"Don't Lick the Otter!"

People say that kids say the funniest things. However, on Monday at the zoo, I caught myself saying what, out of context, might sound really funny.

We ventured to the north end of the zoo to see the bears, only to find that they were huddled up on a rock asleep. Across from them is a display with otters, and there are 2 gold otter statues nearby. As I'm checking out the otters, Colin wanders over to the statues otters and proceeds to start licking the otter on the nose (what caused that impulse, I'm not sure!)

In a moment of angst, I yell to Colin, "Don't lick the otter," realizing that every kid that has been that way has placed their grimy hands all over the otter.

And guess who got sick the next day? Yup, Mr. golden otter licker. As a parent with a toddler, we wash hands lots, use hand sanitizer, etc, but I guess I needed something more powerful on Monday.

Christmas in January

Due to the crazy weather the last week of school before Christmas, Colin's Christmas program was cancelled. We were fortunate that his preschool re-scheduled the program this past Friday.

What could be cuter than watching a bunch of 2 year-olds sing "This Little Light of Mine?" While one boy screamed to the top of his lungs, the little girl next to him covered her ears in sheer terror...very funny!

Colin stood among his friends the entire time and did some of the signs for the songs. However, during the first song, he kept saying, "No, my mommy, mommy, mommy..." and was pointing to me. I think he was meaning to say, "No, my mommy sings with me," since I sang these songs to him every night for the past month...I have it on video...too funny!

Don't you just love the star headbands? They sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," thus they are wearing stars on their head...We were pleased to get one more wearing out of his red Christmas sweater : )

Big Government Gone Bad

OK, so I don't usually post my views on politics or government issues. I have other priorities in life. But when my other priorities in life collide with Big Government, I have a bone to pick.

Consignment Store Shoppers, read and weap.

So I'm watching the big game tonight with friends and another fellow mommy and savvy consignment shopper is asking what I think about this "Bankruptcy" law going into effect Feb 10...the law about lead paint testing. I guess I've been living under a snow pit for too long and haven't been paying attention, or I've been out Goodwill shopping and haven't been reading the news: Buying clothing and toys is about to get a whole lot more complicated and expensive, depending on the interpretation of this new law.

I am a consignment store momma and actually enjoy sifting the racks of Goodwill for a good clothing bargain. Two weeks ago at Goodwill I found 4 pairs of Gymboree pants from last season (barely worn) and a Gymboree button down shirt from last Christmas all for less than $5 each. It doesn't get any better than that. Cute and cheap is my kind of shopping.

So I'm not sure if consignment stores are all about to have to chunk all of their clothing, but with the frailty of the economy this would be a horrible nail to put into the coffin of the children's consignment clothing store business.

The next time I want the government's opinion on my son's clothing I will ask you, thank you very much. Until then, mind your own business and fix problems that really need fixing!!

Bathroom Update

During our Christmas blizzard, Matt was hard at work indoors, transforming our 2 upstairs bathrooms into a more updated look. We (I mean, Matt), replaced the cabinets, counter tops, mirrors, lights, and paint. It wasn't a full bath remodel but has really freshened up the look of these rooms and I just love my new counters!


Here's the old master counter (I forgot to take a picture before demo; this picture is from '05 when we were having the home inspected, but you get the idea about the 80's white tile counter):

And here's the new cabinets, mirrors, lighting, etc. It really gives the room a whole new feel!:

The Stocking IS the Treasure

Last year I looked high and low for a stocking for Colin and just couldn't find one that I liked. As I was lamenting the lack of great stocking designs on our family blog, Great Aunt Betty came to the rescue! She offered to make Colin's stocking, and she designed one with 2 puppies just as we had wanted.

This Christmas as Colin peered into his stocking for goodies from Santa, I couldn't help but admire and treasure the stocking itself, such a special gift from Aunt Betty. Thanks so much!!

Snow, More Snow

Sledding fun!

Santa Snowman

Our outside tree with lights looked gorgeous under the blanket of snow!

The police cruiser went undercover.

We are finally thawing out here in the Tundra of the PNW, and I thought I'd give a glimpse into what it was like for the past 2 weeks of snow:

It all started the day Matt was in Utah on a business trip with my car at the airport. It had snowed all day and when his 5 hour delayed flight finally made it back to town, he had to navigate some hairy roads and hills to make it home. The interstate hadn't been plowed and it was a mess! Fortunately most people were already home by then and he managed to eek my car into the neighborhood just behind our house, as there was no way he could make it up the hill to our house.

The coming days were a mix of snow off and on, followed by my mom's flight arrival on Monday. On Tuesday, Matt and Colin took the ladies of the house in to Seattle to the Nutcracker. This was our first time to the the PNW Ballet's Nutcracker, and it was great! Seattle roads, especially in Belltown, were just a mess. Seattle refuses to use salt (environmental reasons) or any kind of chemical de-icer, and they use rubber-tipped snow plows. They just considered these past 2 weeks of snow a nuisance that must be tolerated; commuters and drivers considered it a hazard and a nightmare!

It rained Christmas eve over the snow, making the packed snow into a mucky road slush that was even harder to drive through. Rain over snow is a weird phenomenon. and then....

....It snowed here Christmas morning, adding to the white beauty and slush. We were happy to have the snow plow arrive in our cul-de-sac the following morning. It's a rare occasion to have roads groomed even into our neighborhood. It was so helpful, though, as roads were getting difficult and scary to drive before the arrival of the glorious snow plow!

I will always have a lasting memory of the UPS man who deserves kudos for his service to deliver on Christmas eve. He parked half a mile away and trekked through the slush and snow with his hand truck to deliver Christmas packages to us and to others. He traversed up and down hills to get to us and our neighbors on foot. That's more than we can say for USPS, who didn't deliver for the 3 days before Christmas. The next time we see our UPS man he's getting a great big thanks!

Christmas 2008

My mom's flight made it into town on time (can you believe it with all the weather problems?) and we enjoyed having her in town the week of Christmas. The snow was around all week and just kept coming every few days, making for some crazy road conditions. We were so glad to have Matt's 4x4 truck to navigate getting out of our neighborhood and around in un-groomed parking lots.

Colin is a little camera shy; actually, he hates the camera, so this is the best we could do for the Christmas Eve picture after church. He did pretty well sitting in "big boy" church and really enjoyed clapping with the rockin' tunes from the Three Wisemen.

Take a picture quick before I dig into presents, mom! Notice Elliot in the background sneaking behind the tree to get at the curly ribbon, which he just loves, and which makes him so sick!

This was a year of Cars. he just loves everything Cars related, especially McQueen, which he is holding here. He also really likes pirates and has a pirate ship fleet that will have many fun pirate battles. He also enjoyed reading the "Pirates Night Before Christmas" this Christmas season.

After enjoying presents, Dad and Colin headed down the hill to go sledding. Colin enjoyed riding backwards, which is what he and his dad called, "Mater style," since Mater drives backwards in the movie Cars. Remember...all things Cars!