Friday, June 27, 2008

Sugargliders, Flies and Rottensocks, Oh My!


The final week of “Catch the Reading Bug” started out scaly, prickly and not-so-stinky as Critter Tales, Inc came to Westville with some special animals. Since Ms. Jennifer didn’t have any pet bugs on hand, she brought animals that ate bugs instead. Children sat wide-eyed as a smooth blue-tongued skink was passed around, followed by Cactus the hedgehog, who was in a good mood and kept his prickles in check. But the “oohs” and “aahs” began when two sleepy sugar gliders were woken up. Ms. Jennifer explained how mother sugar gliders keep their young in a pouch in their tummy. She also told everyone that there was a baby in there and that its name was Jellybean. To her surprise, when she looked in the carrier, there were two babies roaming around. She quickly went around the room, showing everyone the two babies before they could scoot back into the safety of the mother’s pouch. It was decided that the new baby’s name would be Cinnamon. For the big finish, everyone got to pet a skunk. Don’t worry, it had its stinkers taken out, and everyone was sure to wash afterward.
On Wednesday, Kevin Wade and his daughter Lexie came to astound us with magic tricks, card tricks and one astounding game of magic musical chairs. One preschooler in particular could not stop talking about the large fly Mr. Wade pulled out of his ear. “There was a bug in there!” he exclaimed excitedly to everyone who would listen. Lexie, a marvelous young performer, was a veritable encyclopedia of bug facts and performed a number of tricks herself. One of the best tricks was when Mr. Wade showed youngsters how to do their own magic trick with a handkerchief and an artificial egg. After he had explained the trick, he showed everyone how he had stuffed the handkerchief into a hole in the egg only to peel the hole off and break the egg into a glass! How did he do that? Even the skeptics have no clue. For those who want to know more about Mr. Wade and visit his online store, go to http://www.magiciankevinwade.com/ for more information.
On the last day of entertainment, Ryan O’Brien (with son Christian and new puppeteer Erick) returned with his Big Magic Book and an amazing array of electronics. In this adventure, the evil Safilthia Rottensocks had shrunk everyone, including herself, to the size of bugs! Dr. Whizbang needed our help! Using a telescope and a very special video screen, we were able to find our friends and save the day, with lots of jokes, dancing and hilarious capers along the way. Congratulations to the O’Brien family as they welcomed baby Charlie this past year.
The special programs may be over, but keep reading! The deadline for turning in reading logs is July 24. Make sure to have your name in the bug catcher for the drawing. You just might win a spectacular prize.
Attention teenagers! There’s more to come at the library and it’s just for you! July 14-18 will feature special entertainment appropriate for youth ages 13-17.
Special movie days will also be on July 10, 17 and 24, again, appropriate for youth ages 13-17. Movies will be at 10am. Movie titles will be posted on the library door. The summer’s not over yet! It’s never too late to “Catch the Reading Bug!”
Oh, the picture. That's me, still doing the Hokey Pokey. You can clearly see Ian, begging Chris to take him far, far away from me. You can also see the boy on the other side of me, smiling (*laughing*)at me. He is another cop's kid, who has just decided that he doesn't want to come to our house after all.
*If you want a closer look at the pics here and in the post before this one, click on it! It gets bigger! If you try really hard, you can learn something new every day....har har har.
And no, I am not the one who dressed Ian that day. I would never let him wear socks and sandals together! It must be a guy thing. ;)

A Long Few Days

This week has been a busy one for us. It was the last week of the library activities :( and also the week of The Fever. Erin has had a fever, up to 103 for the past few days and nights. Just a fever and crankiness. The pain reliever/ibuprofen has been making her sleepy and gassy, an unthrilling combination. So I have walked a few miles on the carpet the past few nights, in between baking under our Eskimo comforter and reconstructing Ian's homemade tent over his bed at 4:30 after it collapsed on his head. Then he needs a drink, to pee, etc and then the baby cries again. Thus my career of being semi-nocturnal evolves.
Chris has been helping, sleeping like a log through all the disturbances and then getting up at 7 or 8 with the kids and letting me sleep in. Until it's time to get up and go to the library for the 10am shows. So I think my middle name starts with an L, but don't bet on it.

