but I certainly didn't argue when talk of going home arose! It was a long tiring day, but lots of fun.
It has been a wonderful Spring for Lea, filled with parties and birthdays (not hers of course). Lea got invited to a party of one of the girls in the Friday playgroup. It was a lot of fun. It was kind of a big deal for me since this was her first party that was a friend she had made at playgroup, not someone she sees and likes just because Mommy and Daddy know their parents. Of course those friends are awesome too, especially when they throw a DANCE PARTY like Wilder and his Mama... but that's the second set of photos.
At Eliane's party there were 3 games of sorts. Game # 1, The Puppy Game. Two kids "raced" to get their puppy fed, pooper scoopered (lincoln logs and a toy shovel... TOO CUTE!), bathe him, get love from his friend, walk him and put him to bed. It was so cute and fun. Here Mommy helps Lea with the puppy game. Then they played Musical spot.It was like Musical Chairs, but one didn't get taken away. One little girl Ella was true to her spot and when someone else sat on it she became upset. It was cute. She finished the game by keeping her little bottom on the spot so no one else sat on it. Good thinking Ella. Eliane, the birthday girl, lets out a scream as part of the musical spot game. When the music stopped and everyone was seated they got to make as much noise as possible. What is more fun for kids than to be encouraged to scream and make noise! When the music started they got to pick a move. Running, stomping, marching, but Lea's favorite is always jumping! Ariel, Eliane's mom also put together a magnificent Caterpillar for the kids to play with. They decorated paper circles and got to stick them on the caterpillar. Then they all put their heads through. It was very funny to watch. The kids were so cute. And finally time for yummy little cupcakes. Ariel made them with beets which added a natural sweetness. They were very good. We had a lot of fun at Eliane's birthday. Lea had a ball! Eliane's Party Video
Then the next weekend it was time for Wilder Dance Party. Now I don't know who had more fun Kris or the kids, but I am pretty sure that Kris danced more.
Lea ready for the party. It was a bit chilly and Lea and I had so many errands to run that we didn't make it back to put on a party dress. But that's ok because she had her dancing shoes on! Well ok her "let's dance for one minute and then go play with Wilder's toys" shoes on. Still it was a lot of fun. Kris throws an awesome kiddo party. They were all having so much fun. I think perhaps Kris had more fun dancing than the kids. She certainly inspired them to get moving. But at some point it turned into balloon war more than dance central. Nothing is more fun that flipping balloons at a grown up. Hunter sat in front of his grooving Mama for several songs just soaking it up. I could not capture it on film, but this photo should be a blur of activity around a wide eyed Hunter in the middle of it all. In full knight regalia ready to battle for Wilder's toys. She didn't have to battle, everyone shared nicely. Lea and another little boy did spend most of their time in Wilder's room, while the others danced and ran around. This boy ate an entire bowl of candy before the parents caught on to him. He had a rainbow colored ring around his mouth. In fact after he pushed the last brightly colored ball into his mouth, he himself had a kind of rainbow aura. That's what being a kid is all about!
And some bonus pictures of a very happy niece with her Aunt Kaitlin. I believe there is the threat of a wet willy in this photo. Aunt Kaitlin and Lea. Look at those gigantic smiles! Once the kiddo parties were over, it was time for the old folks to have a birthday or two. For Daddy's Birthday, he got a printer. (One of the many errands we had to run the day of Wilder's party the day before.) Was Dan surprised? Umm... No. Not after Lea came home and said "Daddy we got you a printer, won't you be surprised." Never tell a 3 year old your secrets! But he didn't know we got one with all the bells and whistles. It is a pretty darn cool all in one printer, even for Mommy. Plus it has caller ID in his office now. An unexpected bonus. Grandma Lynn made ribs and Grandpa came for dinner. We had a magnificent feast and a lovely time. I made Dan a Peanutbutter pie with peanut butter cookie and brownie crust and a peanut butter mousse on top. It was yummy, but no match for the cake Dan made for my birthday! For Mommy's birthday Grandma took us to dinner at Red Lobster. Lea was all decked out and looked like a super star! She ate like one too. She had crab legs for dinner! She was pretty good at getting the meat out if I cracked them for her. At some point I realized I couldn't keep up with her, let alone eat my dinner. I'd cracked at least 4 legs for Lea and not had a bite of my own dinner. But we worked it out and ate like crazy. Super star Lea. That was just part of Mommy's birthday. Dan and I went out to dinner at a place with video games for a date night on Tuesday. Thursday was Red Lobster with Grandma. Friday lunch with the office. Plus on Friday Dan made the MOST awesome cake in the world. It was a rich dense flourless cake with chocolate mousse on top. Yes it was the year of the mousse in our house! Then on Saturday we were in the Greenville Ave. parade. But that's a whole other post!
Lea went to her first Hockey game on March 8. We saw the Stars play Montreal. It was a perfect game for a 3 year old because it was at 5pm on Sunday. Just the right timie.
She wasn't crazy about all the noise, especially when I would burst out with something like "Shoot you idiot," or something equally sweet and nurturing. About 10 minutes in Lea said to me, "Mommy, I want to skip this hockey." But, with some candy and popcorn she made it though the whole game. She kept asking "Did we win?" Well... no we lost with some disappointing power play wastes and a goalie goof, but we had fun. Michael Hopens went too so that added to the fun. Here are some pictures from the game.
this is a thing from facebook, but thought was fun to share. These were the instructions: Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in. (My comments are in parentheses.)
Lea is 3 and a half. I had Dan give this quiz to Lea to see what she'd say when I wasn't around. I intended to give her the same questions about Daddy, but didn't get a chance.
