Mother's Day "It's Not Really Tea Mom" Tea

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a special Mother's Day Tea at Betsy's preschool.  Although, as she kept reminding me, "It's not really going to be tea, Mom, because we're just kids."  I assured her that pretend tea was fine, too.

She greeted me at the door with a rainbow colored tissue paper flower and led me to my seat.  The teachers explained how the children had done all the work themselves, from cleaning the classroom to setting the table and arranging flowers in vases.  Betsy beamed as she poured me a cup of lemonade and served me a fruit kabob that she had assembled and a cup of "dirt" with a gummy worm in it.

Next to my plate and napkin was a sheet of Little Known Facts About My Mommy.  Here's me, according to my eldest:

Age: 41

Hair Color: Brownish black

Height: 1 1/2 feet

Weight: 100 (Apparently another student wrote 5 million pounds.  Oof.)

Hobbies: Read and play with me and Abigail

Favorite Food: Bok choy

Mommy's Job: To keep me and Abigail safe and play with me and Abigail

Why She Loves Me: Because she likes what I do and because I chase after Abigail

Thank you Betsy, and thank you teachers, for a most lovely morning.  I will treasure it always.

The Volunteer Farm: Planting

I wish I'd published these pictures earlier, but this way you'll get to see the full cycle.  Today, images from The Volunteer Farm in Woodstock, VA, back in June.  This is a great organization that has provided literally tons of fresh produce to area food banks, filling a real need (and real bellies) in our community.

We were part of a group from St. Matthew's that went to help with planting.  Can you guess what was in the back of that truck?

Happy Things

The card reader is in little pieces, so we'll have text-only posts for a while I suppose.

Here is a list of things that make us happy, assembled by me and Betsy, in no particular order.  See if you can guess whose are whose.

Cuddling with Nina (the cat) in the couch or on my bed
Chocolate soy milk, in coffee or all by itself
Making leaf piles
Eating pumpkin cookies
Singing lullabies
Doing puzzles
Looking at the fish
Looking the birds Becca is crocheting
Nice warm weather so we can play outside
Playing in the snow, too
Playing with Abigail
Playing with other friends
Playing by myself, too
Cleaning up a little bit of the house
Reading the Little House books together
Watching movies

The First Stream of the Little Fishy in Maine

The First Stream of the Little Fishy in Maine

by Betsy (mostly) and Rebecca (a little)

Me and my mommy and daddy and sister were in a submarine. And me, Betsy. And we didn't see the fishy.

There was a big storm at our house in Maine because we were at the beach together.

That was fun, because me and my sissy had fun playing in the waves. Can't you imagine playing at that kind of thing?

The little fishy did not know what to do so I ran back home to the bathroom and got my bucket and got it full of water and then I quickly got the fishy because there was a big wave coming at it. I got it right in time. And I got its family and the baby. And then we got in our car and we went back home to put the fish in the fish tank.

I saw a stream, the first little stream that I have ever seen in my whole life. I got my dad's net and I filled the bucket with water and my dad helped me to get the lid off the fish tank. And then I [on back of page] got out the door quickly before it rained. I put the fishy in the first little stream.

I hope you enjoyed this book.

The End.

First Day of FOURS

By Betsy

I liked my first classroom of the fours, because I made a new friend, and she was with me for a while. We're best friends. And this was not like the three-year-old class because everyone got to have a job. My job was to do the calendar. We first counted it, and then I got to put up the next number. I love my best friend because we first finished up filling up our buckets when we came back on the playground. I found a really pretty one because it was star-shaped and it was golden.

Daddy and Mommy and sissy dropped me off at school. I love, love, love my school because it's the best school in the whole wide world.

Getting to Know Your Preschooler

The questionnaire the preschool should have sent home. A collaborative mother/preschooler effort.