But that's all over now. The fever persisted through this afternoon, but she's sleeping beautifully in her crib now. At least until I get in bed.

Tonight is the Annual Westville 'Settler's Day' Rodeo. Yet here I am, home with the kids. Happily ensconced in our house, close to the new dishwasher and the air conditioner. Chris is on duty, happily heckling traffic offenders. (Note: Side effects of exhaustion include speaking nonsense, dreaming about starring in a broadway musical and speaking entirely in alarmingly astounding alliterations)

The garden is doing wonderfully, as is the garter snake who lives there. We thought the cucumbers were starting to die off, but they are still producing cucumbers that could double for javelins. The squash is picked off for a day or two. The okra is picking up and I have been forbidden from picking any more green tomatoes until they ripen. Grr. The peppers are a loss this year. Some kind of exotic beetle has taken over. They gather by the dozen on one leaf to sit, munch and reproduce. If you flick them off, they congregate on the plant next door and continue.

Our family went swimming in our pool yesterday. I am a redhead with a gazillion freckles, so Chris got our beach umbrella out and stuck it in the ground next to the pool. It put half the pool in the shade, so Erin and I sat happily in the shade while Chris and Ian splashed and caroused in the other end. We had fun. I wore a bathing suit for the second time this year, as well as enough sunscreen to spot from space.

Chris got his new boots today, so he is very thrilled. He was in an incident a week or so ago where he got called to a house where there had been a stabbing. When he got there, the victim was holding a rag to his head. When he moved the rag to see if the bleeding had stopped, the blood spurted out in a continuous stream until Chris and the other officer got the guy to keep it on there with pressure. Evidently his temporal artery had been punctured. He almost died in the hospital and needed transfusions. In the process, Chris's pants and boots were hosed in blood, so we had to get new ones. Naturally, they were backordered. But they got here today. Yay.

Also got the kids' birthday presents in the mail yesterday. They are in the closet in the box it came in. I predict that Chris will beg to give it to them early, at least 4 times before the birthdays come around.

In other news, we are checking into pre-k for Ian. Can you believe that school starts on August 7 here???

For some reason, I remember school starting the last week of August, or in the early 20s of August, and ending in June. What happened???

Oh and for an extra charge, "Cruze Night" and burnouts will be on my birthday! Wail of indignation and frustration! Arrrrgh! One more reason to absolutely loathe the Burnouts!

The police department is still chiefless. Everyone is wondering what will happen. We are still praying to get outta here. Also still looking for another job. Moving to FL seems to be another "no." Or at least a "no, not now." We can accept that, but it is still disappointing. All doors seem to be closed, so we're sitting here, waiting on God.

More news. Last night, every car on our street was broken into and change/cell phone chargers/purses/wallets/checkbooks were stolen. We were the only car that was left alone (and the police cruiser). Thank you Lord! Boy are we thankful that we locked everything up last night. We will continue to do so. Police are actively pursuing all leads and stopping everyone walking after dark as they are considered suspects! Just in case you're thinking about walking around here after dark, that is. :)

Oh, and that's me doing the Hokey Pokey at the Library Party "Going Buggy" last week. The first one is me dancing with a group of little girls. The one right here is where Chris tells me that I'm embarrassing Ian, please stop. "Hey!" I protested. "At least I'm dancing in a group!" He didn't see the cute little girls dancing with me. And he wouldn't dance either. The library coordinator/head librarian, my friend Sue Ann, snapped about 4 pictures of me doing it. At least she gave me 4. She could've taken a roll. Hm. She DID mention blackmail. Oh well, it'll take a lot worse than this to blackmail me! See me shake it all around? 'Cause "that's what it's all about!"

Saturday, June 21, 2008

A Day of Firsts

Today was a pretty big day in the Grand Scheme of Things.

Yesterday, I used my Brand New Dishwasher for the first time. But I unloaded--no I didn't. But I did get a clean glass out of it First thing this morning. :) This is my first dishwasher Ever. There was one in my last apartment before college graduation, but we only used it once and it flooded everything, so we just used it to store cat food. Anyway.

