Dinosaur Train - DERAILED!!!

Normally, my hat is off to PBS for their educational kid's programs. Sid the Science Kid acually cracks me up on a daily basis, my kids have practically learned to read by themselves from Superwhy, and then there's good ole Sesame Street - enough said!

So given my boys' long-time obsession with dinosaurs, I thought Dinosaur Train was just a darling addition to our usual morning routine: get home from work, breakfast, big kids to school, little kids watch an hour or so of something they can learn from, reading and writing time, play outside, and Mommy go to BED!!

Well today was the first day of spring break! We all slept in, and after breakfast I thought I'd actually WATCH the program with my kids while sipping a cup of coffee and folding laundry pile #4. And boy, did I pick a "doozey" to watch. This was the episode where children apparently learn the ever-important lesson that "every dinosaur poops."

Really, PBS?????!!!!

I had just gone into the laundry room to switch a load over in the beginning of the program when I heard my 3 year old exclaim, "Mommy, the dinosaur said a bad word!!"

I came back out just in time to hear an innocent little dinosaur singing at the top of his lungs a SONG, yes an entire SONG, about dinosaur poop. And since it's forever engrained into my brain, of course I'll share a snippet with you, because it's just so educational:

"Today I found out something new,
And everyone else can learn it, too,
Every dinosaur poops!

For every critter
Of every species,
The food we don't use
Turns to feces."

Wow.

No child left behind. EVERY ONE of them will now know that every dinosaur poops.

No, I'm not going to write a letter to PBS. No, my children weren't scarred for life or traumatized by the show. (I might've have actually chuckled a time or two, just because it was just so stupid and I couldn't believe my ears.) And yes, they can still probably watch Dinosaur Train now and then, although Disney might be a better choice. But PBS might have made it onto my "poo poo" list with this one. (I had to reprogram my children a bit, "We don't really need to talk about poop in general, just let me know if you have to go.")

Here's my educational contribution back to the producers at PBS:

"I've been thinking and here's the scoop-
No one cares about dinosaur poop!

Your cute little show was a bit of a trap,
How could we know you'd be singing about CRAP?!?!

Tomorrow morning here's what I'll do,
I WON'T pick the show that talks about POO.

Thanks so much for such a great lesson,
You sure know how to keep us moms guessin'.

You might do well to heed my advice,
Kid's shows about poop are NOT very nice!!"

On a "cleaner" note, stay tuned for a video of the boys doing their dinosaur impersonations. I'm trying to get it to load!!!

PBS: Please Be Smarter

Beauty Salon Secrets

I overheard something on TV the other day that made me think and laugh, I guess because it's disturbingly true - That people tell EVERYTHING to their hair stylist! While I don't consider myself an "over-blabby" person, I do have to admit that there's probably something to that.

It IS a pretty personal thing, having someone playing with your hair for an hour, and you're just sitting there with nothing to do but look at her in the mirror and think of stuff to say because silence is sometimes uncomfortable. Whether you know the person well or not, you do kinda find yourself automatically answering the usual questions, "What do you do? Do you have kids? Are you doing anything fun this summer?" And before you know it, you're telling her how you've always wanted to live by the ocean and that you wish your mother-in-law visited more often! WHAT?! Well, I love my "hair gal", so I have no complaints, but I also found first-hand how this is all true when doing my GIRLS' hair!

Somehow, in the 10 minutes a day before school that I spend doing their hair, or the 10 minutes after bathtime that I spend combing out tangles - I tend to learn alot of important information. I'm thinking "hair do" time should now be at least 6 times a day.

Just the other day, I'd barely gotten one braid done on Rea's hair, and these 3 comments were made:

1. I want a Barbie birthday cake this year.
2. When I was a baby, how'd I get IN your tummy?
3. Pedro bit me on the playground yesterday.

So I quickly confirmed #1, briefly touched on #2, and settled in on #3.

"Excuse me come again he did WHAT now?!?!?!"

Sadly, this isn't the first time it's happened, with the first being on Halloween when he thought he was a vampire, and the other time somewhere in between.