If given the opportunity to decorate a room, which of the following would your child choose? Check all that apply:
Raincoats
A real unicorn
A bag of muddy water
Cat food
A star light
Lots of pictures of family
Streamers
A giant slide
A car

Which of the following would your preschooler like on her or his sandwich? Check all that apply:
Turkey
Cheese
Sprinkles
Pizza
A pen
Salami
A cookie
Mayo
Hot dogs
Milk and orange juice
Plain bread only
Sandwich? I wish. My kid only eats ___________.

Please name all of your child's imaginary friends, enemies, siblings, children, students, etc. Circle the ones with whom your child is current happy. Draw a black square around the ones with whom your child is currently unhappy/fighting. Use back of sheet if necessary.

Your child's interests/talents: baking dirt cakes__ singing to animals__ getting into other people's makeup__ puzzles__ asking why__ snack time__ going to bed__ feigning illness or injury__ domination of siblings__ making siblings laugh at inappropriate times (i.e. in church, during critical conversation at doctor's office)__ building elaborate cities__ caring for dolls__ riding bike or scooter__ performance art__

When is your child's birthday? Recognizing that plans may change daily, what does he or she want to do for his or her party? What did he or she want to do yesterday?

Similarly, noting that this will likely change, as of today, what does your child wish to be for Halloween?

Which of the following is your child begging to have as a pet?
Cat
Dog
Horse
Shark or Shark With Lasers
Bunny
Mouse
Dancing Underpants
Dinosaur

Your child has been asked to pack a bag for a day at the beach. Which of the following would she or he not include in this bag?
Swimsuit
Towel
Bag of small princesses
Snow boots
Slightly smooshed banana
Flip flops
Flashlight
Several heavy books
A sassy scarf

Is there anything else you think we should know about your child? What would your child have us know about you?

Happy Birthday Daddy

Happy Birthday, Dad. The picture on the blog is for you, Daddy. The picture is a tornado and I hope you enjoy your picture. Thank you for making tornadoes with me. Happy Birthday.

Love,
Betsy

Return to Manassas: All Signs Point to Yes

On the heels of our last adventure at Manassas National Battlefield Park, we decided to return, this time with the National Parks Passports, and with Matthew. If you have ever traveled with Matthew, you will know that he is very interested in reading the signs. All the signs.

And when a sign says "interpretive," he'll do a little interpretive dance, that's what.

Okay, this has nothing to do with signs. I just love the way Abigail has hooked her arm over his. It's one of those sweet little things that she does all the time now so we take it for granted. And yet someday she will be too big for the ring sling and this time will be long gone. I'm trying to capture more of those ordinary moments that we love so much.

Also, we really love signs. Wow! Look at all of that informative information! (Photo by Betsy)

Also, it rained a little.

But we did finally get Abigail's parks passport stamped, and with all four stamps available at this park. Who knew?

Hot Enough?

The current outdoor air temperature is 105, with a heat index of 116. "This would be an excellent educational opportunity," I thought, "to see if it is hot enough to cook an egg in the car, and to talk about science experiments." Here is Betsy's account of our attempt.

"We tried to cook a egg in the car but it just didn't work. Our theory was that it would cook. We put it in a pan and we put it in the car, and then after that, we checked on it but it wasn't ready. We left it for hours and hours and hours*. And then it was ready.** We took it out of the car and then we ate it.***"

*Actually 20 minutes.
**The white solidified in a few small places, but the egg didn't cook.
***No we didn't.

Now she's coming up with other things to try to cook in the car. Uh-oh.

How to Keep Your Pants Dry

How to keep your pants dry is you pee in the potty and you poop in the potty .

Love,
bet tsy

Chipmunk Cucuface Dragon

by Betsy

Once upon a time me and my mommy found a chipmunk outside the kitchen. He lives in a little hole in the mulch. He popped his little head out so I named him Poppy. We gave him sunflower seeds. He has black and white stripes and his body is brown. He is little. He is not a skunk. I watched him by being in the house and staying still like a statue. I love him so much.