Another first today: Erin was left unattended and the bathroom door was left open. So was the toilet lid. So she had her first Splash Fest in the toilet. Mmmm. Don't worry, she was summarily disinfected and scolded and disinfected again. She just likes the pretty blue water.



And the big first. Drumroll:

We went to our First Family Movie at the movie theater. We saw Kung Fu Panda.

Yes, we loaded up the entire family, called some friends who wanted to see it again, and went to the movie theater. This is a huge deal around here because this movie theater is a new addition, unless you want to go to Stilwell. It was my first choice because it is $3, but it only shows at 7pm and only one movie a week. Not such a great time for small children.
So we went to Siloam Springs and paid the matinee prices and got Ian a little kid's pack of popcorn and drink and candy. Then we tried really really really hard to actually watch the movie. I was getting frustrated with Erin before the previews were over. She is hitting this stage where she wants to be vocal. And she wants to be the loudest one in the room. So trying to outdo Dolby Digital Surround Sound was a challenge, but she was up for it. She was not content to sit in the chair. Nopity nope nope. She wanted to be held, jiggled, swayed, etc. Every now and then she would let her head go limp and rest on my shoulder, just to encourage me a little bit. Then it was Bloop! Head back up and "blaw blaw blaw waah. Squeal, squeal, eeeeeh."
Oh yes. And then there were the bathroom breaks. We tallied it on the way home. I took Ian to the bathroom before the movie and then 4 times during the movie. Chris took Ian twice. He peed every single time. So there are several chunks of the movie missing for me. It will probably actually make sense if we ever see it in its entirety, but what I did see was cute. It always drives me nuts though, when I recognize the voices and can't figure out who it is. I figured out everyone major except for Dustin Hoffman! He is so good! He is such a talented actor, no matter what he's like in person. His voice was making my hair curl! I could not figure it out!
But we did it. We took Ian to his first movie. And it will be the last for a while. :D
Though I asked God quite a few times what I was thinking when I put those wedge heels on. What was I thinking?!!! Oh yeah, that I'd actually be sitting down. Ha hahaha.
So just to refresh my memory (or let's see if I can find out what happened to the old turtle, as well as some other major plot points): http://www.kungfupanda.com/ And just in case you need to play some online games.

The most ironic thing though, about Ian and the movies, is this. The whole time we were there, he kept expecting Wall-E to come on. "Ooh, we see Wall-E? Wall-E is on? When is Wall-E coming on? I guess we know now what movie he Really wanted to see. He just didn't get it, but he had a good time. At least the bathrooms were clean.

Oh, FYI, did you know there's another Mummy movie coming out? And another Ice Age (about dinosaurs!) And what else? There was something else, but there was a big humongous stand up cutout of the new Ice Age and Ian had to touch it every time we went by...sheesh.
Oh well. I think it will have to be at least a couple of months before we brave that again. I'm pretty sure we can be really patient and wait for the DVD. :)

OH, and our week at a glance:

Scholastic Book Fair Has Readers Going Buggy!
By Mandi Goforth

The Scholastic Book Fair came to town this past week, transforming the library’s entertainment room into a young readers’ paradise. Children and young adults had their pick of classic books as well as posters, comics, and series ranging from Junie B. Jones to High School Musical. Wednesday’s Summer Party, “Going Buggy,” started out with rain, but the sun came out to shine on those happy children and parents who came to enjoy the festivities. With favorite hits such as the Hokey Pokey and the Macarena, the music was hopping, and so were the parents. There was a scavenger hunt, where bugs (on paper) were collected. The end of the hunt yielded a “Catch the Reading Bug!” poster. Balloons were tied to small arms and the line was long for the face painting. Volunteers Shelley and Whitney painted various bugs, butterflies and other requests on excited faces. Though they did not profess to be experts, they did a wonderful job! Guests were especially impressed with the red car on a small cheek as well as a pirate, complete with eye patch and gold tooth, on another boy’s arm. VIPs included Clifford the Big Red Dog and Geronimo the Mouse, who also danced and took photos with adoring fans. Partygoers munched on hot dogs, chips and cookies before loading up the loot and going home.
Next week will be the last week of activities, so get out of the house for some fun! Monday is a special appearance from Critter Tales, Inc. Bring your friends! Live animals will be there to watch and touch. Tuesday will be the last opportunity to give your toddler a special experience as a volunteer reads fun books just for little ones. Prepare to be astonished on Wednesday as magician Kevin Wade presents “The Good, the Bad and the Bugly.” The finale to our wonderful summer program will be worth seeing as funny adventurer Ryan O’Brien and his puppets return with another episode of the Big Magic Book.
Another reminder to Westville’s voracious readers! Keep reading and filling up those reading logs! Triumphant readers who complete their logs, reading 55 books, will be entered into a drawing for exciting prizes.
Don’t let the summer pass you by! And don’t just pass by the library, come on in and “Catch the Reading Bug!”

