wittle wamb
wittle wamb
Mary had a wittle wamb
wittle wamb
wittle wamb"
OVER AND OVER AND OVER...
Nursery Rhymes
"Mary had a wittle wamb,
wittle wamb
wittle wamb
Mary had a wittle wamb
wittle wamb
wittle wamb"
OVER AND OVER AND OVER...
wittle wamb
wittle wamb
Mary had a wittle wamb
wittle wamb
wittle wamb"
OVER AND OVER AND OVER...
Sparkly balls
The boys were very proud...
You can check out our shutterfly account if you want to see more tree trimming fun.
Love and blessigns.
You can check out our shutterfly account if you want to see more tree trimming fun.
Love and blessigns.
Curtains
I went upstairs to wake Wy up from his nap. There he was snuggled up in the curtains over Jack's bed.
5
Jack wrote the number 5 on the wall by his bed.
I made him take it off the wall with a magic eraser.
I made him take it off the wall with a magic eraser.
A less than stellar week...
Well, we had some rough times this week...
After school one afternoon this week Jack asked me to help him write a note. I helped him spell the name of the person he was writing to and then I got distracted. When I returned a few minutes later Jack had gotten as far as "I am sor" he needed help writing sorry. I helped him spell the word and asked what was going on. He let me know that he got into an argument with one of his friends at school over a toy and he told his friend "I'm not your friend anymore!" Before I jumped his case, I helped him finish his letter and we talked a little bit about saying things that hurt people's feelings.
A few days later Jack got into an argument with one of his cousins and he said "When I grow up, I'm going to get a gun and kill you." I was at work when this happened so I asked him to tell me about what happened. He refused to say anything. I finally asked why he wouldn't tell me what happened and he said he didn't want to say because he didn't want to go to his room. Well, he spent the evening in his room and before bedtime we talked again about saying things that are mean and hurtful.
The day after that Wyatt got mad at one of the girls and he flipped her the bird. I mean he used one hand to hold down all the fingers on his other had except ye olde middle finger. We had to have a little talk about how that is a hurtful and naughty thing to show to someone else. I know he doesn't know what it means, but he obviously knew it was a mean thing to do when you are upset with someone else...
And so it goes...
Wish us a better week.
After school one afternoon this week Jack asked me to help him write a note. I helped him spell the name of the person he was writing to and then I got distracted. When I returned a few minutes later Jack had gotten as far as "I am sor" he needed help writing sorry. I helped him spell the word and asked what was going on. He let me know that he got into an argument with one of his friends at school over a toy and he told his friend "I'm not your friend anymore!" Before I jumped his case, I helped him finish his letter and we talked a little bit about saying things that hurt people's feelings.
A few days later Jack got into an argument with one of his cousins and he said "When I grow up, I'm going to get a gun and kill you." I was at work when this happened so I asked him to tell me about what happened. He refused to say anything. I finally asked why he wouldn't tell me what happened and he said he didn't want to say because he didn't want to go to his room. Well, he spent the evening in his room and before bedtime we talked again about saying things that are mean and hurtful.
The day after that Wyatt got mad at one of the girls and he flipped her the bird. I mean he used one hand to hold down all the fingers on his other had except ye olde middle finger. We had to have a little talk about how that is a hurtful and naughty thing to show to someone else. I know he doesn't know what it means, but he obviously knew it was a mean thing to do when you are upset with someone else...
And so it goes...
Wish us a better week.
Justus Drugstore
So John and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on Thanksgiving day. We knew we wanted to do something special for just the two of us and decided on going out for a grown up fancy dinner at a fancy grown up restaurant.
We narrowed our search down to two places; The Skies and Justus Drugstore. The Skies is a revolving roof top restaurant in mid/downtown KC. Yes I did say revolving. The outer walls are all glass so you can watch the KC skyline slowly pass by as you enjoy dinner and drinks. The Justus Drugstore is a tiny little place in Smithville. I know a few folks who have eaten there and one of my friends said "The food was so good I wanted to cry."
I put the final decision in John's hands and left the reservations up to him. John looked at their websites and decided on Justus Drugstore. (You can check them out at http://www.drugstorerestaurant.com/justus.php?id=1)
The GM seated us and asked if we had ever been there before. She explained how everything was made to order, on the spot and using all local ingredients. She then told us we might want to order a few courses as we would be there a while. She wasn't kidding. From placing our orders to drinking our complimentary Thai Basil infused champagne after dinner - we were there for three hours. I have never been anywhere for dinner for more than an hour or so and much of that was talking AFTER dinner. Not so at the Justus Drugstore my friends...
