A Bit of Praise

It's official!

Taylor's last day of school for the year was yesterday. Woo hoo! Kids all across the schoolyard were chanting, "No more teachers, no more class, just fun and playing in the grass!" I'm sure the teachers had their own version of this chant running through their heads. I can only imagine how theirs goes...

While most of the kids were celebrating and kicking up their heels, Taylor had her arms wrapped around my waist and was trying very hard to keep from sobbing. Even though she returns next year to the same classroom with the very same teacher at the very same school, she was upset about the change and about not seeing her teacher for 10 weeks. Such a sensitive, emotional soul she is.

As always, her wonderful teacher Kelli came to the rescue. Extra hugs, tons of reassurance, patience and understanding. A brilliant and generous idea to give Taylor her home address, phone number and e-mail address, with the sincere invitation to use any (or all) of them whenever she wants to. 5 minutes of magic and Taylor is smiling and playing with her friends instead of spending the next two hours distraught (she has been known to do this at airports and when leaving family get-togethers). Have I mentioned how much I love this woman?

Here's a short list of my reasons why, although the list really does go on and on:

• As my grandma once said, "That woman could teach a pig to howl at the moon." Why attempt to expound upon pure brilliance? :)
• Kelli is the kind of person who loves what she loves with her whole heart. She loves teaching. She loves children. She loves teaching children. She loves teaching my child. And as a parent, I know this is ever constant with her.
  
• Nothing is too much to ask when it comes to my child's learning. Seriously. Confused about Rocket Math? Here's a list of great resources. Let's go over them together. Need more practice materials? Here's a whole folder full. Recommended summer reading? Here's a list of my top100 picks for Taylor. She's never refused a request, never been too busy for questions or explanations.
  
• Kelli has hugs for each kid at the beginning and end of each school day. A personal message for each kid, always positive no matter what, at the end of the day. Exuberant praise. Gentle discipline.
• Kelli invests so much of her own personal time, finances and resources in the classroom. She is committed to providing the optimal environment for her kids to learn and it shows. Her classroom is a visual wonderland. There are hundreds and hundreds of books at all reading levels. Snuggle buddies to read with. Growth charts and lost tooth charts for every kid. Pictures of the kids and their success stories. Fun pencils, wacky erasers, colorful book covers, art displays. All provided by her. A far cry from the austere and often dull schoolrooms I remember from my own schooling. It's wonderful.
  

Taylor has been fortunate enough to experience her first three years in school with some of the most spectacular people. Award winning professionals who are incredibly committed and passionate about what they do. Everyday heroes in the life of a child. Mrs. Bonnema in preschool. Mrs. Johnston in kindergarten. And this year, Mrs. Karst in first grade. Next year will be more of the same--Kelli will be Taylor's second grade teacher. Our string of good fortune continues and we are blessed.

Kristin

Cheese, Glorious Cheese

Taylor and I don't agree often on what to have for supper. A problem, considering we dine together regularly, just the two of us. There is one thing, however, that we always agree on. Parmesan cheese. When we are approaching hour number 2 in the negotiations, I often fall back on a couple of standby recipes that have Parmesan cheese as a main player. Here's one:

Parmesan Puffs

1/4 cup milk
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
In a small heavy saucepan combine the milk, 1/4 cup water, the butter, and the salt and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate, add the flour all at once, and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it leaves the side of the pan and forms a ball. transfer the mixture to a bowl, whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition, and stir in the Parmesan and pepper to taste. Drop the batter in 8 mounds on a buttered baking sheet and bake the puffs in the upper third of a preheated 400°F. oven for 20 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden. The puffs may be served as an hors d'oeuvre or as an accompaniment to soups, meats, and poultry and may be stored overnight in an airtight container.

Makes 8.

Super easy, super fast and the whole house smells like Parmesan cheese and fresh baked bread.
You can have these with almost anything--a bowl of pasta, soup and salad, roasted chicken. You can make a glorious sandwich with them, or on nights when no one is really all that hungry, just put your favorite filling in them and you're done!


Kristin

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

My candid shot of the billionth raindrop. I'll let you figure out which one it is...

I am not one to whine about rain, not usually anyway. I am well past the stage of wishing for something else to show up in the weather forecast though. It has rained for two days straight. We need the rain, but does it have to show up all at the same time? Sigh.