1. What is something mom always says to you? Eat your dinner
2. What makes mom happy? me helping put up decorations (we decorated Daddy's office for his birthday and she helped tape things)
3. What makes mom sad? me not pooping in the potty (gosh maybe I've been to hard on her, but I think we're over that struggle so I'll lighten up!)
4. How does your mom make you laugh? she tickles me (Dan wrote, "this was followed by a giggle")
5. What was your mom like as a child? me
6. How old is your mom? I don't know
7. How tall is your mom? bit, tall, really tall
8. What is her favorite thing to do? work (hmm... just because its what I do most, not so much my favorite, although we have talked about that I like what I do.)
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? she goes to work
10.If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Because she is going to a ball (we're big on the princess thing right now!)
11.What is your mom really good at? surprising me
12.What is your mom not very good at? Tickling me twice (we don't know what that means!)
13.What does your mom do for her job? work, worky (I'm putting that on my resume)
14.What is your mom's favorite food? so... no she gave up soda. Umm... PIZZA (I gave up soda for lent)
15.What makes you proud of your mom? that she likes me, and I'm the best kid she ever had (And that's the truth!)
16.If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? a ghost (hmm?)
17.What do you and your mom do together? play outside (hooray for not saying watch tv together!)
18.How are you and your mom the same? we have hair, and we have ears and nose. But we don't have the same jammies. we have foots and legs.
19.How are you and your mom different? we don't have the same Pooh Bear jammies
20.How do you know your mom loves you? Because she is the best mommy in the world (aww!)
"Deerlick beloved we are gathered here today..." Lea's pun during Punderdome game 5-22
"Boat, Boat, Boat!" = Danger when there was water coming into the boat on Beavers Bend Lake in 4-22 with Kim
Puff Puff Piffle make me sniffle — Lea argues that that is the saying, not make me just as small as Sniffles 2017
Osonate [Aw-son-ate] sauce = Arsenic sauce in the Grinch song "You're a three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce!" 2016
Germ hole to germ hole = a kiss at church during peace be with you when mommy is sick
anti quote = always comes with finger quotes. I believe she means "And I quote" but she is adamant that it is anti quote. 5-12
Sam Philips Hand = Philips head screwdriver after Dan told Lea it was named for a man named Philips.
Compliment = The word Lea kept using instead of Accusation during our first games of clue. As in "I can't make a compliment until I get to room, right?"
Ark el Harold's Angels Sing and And The Jelly Hosts Proclaim= Hark the Harold Angel's Sing and With Angelic Hosts Proclaim
"Wolf gloves" = Fox Glove flowers. In a story Lea asked what foxgloves look like, so the next morning she wanted to look them up and asked Dan to look up Wolf gloves. It took us a while to figure out what she was talking about. 8/10
"mows my teeth" = what the electric tooth brush does
Seener = Venus I think. As in "I love you to Seener and Mars and back again"
Box of socks = what's inside a wrapped package so Lea doesn't give the gift way.
amn't = "I am not" as in "No, mommy I amn't"
Ep-a-cot = Epcot center. On our Disney trip Lea made this word 3 syllables.
Ray-B-C = CB Radio. There is a picture of the pigeon talking on the CB Radio in a book and Lea can never get the name right. You know talking on the Ray-B-C.
Smash 'em Turvy = Smash 'em up Derby. Smashable Turvey is what Lea thought I said, so now when we play cars we play Smashable Turvy.
skull = pirates. Anything decorated with skulls Lea says are pirates, as in "Your shoes have pirates on them."
licky pills = cough drop/throat lozenge
chicken hairs = tiny hairs on mommy. I remember my grandmother calling the tiny mostly invisible hairs on her face "chicken feathers" so I said that to Lea one day. Now even hair on my legs are "chicken hairs" as in sitting in my lap saying, "Mommy your chicken hairs are POKING me!"
Ouchie Lea! = The natural equivalent to "Ouchie Mama" which I say... me being the mama... so Lea figured out she needed to say "Ouchie Lea" Took me longer to figure out why she said it that way. Makes perfect sense if you're 3.
Be Patient, Be Calm Mommy =Lea's calming influence on mommy. Her cute little voice when I've spilled something all over the kitchen floor.
Cotton Ball = Cannon Ball... that's what Lea called Dan's "diving" in the pool, as in "Do another cotton ball Daddy"
schlopp schlopp = ice cream or treat. It comes from The Dr. Seuss book The Thinks You Can Think. "You can eat schlopp schlopp, you don't have to stop." And there is a picture of two people sitting at a table. Lea said that was Mommy & Daddy, so the next time we went out without Lea I said we were going for Schlopp Schlopp and that she and Grandma could have ice cream which then became schlopp schlopp on its own.
Bergen = "Let's find a Bergen" -This means, let's do the Gem Hunt on Webkins which features an old salty dog. After several days of wondering what she was talking about, we heard the dog say in a drawl, "Let's see what Bargains we can find" and we both had an "ah ha" moment.
"Den DC" = Where Godmother Sherry lives. Lea's shorthand for Washington DC.
"Heavy Strong" = chin ups or pull ups. Lea used to do "heavy strong" on the bars of her crib and now does them on the playground.
"If you say so, I say so"= I will relent to doing what you say or you have relented to what I have insisted on for the past 20 min. Very cute in a staccato voice.
Old McDomino's=McDonalds, as in "I want to eat at Old McDomino's"
"ploblems" = problems as in "Mommy I'm having shoe ploblems"
"oat mill" = windmill @ grandpa's house
"floppy nest" = pack and play bed @ Grandma's
"za-cunni" = zucchini — usually as in "No, no za-cunni"
"why cause" = because
"nap thirty" = response to what time is it after lunch?
"attention horde" = extension cord
"as fast as me can"
amn't I = aren't I. I've listed this before but thought I'd note that she still says it at 8 yrs/third grade old even though she reads at a 6th grade level. I still find it cute.
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