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Latest

Well, for those of you who are wondering how different the kids look from a couple of weeks ago, or more, when we were in FL, Erin is changing almost daily. There's the wild hair, then there's the new teeth, and the fact that she is never in one position for long because she is a miniature Speedy Gonzalez on all fours without the little crowd yelling "Holy Frijoles!" Except I may say that from time to time when I can't find her.


We were driving to Springdale, looking for a bed for Ian at furniture outlets in the hope of finding something better than Wal-Mart and couldn't find anything for less than $500. They offered financing, but we didn't think it was a smart thing to do on your preschooler's first twin bed. I'd rather save financing for something as important as, say, a car or a house. Anyway, we passed this strange looking place with a nondescript name and decided to stop and see what they had. It was a pretty neat place. Ian was so fascinated with the front door that he didn't even want to go inside. Once inside, he loved the miniature town, complete with storefronts that are displayed in the back, along with one of those open topped 2 seater airplanes suspended from the ceiling. But we didn't get pictures of those. We just got pictures of Ian sitting on the giant chair, which he would like for his birthday by the way, so he can put it in his room. (?)


The pictures of Erin were taken earlier today. This is the only time in the day that she was able to stay relatively still, except for when she was sleeping. The hair clip disappeared sometime during supper. We don't know why.


We also don't know why there was half of a hot dog bun saturated with Thomas the Tank Engine bubbles and floating around in the tub. Ian thought it was poop and started to gag. I managed to get most of it out. I encouraged him to breathe and he gradually turned to a lighter shade of horrified magenta. Even when I told him it was gone, he didn't believe me. He swished all the bubbles to the other end of the tub so he could see exactly the kind of bath water he was sitting in. About 3 seconds later, he was 'all done' with bathtime and skedaddled out of there, though he was brave enough to stick his hand back in to pull the drain plug. :)


I was on the phone with my mom at the time. You don't often get the opportunity to laugh like that much unless you are around small children.


By the way, my Mom was not upset, but much amused by yesterday's post and has threatened to post some of her own, ahem, interesting pictures of me and others. Cackle cackle, DO YOUR WORST! I promise to share if she does. :)

Monday, June 16, 2008

Big Trouble

Today was another rainy day. Isn't it interesting that things happen on rainy days that wouldn't normally happen? You tend to go through strange boxes and piles of junk. Well, we didn't do any of that, not really, but Ian got the urge to go through old photo books. We went through the family one, since Ian's fell apart because it was too full and the spine seperated from the cover. Then we got to Mine. Not too long ago, my mama gave me a photo album that had a lot of my baby photos in them. And now I'm in BIG TROUBLE because I'm going to share a few of those with the world. Note that I said it had a lot of my baby photos in them. Well, there were a lot of others in there too. Such as this one:


Is my Gramma a hottie or what? She looks exactly the same, except she doesn't have that shirt any more and she doesn't poof her hair up as much. And in case she doesn't like this one, it isn't half as good as the one of her in her robe on the couch, looking like she just got up. Maybe because I didn't put that one up, I won't be in the dog house so much.


