Visit to College Station

Today we took a spontaneous trip to College Station to visit Elizabeth's family. Rod had a brief meeting with a client and we thought we could tag along to visit while he was busy. We went out to Research Park and then to Hensel Park, where we were pleasantly surprised to see our friend Mary (and family) pull up at the same time. After the park we went to dinner at a new (to College Station) gourmet pizza place. Elizabeth will find out the gender of Baby#3 on Thursday morning. Evelyn really wants it to be a girl and finds reasons to tell lots of people about her dilemma as the "only girl cousin."

Look Out for the Dry Spaghetti

Today was a typical Tuesday. Both kids have overlapping soccer practices, so Rod and I shuffle who goes where and who makes the sandwiches for dinner and who gathers the water bottles, etc. etc. Anyhow, although it is not cold like it was last week, there is a certain chill in the air when you spend 2.5 hours sitting outside in the early evening. I bring an outdoor blanket for such occasions. I was sitting on the grass watching Evelyn's practice when the younger son of the coach (3 yr-old little brother of the kiddo on the team) came over to me with a huge grin. He asked (and I am not re-phrasing) "Would you mind sharing your blanket with me?" Of course I did not mind, and he snuggled next to me under the blanket off and on during the practice. At the end of the practice he said "Next time, I am definitely sitting next to you!" I thought that was very polite and rather verbose for a 3 yr-old.

Later in the evening, Evelyn found a full stick of dry spaghetti on the counter that had rolled under the toaster. She scampered off with it and I didn't think anything of it until I was unceremoniously cleaning the downstairs bathroom. In the only remaining toilet paper roll in the basket, I saw 3 small sticks of spaghetti stuck out of the edges of the roll. That is certainly something to be aware of when mindlessly grabbing toilet paper.

The Chicken and the Road

Evelyn and Kenneth were exchanging jokes back and forth for about 20 minutes in the car today. All of the jokes were variations on the chicken crossing the road. I was about to go crazy. A couple of highlights:

Kenneth: "Why did the owl beat the chicken across the road? Because the owl was an owl and the chicken was chicken."

Evelyn: "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because all of the other animals were dead."

Gotta love it.

Valentine's Day Events

I had a parent/teacher conference with Evelyn's teacher today as a mid-year check in. Of course, Evelyn is doing great. She is the only one in her class who got a 100 on the kindergarten math assessment for mid-year and is well-ahead on her reading skills as well. At home, she is sounding out words like 'marshmallow.' She is also a child that can be trusted by the teacher and is very responsible (paraphrasing her teacher's wording here). Evelyn is the only kid in the class who has been assigned the responsibility of going down the hall to pick up the attendance print out and bring it back to her clasroom without horsing around. No surprise there, as she is a big rule-follower.

Because it was Valentine's Day today, the kids exchanged little valentine cards with each other. Evelyn's teacher told me that she had received a special card from a kid named Sean, who "practically worhsips the ground she walks on." That is so cute. Evelyn had always talked about Sean as being someone who bugged her and once attempted to cut off some of her hair. When I asked her about the card, she said, "Yeah. He's my best friend." Best friends change daily, I guess. Now she has a Sponge Bob Valentine card to show for it.

One other quick note: It is interesting because both kids seem to have turned a corner on the next level of who they will become (personality) as they grow up. Kenneth is quickly picking up the hilarious art of sarcasm and is using "bigger" words than he used to--must be from all the reading.

Because it is Wednesday and a pretty awful day to attempt to go out to eat, we chose to make a spaghetti dinner for the family and eat at the house. Rod visited the Upper Crust Bakery today and picked up cinnamon buns, scones, heart-shaped cookies, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Kid in a candy store all grown up (but the desserts were truly fabulous). I went to my standard Wednesday night workout at 7:30 and there were about 10 people there (usually 25-30). If I wasn't attached, I might have gotten mildly depressed when the instructor yelled "I didn't think any women would show up tonight!" ha ha I am in the lame group. On a positive note, the owners left single roses for all the women who did come to classes on V-Day. One of the guys told me that pink roses represent fertility--I'm not quite sure how to respond to such a random comment. I just smiled and said something insipid like "that's cool."

Have a happy Valentine's Day!!

Evelyn's 6th Birthday Party

Evelyn celebrated her 6th birthday with some friends at a local ceramics shop, where the kids were allowed to pick something to paint. The options included things like little cats, purses, dragons, planes, ice cream cones, etc. Every child was well-behaved and they all did a great job painting their chosen ceramic. They will get to pick their masterpiece up later this week, after it has been fired and glazed. Some of the things Evelyn told us: "I feel bigger today." "I'm SOOOOOO excited!!!" She is such a sweet pea.

Carnaval

Rod and I celebrated his 35th birthday by going out to dinner with a couple of friends and then heading over to Carnaval. Carnaval is supposedly the biggest Brazilian celebration outside of Rio, and it was celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. We had a lot of fun dancing and people-watching. Some of the costumes are an excuse to get a little exhibitionist--but that's all I'll say, given that we've got a family blog happening here. One picture is with us at the house before heading out to dinner (Evelyn wanted to jump into the photo) and the other is at Carnaval. Nana watched the kids for us, so we stayed out late.

Celebrate Your Valentine's Breakfast With Us

Evelyn and Kenneth were having a conversation in the car today based on a song Evelyn was singing that had the phrase "Get that quarter back" in it. I have no idea if this is something she made up or if she heard it somewhere. Kenneth's personality is such that if he feels someone isn't 'getting it' he'll pipe in with clarifications. So we get something like this:

Kenneth: "Evelyn, do you even know what a quarterback is?"

Evelyn: "Yes. It's when you throw a quarter over your back."

Kenneth: "No that's not what that means. A quarterback is a guy in football who has a good hand at throwing."

Evelyn: "Well my song is about throwing a quarter over your back. You know when Mom says Chill Pill? You need to be a chill pill."

On a different note, I went to HEB after the kids went to bed. I am now debating doing all of my grocery shopping at night because it was uber-fast, despite all of the re-stocking boxes everywhere. At the end of one aisle was a display of all of the varieties of Quaker Oatmeal with a big sign that said "Celebrate Your Valentine's Breakfast with Us." Who on earth starts Valentine's Day with oatmeal? And even if they did, who would call it a celebration? Maybe I need a chill pill.