Once upon a time I found a little dragon with my kids at the park. And he flied down to us and we named him Custard because he loved mustard sandwiches. He eats everything that likes to eat little people. A little duckling found the dragon because it was lost. It didn't have a nest. And then my friend Cucuface came out and found the duckling. The end.

Ed. note: Only one of these is true. Can you tell which?

Preschool Marigolds

By Betsy, transcribed by Becca

I planted my marigolds at school. They were seeds and I planted them in a little plastic cup but then they grew out of it so we planted them into the black pot. The black pot is on our porch. Now they are starting to bloom. I love my marigolds because they started out not pretty and then they turned into different colors.

Thoughts on the Last Day of Preschool

By Betsy, transcribed by Becca

I'm sad that we have to leave, because it's the best preschool of all. And if anyone comes to it with me and N to Vacation Bible School, come to this school. It's my favorite, favorite school in the whole entire world.

I love my teachers Mrs. O and Mrs. D because they taught us about dinosaurs and when dinosaurs drink soda they die and then they leave their whole bones attached. I love them so much that I feel like I'm gonna cry but I'm not going to cry.

On S's birthday we had cupcakes and on the last day of preschool we celebrated the school because of having popsicles for the snack at the 3-year-old class, because it's for 4-year-old Betsy.

We drawed with chalk. We took a class picture. We painted with car wheels and we painted with marbles and we painted with bottles and we painted with books (we just flipped over the book two times and three times and four times).

My favorite toys were cars, and princesses, and kitchen, everything. When we went up to chapel and sang "This Little Light of Mine" today, a grown-up used a real candle. I like "Wake Up Warm Up" so much that I jump so wide. I love my mommy. Mrs. O and Mrs. D, I'm glad that it's the last day of school because I want to be in the 4-year-old class and I can still visit Mrs. O and Mrs. D because I can go to their house.

Superhero Bunnies

Betsy has been making Easter cards, with a little help from me. Although the basic template is the same, I enjoy that each has evolved into its own little scene, complete with sequin eggs, artful belly button placement (look for one in the middle of a forehead), and occasional backstory.

The artist discusses her work below.


"This bunny has a basket in his paw, and his key for opening up the front doors to get in. Also, there's a spider. No no, not a spider. It's a sun. The writing at the top says Betsy."



For the one on the left: "One is happy and one's sad. Because they don't like their home. Well, one does and the other doesn't. This one [the smiling one] says 'You are the bestest.' The sad one is saying 'I want Mama.'"

For the one on the right: "It has seven eyes because it's a giant alien bunny and it can fly up in space and hide Easter eggs up there. For the aliens."


For the one on the left: "She's a girl. She has one colored ear because she's an alien. She's my favorite."

For the one on the right: "They're both happy and I like their homes. I love them. They were the bestest bunnies of all because they were superhero bunnies. They can hide the eggs really fast and then they zoom away."

Springtime is the Best

We took a walk to the flowers. Meet our plant neighbors!

Love,
Betsy

There was a scary dog on the other side of the fence. We could take a picture anyways.


The beautiful white flowers are the best, and I love them so much.


Yellow is my favorite color.


We took a picture with a camera.

Most of this tree fell down in the snow. But this part is doing good.

Springtime is the best.

-Betsy

This was a fun mother-daughter project, walking around the neighborhood, cameras in hand, seeking things blooming. The best kind of treasure hunt. Then we worked together, editing images and deciding which to post. Betsy enjoys going to "our blog" and looking at the pictures we took.

-Becca

We Went Hiking

By Betsy, Transcribed by Becca

We went to the playground. We played there and we played Princess and the Frog. And I also stomped in puddles. My shoes turned brown and I sang, "I love my brown shoes.*" And then I looked at my mom and I said, "Let's go on the balance beam, please, pleasy please cheese." We also saw signs and fun stuff to play with. I found a walking stick in a log. We saw white and blue flowers. And also a stick. I love you family.

*The song Pete the Cat sings in the book of the same title when his shoes get muddy.