So, after a visit with her teacher, we got some results on THAT situation....

But I guess my point is this:

I don't want the routine, "perfunctory" things like combing their hair in the morning to become an excuse for the quality time that I have with my kids. Yes, every moment of time with them can be a time for learning or sharing, but setting aside specific time to just talk and see how things are going is also so important.

I asked Ni'ke the other day during some cuddle time, "Tell me what makes you happy." And she said, "Jesus, my family, sunshine, going to church, and making cookies with you." Wow....

OK, I get it!

Performance at the Park

A friend (Babs!) watched the kids for me a few weeks ago when I had a meeting, and she sent me these pictures she took. They went to a park to play for awhile, and apparently as soon as they got there, Rea made a bee line for the bleachers and geared up for a "performance"! So here she is, front and center with all of her back up singers...

New Spring Dresses!

Yesterday was the most beautiful, perfect spring day, so the girls were more than happy to wear their new dresses to church!

A couple weeks ago, Mom had called a day or two before they left to come out for their visit and said she needed some measurements before she started cutting. They are both so tall for their age so we didn't want to just go by the pattern and risk them being too short. Rea was at school and Ni'ke was actually taking a nap for a change (although I know that's not going to last much longer!) So I snuck into her room with a tape measure... Must've worked because they were a perfect fit and length for both of them! Hopefully they'll last through the summer, given there aren't anymore gigantic growth spurts!

The Girls

Gee, where do I start with these two!? So funny, so girly, so occasionally argumentative, so plagued with over-active imaginations...

As a woman who thoroughly enjoys a good pampering myself, I really do love to paint their nails and take them shopping and do their hair. Not the most important life lessons that I'm teaching them, for sure, but fun all the same!

The real problem started last week when Grandma was here visiting. She innocently put her cosmetic bag on the counter in the guest bathroom, because, well, what harm could that do? And during a mandatory naptime after somebody told ANOTHER lie, that same little somebody decided to dig through the above-mentioned "goodie bag"... Chaos ensued. Not only did Ni'ke drink an entire bottle of travel-sized mouthwash (confirmed information from a reliable source, Rea the Mole) but she also emptied an entire bottle of foundation onto the waiting faces of Rea, herself, and a happy-to-oblige Ya'shar. Needless to say, they were all in big trouble. After some very serious discussions about staying out of other people's stuff, I thought we'd reached a pretty clear understanding. Right.

Fast forward to yesterday evening when they were allegedly upstairs, playing in their rooms. They came down for a snack, and I smelled something strange.... Yep, nail polish. A lovely glittery shade of pink. Totally matched the pink blob that I later found on my bathroom carpet.... (sigh) So here we go again!

I had to get a picture of Rea's dress up outfit. The Minnie Mouse ears are always a must, and her "queen robe" held up by her jump rope is always quite the rage as well. Pretty entertaining! Oh, and please note the pink and gray outfit that she's wearing outside. It's her most favorite outfit ever and she would wear it everyday to school if I let her! She's convinced that she can't wear these pieces separately from each other or with anything else. So we just don't try.

Charming little Ni'ke, MUST have her hair pigtails when at all possible! It's finally getting some length to it! So much fun to do....

So, that's the girls, on to the boys!

The Boys

These two little fellas just crack me up. Ma-lak definitely takes his big brother role very seriously and is forever "checking on him" to the point of annoyance! When he's brushing his teeth. When he's going to the bathroom. When he's putting his clothes on.... "Ma-lak I need my privacy!!" So funny!

I looked out the window yesterday while they were playing and this is how I saw Ya'shar, hitching a ride on the little car... I heard Ma-lak say, "Hold on, Little Brother, I take you for a spin!"

Lately they have been moderately obsessed with dinosaurs, and love to watch Prehistoric Planet. We have about 13 different programs of it taped and I'm pretty sure they have them all memorized! Ma-lak especially gets into it and is very serious about learning all the different names of them. I always liked to watch "Friends", and I find myself calling him "Ross" alot lately... He doesn't get the joke of course. One of these days I'll upload a video of Ya'shar's T-rex impersonation. Spot on. Boys.... Oh how I love them!