They started us off with a house made potted goose served over crostini with greens and diced onions. It was a small little mouthful of absolute heaven. Then we shared their Farmer's Platter which included "wild persimmon seed spiced rabbit terrine" topped with mustard seed something. Then there was the house made chicken sausage (which was as tender as a cloud), house smoked Berkshire bacon, the most amazing olives I have ever eaten, bone marrow mousse (I wouldn't say the mousse was heaven but it was very good and I couldn't stop talking about it being bone marrow.) In the middle of the plate was a large dollop of warm soft cheese topped with grilled onions and served with toast points which was utterly delightful. Last but not least, there were house made potato chips - OK, OK, they were called gaufrette potato - but they were tres yummy paper thin potato chips.
Then came our Goat Cheese Salads. People, this "wild blackberry jam stuffed, house cured Berkshire bacon wrapped, local goat cheese, crostini, shallot white wine vinaigrette, mixed greens, apple" salad had me sitting at the table able to do nothing more than put another bite in my mouth and tell John that I was going to cry. This concoction was so amazing that I changed my Facebook status to read that I was going to run off with Mr. Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese.
For Dinner, John ordered the Newman Farm Berkshire Pork 2 ways: grilled pork rib eye, fall spice pork shoulder sausage, house made dry vermouth/foraged Autumn Berry sauce, barley/chestnut risotto, white wine shallot white shard. And I must say that the rib eye with the sauce was so good I was nearly senseless.
I ordered the Autumn Striper Bass which was a "pan seared hybrid bass filet, tomato onion chard/olive compote, mushroom, exotic spices, saffron rice, frisee." I learned that saffron rice is not one of my favorite things, but it complimented my amazing piece of fish so well that I ate every bite (and then some of John's!)
Now, John is not a dessert fan, but he decided he wasn't going to pass up dessert on our special day at such a fancy place. John ordered the Mint Chocolate Decadence. I don't have the menu and I don't see the desserts on their website so I can only say it was a 3 inch tall piece of layered cakes with a ganache? There was a glass of mint infused milk topped with chantilly and a large thin wedge of milk chocolate accompanying the milk. There was also a rose hips infused mint chocolate sauce drizzled on the plate along side the cake. Delightful.
My Blueberry Crumble was insanely amazing. A lemon chantilly topped with a riduculously, insanely delicious house made basil ice cream and nestled between two thin wedges of what tasted like very dense blueberry muffin and served with a lemon something I have no idea how to pronounce let alone spell - but it all sent me to heaven.
Did I mention that the GM brought us complimentary glasses of Thai Basil infused Reisling after dessert? It was A-MA-ZING.
Is there anything left to say? Well, I say, if you have anything to truly celebrate - RUN, do not walk to the Justus Drugstore in Smithville. (And it wouldn't hurt to have a reservation.)
Oh - And Happy, Happy Anniversary John. I love, love, love you.
We narrowed our search down to two places; The Skies and Justus Drugstore. The Skies is a revolving roof top restaurant in mid/downtown KC. Yes I did say revolving. The outer walls are all glass so you can watch the KC skyline slowly pass by as you enjoy dinner and drinks. The Justus Drugstore is a tiny little place in Smithville. I know a few folks who have eaten there and one of my friends said "The food was so good I wanted to cry."
I put the final decision in John's hands and left the reservations up to him. John looked at their websites and decided on Justus Drugstore. (You can check them out at http://www.drugstorerestaurant.com/justus.php?id=1)
The GM seated us and asked if we had ever been there before. She explained how everything was made to order, on the spot and using all local ingredients. She then told us we might want to order a few courses as we would be there a while. She wasn't kidding. From placing our orders to drinking our complimentary Thai Basil infused champagne after dinner - we were there for three hours. I have never been anywhere for dinner for more than an hour or so and much of that was talking AFTER dinner. Not so at the Justus Drugstore my friends...
They started us off with a house made potted goose served over crostini with greens and diced onions. It was a small little mouthful of absolute heaven. Then we shared their Farmer's Platter which included "wild persimmon seed spiced rabbit terrine" topped with mustard seed something. Then there was the house made chicken sausage (which was as tender as a cloud), house smoked Berkshire bacon, the most amazing olives I have ever eaten, bone marrow mousse (I wouldn't say the mousse was heaven but it was very good and I couldn't stop talking about it being bone marrow.) In the middle of the plate was a large dollop of warm soft cheese topped with grilled onions and served with toast points which was utterly delightful. Last but not least, there were house made potato chips - OK, OK, they were called gaufrette potato - but they were tres yummy paper thin potato chips.