Taylor was blessed with Field Day today, even though the field was really a swamp and after two events you really couldn't tell one mud covered child from another. She was surprisingly tight-lipped about the three-legged race, other than she was able to compete in the event with her BFF Willow and that she did indeed cross the finish line standing up. After her die-hard practicing, this was a surprise, but I didn't push it with 1000 questions. She was far more excited about the Chicken Dance being an actual event for 1st graders. I was impressed as well and wondered exactly how the Chicken Dance is scored in competition. If anyone knows, please fill me in. I'm dying to know!

I have had extra time on my hands this week, what with the holiday weekend and the cessation of volunteer activities at the school. I've been sorting through the many, many photos on our computer's desktop and found a few favorites to share. We took a family vacation to South Dakota during spring break week of this year. Our time there extended from my birthday through the Easter holiday, so lots of celebrating was done. Here are some family candids taken during the Red Hat tea party my mom held at her house on Easter Sunday.

Grandma Lou and Taylor all dressed up for the tea party. Aren't they both beautiful?

In addition to the regular Easter festivities (egg dyeing, egg hunt, Easter baskets, church activities, etc.), my mom planned a Red Hat tea party especially for Taylor. Everyone was required to dress up, don a hat and sip with their pinkies up! It was a barrel of laughs. One of the things I love best about my mom: She always knows how to make time together special and memorable.

My brother, a.k.a. Unkie Doug and his #1 fan.

The party's honoree asks the paparazzi to tone it down a notch. :)

Here is one of my favorite recent pictures of the BooDog. He has visibly aged over the last 18 months, displaying less energy, stiffening up in the back end, loosing neurologic function in his hind quarters and becoming fairly deaf and blind. This picture was taken after a frenzied day of cookie sorting for the Girl Scouts. He's pooped!

What? Not even one little cookie for all of my supervisory efforts? This calls for a nap!

Speaking of Girl Scout activities, earlier this spring Taylor's Brownie troop visited the Ecology Center and learned a little something about the county's raptor program. John was a chaperone parent for this excursion and took some great pics of the birds they have in the recover and release program. The girls were all appropriately awed by the sight of these great birds and through John's pictures I can see exactly why they thought this trip was so cool.

Let the Ice Cream Trials Begin!

Silly snackers!

Our first ice cream making attempt started Friday after school. Taylor and her classmate Mariah came home from school ready and raring to go with the ice cream maker. First they enjoyed a much less exciting snack.

Our first batch of ice cream was Taylor's favorite flavor--mint chocolate chip!

Our first attempt with the ice cream maker did not meet with instant success. Apparently we did not freeze the mixing carafe to a cold enough temperature because the ice cream never really solidified. Sigh. We went to Plan B and put the mixture into a container in the freezer and waited. And waited. And waaaaaiitted. Finally, real ice cream! The girls LOVED IT. I loved it too, especially served up in the fancy schmancy ice cream dishes my mom gave me. Sweet!

Taylor was a little less enthusiastic about the ice cream after waiting for over 6 hours to taste some. Once she took her first bite the smile came back on her face.

After the ice cream excitement on Friday I thought for sure Saturday was going to be a let-down in Taylor's book. Not so! She went with her dad to another play date on Saturday morning, then I took her shopping and to the library in the afternoon. Never underestimate the impact that one brief trip to the Dollar Store can have on a child's life! She bought a purple glitter sword and scabbard (yes, they actually made one with a girl in mind!), squirt guns, a blow-up beach ball, a paddle ball set and Junior Mints with her allowance for the week. Grand total: $5.

She played all afternoon with her newly acquired treasures. Library park was renamed Captain Taylor's Adventure Land, the playground equipment was renamed the S.S. Dragonslayer and if I heard her yell the pirate's standby "Aaargh!" once, I heard it a thousand times. She had an absolute blast. The real find of the day though, was the swim goggles in hot pink. Never being one to stand on ceremony, she decided that it was foolish to wait for a trip to the swimming pool and she tried them out in the shower instead. Goggles big enough for Elephant Man with a strap in the back made for a newborn baby's head. Hmmmmm. Not a great fit, but worth every penny of that hard-earned dollar she spent. You betcha!

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea meet Taylor Anne. Oh, wait, excuse me. Make that Captain Taylor Anne!

Alas, I must go to work over this holiday weekend so most of the fun and games are over, for me at least. It sure was fun while it lasted! As always, our thoughts turn to those our hearts remember this Memorial Day weekend. Loved ones gone. Service men and women now immortal heroes. We hope everyone, family and friends, has a safe and special holiday weekend.