This is my Grampa. What a hunk! It looks like he has a ring box in his hand. He is in front of what looks like a Vitamin store, but since I recognize that rug on the wall in the background, this might have been during the 'selling vitamins' phase. Love the stuffed duck, too. Nobody has stuffed ducks anymore.
Also note that I could have put the one up of Grampa in his swim trunks by the pool, but alas, I did not.
This is my mom at Christmastime. Ian laughed really hard and I don't think he believed me when I told him it was Gramma. I think this was taken in 1979, just from looking at the curtains in the background. That and the fact that these were before the pregnancy photos and I was born in August. Logic, my dear Watson. And just to show that I'm not really making fun of her glasses too much.....
This is me on the swingset. I think I was 2. Maybe 3. But boy was I cool. C-O-O-L in my giant shades. Ian really laughed hard at this one. He said I was silly, but I wasn't. I was so so cool.
This is a picture of me. Pay no attention to the hot miserable pregnant woman. Pay attention to the bump because in another week or two, I will be liberated! Again, Mom, in case you are tempted to be shocked and embarrassed at the fact that I posted this, there is another one of you sunbathing showing your bare (and very large) pregnant belly that I could have put up but didn't. :)
See what came from that bump? Arent I cute? No, I'm pouting because someone asked me to do something unfair. And because they told me that my shoes didn't go with my tights. But wait! This was July of 1982. Things were different then. And wow. I don't remember our carpets ever being that color. Just think, it only took 3 kids 5 years to turn that carpet black.
Here we go. This is exactly how cute I was. I'm not pouting and I'm outside in my favorite baby swing. This is where Ian kept saying, "Awwww. It's baby sister." But it's not. It's ME! So everyone who says that the kids both look like Chris should read this blog. Because right now, she looks like me and I will revel in it. I'm not sure whose leg that is, by the way, but there are other shots with my great-grandmother.
*I am also proud to note that my baby girl got her cute little dumpling shape from me as well, for all those people who say her legs look like ham bones. Ha! That's Miss Ham Bone to you, mister! And smile when you say that!
Ah. I might be in trouble for this one. The hair, the glasses, the facial expression. Clearly, my mom was having a great time. It was a tire swing, after all and my brothers were climbing the tree like monkeys. She looks like she was hanging on for dear life. Actually, she looks like she's afraid of falling off. Another thing about the women in our family, they are not afraid to try new hairstyles. One day I will have a very interesting array of photographs for my kids to laugh at too.
But that's okay. If I'm in trouble, I'll just have a little time out. But with that cute face, I won't be there for long. ;)

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Our New Ool

I once read a sign at a friend's house growing up. It was on their patio, next to their inground pool (I miss Florida!) and it read: "This is our Ool. Notice there is no P in it. Please keep it that way." I snickered every time I read that sign. Still do. He hehe.

Anyway, we have been given a pool. One of those pop-up pools that come with a ladder and a pump and actually need chlorine tablets and filters! Oh, I feel so important. No more deflating kiddy pools that I constantly need to empty because there's 6 pounds of grass in it and dead bugs! Now we have a skimmer. Ooooh. Anyway, some friends of ours have a brother that could double as a semi truck. Right after he bench pressed it. His name is Bubba, but Ian calls him Bubbles. Bub is a great, sweet guy and is so good with the kids. He really loves his little niece and nephew. We were told that when Bubba got into the little pool, he looked like an elephant in a mud puddle. So when he got the chance, Bub went out and got a Big Pool. (or should I say, Ool? They don't want P in theirs either. Whaaaa hahahahaha. Sorry, I don't know why exactly it's so funny to me.) After they got 3 fire trucks to fill their giant pool with water (don't we have an interesting town?) they didn't know what to do with the old little one. So they decided to give it to us. Isn't that the coolest thing you've heard??? Thanks Bub! And Jeremy and Jessica! And Tra and Morgan! We love our "neew Pooooool." You have to say it like Ian, all sing-songy. It may not be very big, but it's like a million bucks to us. We're not so blue any more. Now we're light green, cool as cucumbers because we can all submerge in our pool. Maybe not actually swim, but we can all fit and cool off. Ian is really rocking the arm floaties too. We have to pretend to be Nemo and chase the boat and "oh no! It's a shark!" and I even heard him do the whale noises today. It was very classic. Erin liked it until Ian splashed too much and she swallowed some yucky chlorine-y pool water. And I am happy to report that there is no P in it because after Erin and I got out to swing, I turned around to see Ian perched on the top step of the pool ladder, trunks around ankles, whizzing all over the grass in front of the pool. Sheesh.