A Very Special Visit!!

For the past three months, we've been counting the days.... "Only 55 more days till Grandpa and Grandma come! Only two more weeks... Only one more day!!" Until finally they were here! And of course time has a cruel way of flying swiftly by when we'd like it to slow to a crawl, but each and every moment of time spent with them is always cherished, especially since we live so far away.

I love that my children look forward to them coming and love being with them just like I did with my grandparents when I was little. We made so many great memories! My heart is full when I remember them listening so attentively when my dad read Bible stories to them. "Read one more, Grandpa!" Or when my mom was teaching Ma-lak how to draw dinosaurs from his new book. (I giggled every time she tried to pronounce "diplodocus" and he corrected her!)

My dad, the handy man that he is, was so kind to check off several items on my "fix it" list! He had already fixed a closet door in the girls' room, their dresser as well, a broken drawer in the kitchen, and was working on the ottoman when Ni'ke asked him, "Grandpa, are you a professional fixer?!" His answer? "Well, as a matter of fact, I am!" (I love you, Dad!)

And Mom... She slaved over her sewing machine for a few days before they came out, determined to bring her little grand daughters some new spring dresses! They danced around all happy and delighted when they saw them! Mom, you're amazing, and I can't thank you enough! (And really, you didn't have to clean my stove....) :)

My dad especially has always loved nature and frequently comments on its beauty. When he comes to visit, it's always so much fun to see how he enjoys the ocean, the mountains, the vineyards, and everything in between. It's a good reminder for me to not take for granted the beauty that surrounds me, and to maybe try to see it fresh through his eyes every now and then! It's so easy to wake up and rush out the door, so set in my routines with mind on the next thing I have to do, that I forget to just look up and around every once in awhile and just smile and say, "God, you are so great!"

For some reason, Sausalito has become one of those special little places for me that I love to visit, so full of natural beauty as well as lots of rustic charm. It just makes me happy to be there - I could wander around for hours, watching the boats, listening to the local musicians, visiting the art galleries, and eating yummy food! So we had to take Mom and Dad there for lunch after church on Sunday, and they loved it as much as I did! It was a gorgeous 66 degrees, and we milked that day for all it was worth!

The rest of the week we just had fun relaxing, cooking, watching the Olympics, chatting about great childhood memories, going shopping, checking out some new guitar shops for my dad, driving around, and just simply enjoying one another in general! Aaaahhh.... So many good memories, and I can't wait till the next time!!

The next several days will be a quieter, but wonderful as well, just being home with my little ones till I go back to work next week. I have a few projects to work on that I need to NOT put off any more, so we'll see how that goes! Can you believe it's March already!?!?!?

May God richly bless you today! And if you're fortunate enough to live close to your families and dearest friends, hug them a little closer today, and don't take for granted all those little opportunities to hang out with them and just "be".... :)

Rock On!!

So there's this local guy around San Francisco, Bill Dan, who for the past few years has been setting up these balancing rock sculptures all over the Bay area. I think he's maybe a professor or scientist, but what he does is so phenomenal and unique! We were walking along the boardwalk in Sausalito after we ate, and there were several of his rock art sculptures just an arm's length away! There's nothing holding them up, just huge rocks stacked onto little ones, perching precariously, and they've been there for months and even years! The wind and the rain and the birds haven't budged them an inch! I just found it fascinating for some reason.... If you're interested in more, his website is www.rock-on-rock-on.com

Go Fly A Kite!

Aunt Jessie sent out a little care package last week with some kites in it, and I have not had a moment's rest since then! "Mommy, when can we go fly our kites?! I want to go to the park! Can we go today?! Pleeeeease!" Mind you, it has been pouring most of those days... But Sunday it was beautiful and after we got back from Sausalito, we stopped at the park to fly kites and blow bubbles. Unfortunately, some residual mud puddles remained and found their way underfoot of my carefree children, who were of course, looking UP at their kites! Spray-n-wash, here we come....