Kristin

Happy Plants

With all the goings on yesterday I thought most of my outside plants and garden beds would be demolished, but not so. Apparently pansies and peas love marble-size hail and 2 inches of rain in under an hour. Once the skies cleared and the weather warnings expired, I went outside to look for any damage that might have occurred. Other than broken branches on the cottonwoods in the back yard not much was harmed. Amazing. If only Windsor, Gilcrest and Platteville had fared half so well...

Our first batch of baby peas this season.

Taylor picked these pansies out. Aren't they gorgeous?

Taylor was bummed that Field Day at her school was canceled for the second year in a row. She was sure that she would have to wait until she was 7 to take a shot at the three-legged race. Was she ever relieved when her gym teacher announced that Field Day is rescheduled for next Tuesday. Whew! She has her fingers double crossed for good weather on Tuesday. She's also trying to practice for the three-legged race--by herself. Wish her luck with that one, won't you? :)

The sting of deferred 3-legging was alleviated by the arrival of the ice cream maker that Grandma Connie and Grandpa Ed sent to us. We are impatiently waiting for the mixing bowl to freeze completely, then we're going to try our first batch! Taylor has requested her favorite, mint chocolate chip, so that will be the inaugural flavor. I sure hope our first batch works out--I don't want to be up until midnight trying to figure all this out. Grandma Lou recently gifted us with the coolest old-fashioned ice cream cups and tall malt/shake glasses. We're going to break those out if we meet with success. Wish us luck!

Kristin

Care For Crab Anyone?

Every month I browse through the latest spectacular images that come from the Hubble Space Telescope. I'm always amazed by what is going on in outer space. Chaos and supreme order paradoxically linked. One of my all-time favorite pics is this one--a mosaic image of the Crab Nebulae.

This Hubble image - one among the largest ever produced with the Earth-orbiting observatory - gives the most detailed view so far of the entire Crab Nebula ever made. The Crab Nebulae is a supernova remnant, an expanding cloud of debris from the death explosion of a massive star. Quite the space bomb! What I know about astronomy is not enough to stick in your eye, but I love it just the same.

Mother Nature can be just as impressive down here on the 3rd rock from the sun. Today she put together a doozy! The weather forecast last night called for cloudy skies and cooler temperatures. No mention of the quarter-size hail, tornadoes (yes, plural), torrential rains and Level 3-4 winds (135 to 200 mph) that hit Fort Collins and surrounding areas earlier today. One tornado touched down 4 miles southeast of our house, in the small town of Windsor. Deaths have already been reported and the destruction is unbelievable. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to be safe and sound in our home.


Kristin

6 Going On 16

Well hello Miss Attitude! Taylor has experienced a recent growth spurt that changed her from happy-go-lucky to happy-go-lucky with some attitude. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes it impresses me and sometimes I experience a spurt of worry. How much longer until I am completely unable to verbally outspar my daughter? Next week?

Here's Miss Sassy on her way to school. We were running a bit late (which is rather difficult to do when you live across the street from the school) and she was bound and determined not to miss the bell. Without pausing in her forward march she says, "You two need to get with the program!" Hmmmm.... wonder where she got that one from?
I was annoyed and amused simultaneously.

The end-of-the year party for Taylor's Brownie troop was held yesterday. The girls had a wonderful time playing outside, eating pizza and enjoying ice cream treats on a very hot day. The fun was in jeopardy for a short while--Pizza Guy was late! After asking several times where he could possibly be, Taylor piped up with her solution: "Give me that phone Mom! I'll put a burn under that pizza guy's rear!" I couldn't help it, I laughed. I made sure to follow up the laughing with a mild reprimand. Wouldn't want anyone to think that I encouraged such sass. :)

A supremely self-confident smirk.

Taylor also picked up her prizes for her cookie selling efforts earlier in the year. Among the loot was a star-spangled pink journal with a matching pen--an instant favorite. She decided it would be her Girl Scout journal and promptly sat down at home to compose her first entry. Here it is in its entirety, 'correct' spelling and all:

Chapter One: There are lotes of thinges you showd know if you have a sole in your harte. Love, care, frendship and confidens. You should know all this so peple care for you too! You shoud remember love. Caring for you is most impertint. That's it.