For the rest of what we've been doing this week, and the reason for the general sparseness of blogs, pretend you have a subscription to the Westville Weekly Times and get a load of next Tuesday's front page article! (You know you live in a small town when....Right?) At least it's supposed to be the headliner unless something better happens. But don't burst my bubble.



Learning and Laughs at the Library, Week 3
By Mandi Goforth

It was a jam-packed week at the John F. Henderson Library as the Summer Reading program continued. In a special presentation on Monday, Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom presented “Be A Bug Scout!” Mrs. Allen showed the children the difference between good and bad bugs on a farm and taught everyone a song about the Boll Weevil. Children made homemade bug observers out of plastic cups and tulle and played a special game called, “Farmer, Farmer, What’s On Your Mind?” A very brave parent volunteered for a special part of the program and was outfitted as a cow, complete with udder, multiple stomachs, hooves, horns and a fly swatter tail! A hearty kudos goes out to the courageous mom for being such a good sport. Everyone received a cookie cutter in the shape of our great state for participating.
Toddler Tuesday was, as usual, a treat for babies, preschoolers and parents as the special reader got into a car book with voices and sound effects. The library’s smallest readers were rewarded with treats and a sticker for being such great listeners.
Puppeteer Joann McMillan came on Wednesday to recruit everyone as volunteers in her presentation of “Don’t Bug My Garden!” The entire audience had a role as Mother Nature showed us the four seasons in Susie’s lush garden and helped the purple kitty to find her tail. The show ended as everyone joined a parade to celebrate the caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly. Library patrons received a rare treat as all of the children joined the butterfly and a giant rainbow and promenaded through the library.
Our favorite ventriloquist Gary Owen returned on Thursday to give another side-splitting performance with his animal friends. First was the hilarious Willard, the Wacky, Quacky Duck as he tried really hard to learn his own brand of ventriloquism. Buford T Possum and the exuberantly sneezing Dinodog returned with their jokes and antics, but the newest addition was a little bashful. Sir Thorton J Tortoise, the poet, was convinced to come out of his shell and inspire us with his on-the-cuff prose as Mr Owen randomly picked people from the audience to give their names. Sir Thorton then came up with a rhyming (or not so rhyming—some of the names were hard) poem. Morgan Alverson, 6, had a front row seat. “I liked Sir Thorton the best,” she said with a smile. “He was really funny.” Giggles erupted all over the room as Mr Owen chose volunteers for his human puppet act. Even the Dads in the audience laughed as special voices and jokes came from the unlikely crew. After the show, the children couldn’t decide which part was their favorite. “I liked the Duck. No, I liked the Dinosaur Dog. And the turtle. I liked it all,” Tra Alverson, 9, said. “It made me laugh a lot.”
Next week, be sure to bring your allowance as the Scholastic Book Fair comes to town. The book fair will be held from Tuesday, June 17 through Saturday, June 21 from 10 am to 3 pm every day. Wednesday’s entertainment will be live music, free refreshments, games prizes and more. Join us for “Going Buggy!” and bring your dancing shoes. Don’t miss out on the fun! We’re halfway through, so creep, fly or crawl to the library and ‘Catch the Reading Bug!’


Sunday, June 8, 2008

Blue




Well, it seems like we have the blues. Everyone is sad about something. Chris is blue because he really wanted to pass his exam in FL and move. Well, he didn't and we can't move anyway until we sell the house. I'm blue because I hate doing dishes and they never seem to all get done and I'm behind on laundry and the baby is crawling and I can't keep the floors clean and Ian keeps spraying when he pees in the bathroom so it makes me positively ill when the baby crawls on the floor in there and it's fly season and I can't keep them all out of the house and why do babies always head for trashcans and my list of stuff to do never seems to get done! Clearly, I'm overwhelmed.


Ian is blue because his pool is broken. So I scrubbed out the baby pool (this is Erin's pool now, so it is tiny) and put a bit of water in it (it's tiny, it won't fit that much water in it). He tried to play in it but the water was cold and it was "too small". So he decided to turn the water on by himself and fill it up some more. He just forgot to turn it off and nobody seemed to notice that the water was on until we woke up this morning to find the yard had turned into the new city pond. Buddy was very blue. His favorite napping place is under water. Now we're even bluer because of our upcoming utility bill. Sigh!


