Life goals

Sarah, this morning:

"When I grow up, I can be a doctor or a mommy or a fire person or a baseball batter. And I can cut pizza and work on a computer."

Number of kids currently in the house?

ZERO. Hooray for dance camp!

Heard around here this morning

(While playing with dressups)

Sarah: "I want to get married too!"

Beth: "Okay, but then you can't run away."

Guess what today is?

It's FARM BOX DAY!

Pea tendrils, baby spinach, radishes and salad turnips, spring kale, bok choy, the ubiquitous lettuce, and (wait for it)...cilantro!

We're splitting the share with some neighbors this year because, frankly, it's more greenery than the four of us can safely consume in a week. And you know it's a good day when a 13-year-old boy exclaims, "Oh good, cilantro! Now I can make salsa!"

Say-ing #5

At dinner tonight: "Spinach makes me do something very bad, but I don't know what it is."

Beth's fifth birthday party, by the numbers

Balloons purchased for Beth's birthday party this morning: 12

Balloons that survived the ride home: 11 

Very excited pint-sized little girls in their fanciest tea party attire: 10

Number of adults present at said party, including Beth's dad and grandpa: 9

Number of cupcakes left over at the end of the party: 7

Percentage of those cupcakes likely to be consumed by Beth's mom before bedtime: 86

Strawberry cartons purchased last night for dipping in Hershey's syrup "fondue": 4

Teacups I borrowed late last night from a very brave friend so that each girl could drink pink lemonade from a real teacup and saucer: 4

Children who refused pink lemonade: 2 (Who are these people who can turn down chocolate cupcakes and pink lemonade? Certainly no one in my family.)

Number of fancy dresses Grandpa Wes brought in his suitcase for Beth and Sarah: 2

Number of said dresses worn by the girls to the party, although Beth did wear the dress intended for Sarah and vice versa: 2

Number of children who appeared to have jumped into the fondue along with her strawberries: 1 (Sorry, Julie -- I did try to sponge her off.)

Number of little girls in tears by the end of the party: 0 (Raging success.)

Two vignettes from today

1. It took two refrigerator magnets, a piece of string, two mangled coat hangers and three pint-sized helpers...but I did get my car key out from under the back steps.

2. The house cleaners came this morning (Scott's awesome, oh-honey-you-shouldn't-have-but-boy-I'm-glad-you-did Christmas present to me this year was bi-weekly house cleaning) and changed the sheets. Everything looked fantastic — except for a flat, empty pillowcase in the middle of Sarah's bed. I've searched in every quasi-logical place and cannot find her pillow. Sarah doesn't know where it is either.

Bethism #15

Beth, to Scott: "Do you want to hear the joke about the three penguins and the bowl of guacamole?"

Scott: "Yes!"

Me: "Yes!"

Plumber fixing our radiators: "That sounds like a really good joke."

Beth: "Okay. The penguins thought the bowl of guacamole was a swimming pool and so they jumped right in!"

She has some work to do on her punch line, but the setup is priceless.

Say-ing #4

Scene: Monday night, the ice cream shop at the end of our street. Two small girls are working away at scoops of strawberry ice cream. Their parents have opted for something with a higher chocolate content.

Sarah: Mmm. This is kind of like cheese. But it's not."

Me: "How is it like cheese, Sarah?"

Sarah, after pondering: "Because cheese is kind of pink, but it's not."

Ha!

Seen this?

Riot Grrrl, with sparkles

Beth, talking to Scott tonight: "Today we made Pony Town at preschool. Only ponies can live in Pony Town."

Scott: "What would happen if a cat came to Pony Town?"

Beth: "They would kill it."

Scott: "Oh. Would they eat it, too?"

Beth: "Uh-huh."

Scott: "Those are tough ponies."

Beth: "Yeah."

Say-ing #3

Sarah, on how to write some of the letters in her name:

A: "You have to make a line down and then they have to touch so no one can tell it's an H."
R: "There's a line down and then a bump at the top and a kick."


The S still looks like a C...but she's getting there.

Bethism #14

Beth was wondering today what kind of animal is purple. She wasn't coming up with any on her own, and Sarah was no help ("Um...a sheep can be purple!"), so I reminded her that we had seen a purple bird at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh.

Her response: "Get out of town! Birds come in purple?!?"

If you have a preschool-aged kid...

...and you live in my neck of the woods, you know how much we love our co-op preschool. Between the fresh batches of kid-concocted play dough every week, and the nature walks, and the Seuss-style phonics, and the cooking, and the free access to paint and glitter and other messy things that mommy doesn't allow on her living room rug, both kids are having a fabulous time. Scott and I (but Scott especially) get a kick out of our periodic parent-helper duties. And we like the vibe: lots of free play with interesting stuff, a multi-disciplinary, creative-inquiry-based curriculum, teachers and parents sitting down and listening to what the kids have to say.

If you're scouting out the best preschool for your kid next year, there's an open house next Saturday morning (Jan. 23rd) from 10 to noon. Kids welcome, of course. See the school's website for more info.