Taylor

Chapter Two: MY DAY. My day is good all the time. Well, not all the time. Sume times we get what we get. Taylor

I can't wait to see what gems will appear in Chapter Three. :)


Kristin

What a Weekend It Was...

We had nothing planned for this past weekend. Literally nothing. The 3 of us had two complete days off together and the plan was to do, well, nothing. Unless something came up. Funny how life happens when you're not paying attention. Here's the short and sweet version for all of us:

Taylor

• Book Fair 1/2 off Sale! Can you say 1/2 off everything? The end of the year book sale at Taylor's school was awesome. We now have chapter books coming out of our ears--no, wait--make that CHEAP chapter books coming out of our ears. And bendy pencils. And cool bookmarks. Love, love, love it!
• Summer Reading Program at the FC Public Library. We have done this the past two summers and thought it was simply wonderful. We signed up again this year and Taylor is tickled pink that she's beating mom (so far!) in time spent reading.
  
• Bling Bling for Tay Tay. We switched cell phone service providers this past week and the phones came on Friday. Taylor received a free phone as part of the package and is now head over heels in love with it. Pink, sparkly and super cute. She now has her own direct line to all the grandparents. Long distance love just got a little quicker. :)
• First Ever Sleepover. Taylor has reached the age when sleepovers are the coolest thing ever. And parents aren't. At least not like they used to be! Taylor spent the night at a friend's house on Thursday (no school on Friday--woo hoo!) and had an absolute blast. Pizza, banana splits, chocolate, staying up until midnight, playing video games and having pillow fights. Taylor had the time of her life. Her mother drove home from dropping her off and sat in the car in the driveway and cried.
  
• Block Wide Birthday Bash. Taylor's classmate, good friend and our neighbor had his birthday party on Saturday. Fun was had by everyone, adults included. Grills, squirt guns and birthday cake. Who can ask for more than that? It was a gorgeous day and a perfect one for a block wide water fight.
  
• Single Digit School Days Left. Need I say more? 9 days left until summer vacation!

John

• Payment Free Driving. We paid the Durango off on Friday! For the first time in our married life we have no car payment. Of course, being the cynics we are, we are wondering how long this bliss will last. For now the Gas Hog is ours, every square inch of it, and it still runs!
  
• Shocking News. After waiting for months (and months) to replace the shock absorbers on the Durango, John was finally able to get the deed done. A suggestion to all: Don't wait until 90K+ miles have racked up on your odometer to get your shocks replaced. You are not responsible for keeping your chiropractor in business single-handedly. With the new shocks on board we now joke about 'going for a glide' in the truck. :)
  
• Unshackled and Free. John was able to have a 'free' night out on the town to celebrate a co-worker's birthday. No short-sleep syndrome the next morning because Taylor did not have school and no one needed to be anywhere at the butt-crack of dawn. Priceless.
• The Check Is Here! Our economic stimulus check arrived in the bank on Friday--a very pleasant surprise. We are hoarding it in a futile attempt to have four digits to the left of the decimal in our bank account for longer than one day. A purely delusional (but harmless) amusement for us. In reality, John gets to go shopping for lawn mowers.

Kristin

• Welcome to the 21st Century. As I mentioned earlier, we switched cell phone service and I am now making a concerted effort to join the rest of humankind. I've had a cell phone for 8+ years and have used said phone about as many times. I really may as well have not had one at all. But no more! On my new phone I have programmed my contacts page, figured out how to use the camera and sent my very first text message. Look out world! Kristin is phoned and dangerous!
  
• Gardening Glutton I spent all of yesterday playing in the dirt. Very cool. I shall prevent redundancy by referring you to my previous post below.
• Unexpected Solitude. After I finished crying in the car on Thursday p.m. I found myself with a large stretch of unexpected solitude. John at work, then sleeping the next day. Taylor gone from home overnight. This is where the doing nothing portion of the weekend couched itself. Strange how one glorious person entering your life (Taylor) can make you forget what solitude was ever like. I caught myself taking a breath in to call her name but she wasn't there. What to do? After tripping through a few minutes of uncertainty, I decided to enjoy every minute of my time alone until Taylor came back home. I surfed for music on the web, switched blog sites (Hello Blogger!), browsed the book store at my leisure, painted, called a friend or two and went for a midnight drive. Alone. By myself. Like I used to before my first name became Mom. And wouldn't you know it? In just a few short hours by myself, I gained an even deeper appreciation for her and how much she brings to my life.
  