Erin is blue because she keeps trying to walk and keeps bumping her head on Everything. And because I won't let her chew on the computer mouse while I'm typing. And her cup is blue and she is looking at me through it, so she looks blue (har har; hey at least I'm attempting humor).


And then Chris asks me "Did you get any laundry done yesterday?" And I gave him The Look. In other words, and he might need this translation as well. Does it LOOK like I did any laundry? I didn't even know he needed laundry done. There aren't any full hampers in the laundry room and my mind reading abilities were accidently severed when I got my wisdom teeth out. So No. I didn't do any laundry yesterday, which is why Chris went to work in a used shirt.


So I have laundry going now, but as Chris said, "It's too late now." I don't know why I'm doing it anyway, if it's too late. I guess I'm not too blue for sarcasm. Eek.


I am also aggravated at myself for not finishing my list of stuff because an important thing is to clean out the stupid potty seat one last time and pack the sucker away! This is needed because Ian thinks it's more convenient for him to pee in it (standing up, mind you) than to pee in the big toilet and then put the lid down so no one knows it has been used. So TWICE now I have gone to pack the thing up and there has been old pee in it. Go ahead, gag away. I have.


So maybe I'm not blue. Maybe I'm yellow. No, the pee is yellow. I'm green. Blue + yellow = green. Whatever. Even my bad jokes are seriously off today.


And the price of BDUs went up. Way up. These are Chris's work pants. Since we are at a police department that pays bare minimum per hour for the officers (uncertified officers make $7/hr) and have no benefits or retirement or anything, it stands to reason that we have to pay for everything pertaining to equipment and uniform. And let's face it: black pants fade. Anyway, it is time to replace the old faded ripped pants with new ones and the price has gone from $20 to $30 a pair, not including shipping. And those are the cheap ones. Chris finally found another kind that are better quality and supposedly last longer and they are $40 a pair, not including shipping. So. Big Sigh. So 1 pair for the price of 2.


I know that I will find plenty of things to laugh and smile about later, but the great thing about writing is that once it's on the page, it's out. Almost like living next door to your mom or your best friend. You go and blast it all out to them and then it's out. It's gone. And you feel better. So now that I've gotten all that out, I guess I'm not so blue any more. Maybe a nice robin's egg blue instead of navy. Definitely better because Erin is standing next to the desk chair, blowing raspberries on my leg. :)

Friday, June 6, 2008

Been Busy!

Well, I've finally gotten past the 50 post mark! And it's June! We've been so busy with the library programs. I had no idea how hard it was to get the kids (and myself) up and fed and cleaned up and ready to go by 10(well, we're supposed to BE there by 10, he he). That's earlier than anything else we normally do (church is at 11; we don't go to Sunday school because the kids are too young to have a class). Doing it three times a week is nothing but challenging. And then we go to the park afterward, so we need hats and sunscreen and drinks too. Whew! But to give you an idea of exactly what's been going on, I'll give you a sneak peek at what will be in the papers here in Westville.

The Reading Bug is Going Around
By Mandi Goforth

It’s officially summertime! The John F. Henderson Library has kicked off its official summer reading program, “Catch the Reading Bug!” Get ready for some fun and excitement in Westville as many of our favorite entertainers return, as well as some new faces. If you’ve just learned about the program, you’ll be disappointed to know that you missed the first day of registration on May 28, where the first 100 kids received a free bug catcher. On May 29, the famously hilarious Teresa T the magicianess came to astound us with her program “Grubs, Slugs, Magical Bugs.” The audience gasped as she used various volunteers to produce boxes of flowers out of an empty paper bag, turned cards into bugs (don’t worry, they were plastic) and the really amazing trick: putting a popped balloon animal into a paper bag, blowing it up and popping it, then pulling the restored balloon animal out of the bag! How did she do that? Well, you might not find out exactly how it was done, but she did have DVDs and magic kits to try for yourself. They’re still on sale, even if you missed the show, at http://www.castlewoodshows.com/. You missed a great show, but don’t worry, there are plenty more to catch before the month is out. For a preview of this week’s special performances, don’t miss Toddler Tuesdays at 10, when a very special volunteer reads books for that energetic little doodlebug in your life. On Wednesday, June 4 the Science Museum of Oklahoma will present Bug Grossology! Maybe we’ll find out that bugs aren’t so gross after all (though some of us may doubt it). On June 5, everyone is invited to Act, Sing and Dance with Kirsten, Queen of Theatre! This sounds perfect for all the little drama kings and queens that are so bored now that school is out. Don’t let them sit at home when they could be learning and growing at the library. Better yet, come along with them, you just might learn to like bugs.