Life resumed as usual today. Errands to run, appointments to keep, school and work. Don't know when the next uninterrupted weekend will happen for us, but if it's anything like this one I know I'll enjoy every single minute of it.

Kristin

Good Day For Gardening

Wow! What a great day to be outside in Fort Collins. 85 degrees, a little breeze, dirt and plants up to my knees. I spent the better part of this afternoon transplanting the rest of my vegetable starts into their final containers and raised beds. After weeks and weeks of waiting, it's officially outdoors time for the container plants!

Taylor was my right-hand man, officially in charge of the garden hose and water buckets. Even at almost-seven she can amuse herself for hours with the hose sprayer attachment and its many settings. According to her research today the 'jet' setting is best for target practice, the 'shower' setting fills the buckets up the quickest and the only setting you want to use when pointing the hose at yourself is 'mist'. I'm sure you can figure out how she determined that pearl of wisdom. :)

Taylor's top choice for the flower garden.

I haven't always been as gung-ho about gardening as I am these days. It used to be a small miracle for me to keep any kind of plant alive for more than a week. I can't even begin to count all of the houseplants that have died under my watch. A little knowledge can go a long way in the plant world though, as evidenced by how well my African Violet plants are doing. My mom gave me two little slips in dirt last summer and now they are growing like crazy. We'll see how long I can keep it up...

Kristin

Denver Zoo Free-For-All

Aaaahhhhh. A day at the zoo. Imagine a beautiful spring day spent with eager-to-learn first grade kids. One of these eager learners is your very own child and you get to spend the day with her enjoying some of the wonders of the animal kingdom. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? A little sunscreen, a sack lunch, a cute spring outfit and we're ready to go!

Now add a few details. Make that 65 first grade kids (to be exact) and include a 65 minute bus ride to the zoo and back. Hmmm. Well, okay, still pretty good. I haven't been on a school bus since the state track meet my senior year in high school, but hey, it might just be fun!

Then consider that this trip to the zoo with the 65 first graders will also include twenty volunteer parents (I am one of the twenty), 3 teachers and one very controlling bus driver. Add in an itinerary that requires viewing 20+ exhibits at the zoo, snack time, lunch time and a very firm departure time. All of this needs to occur without incident in exactly 2.5 hours. All 89 persons attending this function back to the bus at 12:45 sharp! Yes sir! If you are like me, your palms are beginning to get a little sweaty. But you think to yourself, "I can handle this! I'm a big girl and I've got my big girl undies on today!"

Then you arrive at the zoo only to make the ugly realization that all of the above things will happen during the busiest day of the zoo's history, also known as School Day 2008 at the Denver Zoo. Your group of 65 +20 +3 +1 is joining approximately 5,000 other school groups 50-80 people strong from across the state. You all have the exact same itinerary, time frame and resources to get your kids through the zoo and back to the bus. At this point, I started dry-heaving (just a little), but tried to hide it well by pasting a smile on my face.

The undercover dry heaving turned to audible retching when I was told that I would be escorting several other kids through the zoo on this field trip. Two of the girls did not speak English--Spanish was their first language. One of the boys frequently experienced a low frustration threshold, meaning he often pinched and punched himself when he was overstimulated. I'm not kidding. We started late, arrived late, but need to leave ON TIME. Now only 2 hours to complete the Herculean tasks assigned, plus learn conversational Spanish and master behavior control methods for 7-year olds.

What the....?!?!?!?! Are these people insane? Is this some cruel joke? Why didn't anyone mention ANY of this before? This is ridiculous! Etc., etc.

I'll be honest. I don't remember the first 10 minutes after we arrived at the zoo.

I won't go into detail about the next two hours of my life. I can't. The wounds are still too fresh. Let's just say that I prayed more in those 2 hours than I ever have at any other point in my life. I developed blisters on my feet. I was taught by a 7-year old girl how to say ' Put your pants back on!' and ' Stop taunting the 2,000 pound gorilla!' in Spanish. I now have a deep appreciation for the many uses of bribery. I can lie to a child straight-faced and not feel the least bit guilty. But I will have you know that we weren't late getting back to the bus. Someone lost a shoe, someone else was still hyperventilating after having watched a boa constrictor eat an already dead rabbit and several of us were hypoglycemic. But we made it. Without throwing up.