That was last week. To be printed in the near future is:
Let’s All Go Eat Worms
By Mandi Goforth

Where in Westville can you pet a cockroach, see a scorpion with a black light, eat a mealworm and get to be an ant or a grasshopper in spur-of-the-moment theatre? Nowhere else but the John F. Henderson library! This past week’s festivities have been nothing less than life altering. At least for those who were brave enough to eat a baked, buttered, and barbequed meal worm. Samuel, age 8, said it tasted like peanuts. Vivian, 6, wasn’t so sure exactly what it tasted like, but her mother did get a very nifty photo on her camera phone to serve as proof that she tasted it. Most of the adults, however, were more than happy to sit in the back as the Science Museum of Oklahoma presented their “Bug Grossology!” on Wednesday. College aged presenter, Drew, did the talking and holding of bugs while his buddy Blake mixed up a batch of hemolymph, green slimy bug blood for the kids to take home. Everyone got a chance to inspect all of the guest bugs after the presentation, as well as an invitation to the Omniplex in Oklahoma City for Summer Day Camps. If you’re interested in sending your little scientist to the Omniplex for a week of overnight, scientific fun, call 405.602.6664 for more information. Thursday’s entertainment came in the form of Kirsten, Queen of Theatre, complete with crown and scepter. Volunteers were chosen to act out the story of the Grasshopper and the Ants. After the play, Ditzy Daisy came out to read a story, but not without the enthusiastic sound effects of the children. Then it was Sassy’s turn as she got six brave audience members to do a song and dance routine to the old favorite “Let’s All Go Eat Worms.” They also got to eat worms, but to everyone’s relief, they were gummy worms.
Next week’s fun starts with a special program on Monday as Oklahoma Ag in the Clssroom shows us how to ‘Be A Bug Scout.’ Tuesday is Toddler Tuesdays, just for the little ones. Wednesday is not to be missed as puppeteer Joann McMillan brings her Flying Heart Theatre for a showing of “Don’t Bug My Garden!” Thursday, be sure to bring the whole family, even Dad, for a rip-roaring presentation from Gary Owen the ventriloquist. Guaranteed to make the biggest humbug bust a gut laughing, this is family fun at its finest. Come ‘Catch the Reading Bug’ at the library!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Yes ma'am.

Today was another part of the Library's
"Catch the Reading Bug" program and the Oklahoma Science Museum came to teach us about real bugs. The college boys who did the presentation did a great job and everyone learned something. But then Something happened and my self-perception will never be the same.

OK, I know there comes a time in every woman's life when this happens. Sometimes it is funny, and sometimes it is just heartrending. Sometimes you are impressed with the manners of today's kids and sometimes you want to ask them what the big idea is. The fact is--and I'm sort of cringing--someone called me ma'am today. It wasn't a little kid. It wasn't an old person (someone my age or older, that is). It was a college kid! I wanted to shake the guy and say, "Hey! I'm only, what, 5, 6, 8 years older than you! What's up with this?" But I was holding the baby and couldn't do that. So I just stared at him, dumbstruck. I could almost feel my eyes rolling around in my head and my tongue lolling out. With that cartoon "aah-oooooga" sound. He noticed my strange expression because he got that deer in headlights look. That "what did I do?" expression. I stammered out that no one had ever called me ma'am before. He tripped all over himself trying to tell me that it was a habit, blah blah. I told him that I understood, I was from the South. He smiled politely (probably afraid I would go into those "when I was a kid in the South" stories) and quickly busied himself doing anything that would hide him under the table.


I was so upset I did two things that are completely against my nature. I petted a giant cockroach and then I ate a meal worm. Well, it was a library program, after all.