Then came our Goat Cheese Salads. People, this "wild blackberry jam stuffed, house cured Berkshire bacon wrapped, local goat cheese, crostini, shallot white wine vinaigrette, mixed greens, apple" salad had me sitting at the table able to do nothing more than put another bite in my mouth and tell John that I was going to cry. This concoction was so amazing that I changed my Facebook status to read that I was going to run off with Mr. Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese.
For Dinner, John ordered the Newman Farm Berkshire Pork 2 ways: grilled pork rib eye, fall spice pork shoulder sausage, house made dry vermouth/foraged Autumn Berry sauce, barley/chestnut risotto, white wine shallot white shard. And I must say that the rib eye with the sauce was so good I was nearly senseless.
I ordered the Autumn Striper Bass which was a "pan seared hybrid bass filet, tomato onion chard/olive compote, mushroom, exotic spices, saffron rice, frisee." I learned that saffron rice is not one of my favorite things, but it complimented my amazing piece of fish so well that I ate every bite (and then some of John's!)
Now, John is not a dessert fan, but he decided he wasn't going to pass up dessert on our special day at such a fancy place. John ordered the Mint Chocolate Decadence. I don't have the menu and I don't see the desserts on their website so I can only say it was a 3 inch tall piece of layered cakes with a ganache? There was a glass of mint infused milk topped with chantilly and a large thin wedge of milk chocolate accompanying the milk. There was also a rose hips infused mint chocolate sauce drizzled on the plate along side the cake. Delightful.
My Blueberry Crumble was insanely amazing. A lemon chantilly topped with a riduculously, insanely delicious house made basil ice cream and nestled between two thin wedges of what tasted like very dense blueberry muffin and served with a lemon something I have no idea how to pronounce let alone spell - but it all sent me to heaven.
Did I mention that the GM brought us complimentary glasses of Thai Basil infused Reisling after dessert? It was A-MA-ZING.
Is there anything left to say? Well, I say, if you have anything to truly celebrate - RUN, do not walk to the Justus Drugstore in Smithville. (And it wouldn't hurt to have a reservation.)
Oh - And Happy, Happy Anniversary John. I love, love, love you.
Kinder Thanksgiving Feast
John and I managed to slip away from work Tuesday afternoon to attend Jack's Kinder Thanksgiving Feast and 'play'. The kids were pretty adorable dressed in their Pilgrim and Native American costumes. Jack and I thought we would include one of the little skits for you:
T is for Thanksgiving!
Here is a Turkey with his tail spread wide!
T is for Thanksgiving!
Here is a Turkey with his tail spread wide!
He sees the Framer coming
And he tries to hide.
He runs around the barnyard; wobble, wobble, wobble.
Talking Turkey talk; gobble, gobble, gobble!
You can see a bit more of Jack's Kinderfeast presentation by following the link to our shutterfly page and selecting Kinderfeast 2010! http://owenlandparkproductions.shutterfly.com/
Love, Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!
You are GOING to like it!
Wyatt - again playing with his trains - said "OK - withen up! You have a new coupwing and you are GOING to wike it!" (This is a little metal hair barrette he snagged from a stash of my mom's craft supplies.)
Penguins
Bath time is always fun until it is time to wash the hair. We have finally gotten to the point where Jack is not afraid of having his hair washed, but Wyatt is still a battle. Wy is another story. He is worried about getting water in his face, but he is freaked out about getting water in his ears. We have a wonderful little thing called a shampoo rinse cup. (See the link for a picture) http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=442788
This thing really helps to keep the water out of their eyes - IF - and I mean if the kids cooperate. It doesn't help keep the water out of Wy's ears and today I had a revolutionary idea: I asked Jack to cover Wy's ears with his hands. Between the two of us we managed to wash Wy's hair with not one freak out moment. It was fantastic! Thanks, Jack!!! And thanks to Wy for trusting us with his eyes and ears!
The boys used to hate getting out of the bath until they discovered they could pretend to be penguins. We wrap them up in their towels and they squat down and waddle all the way down the hall to their bedroom - giggling the whole way...
It wasn't easy to get this picture - they waddle pretty fast and once they knew I was taking pictures, they rolled around on the floor and I had to delete all sorts of inappropriate photos...
This thing really helps to keep the water out of their eyes - IF - and I mean if the kids cooperate. It doesn't help keep the water out of Wy's ears and today I had a revolutionary idea: I asked Jack to cover Wy's ears with his hands. Between the two of us we managed to wash Wy's hair with not one freak out moment. It was fantastic! Thanks, Jack!!! And thanks to Wy for trusting us with his eyes and ears!
The boys used to hate getting out of the bath until they discovered they could pretend to be penguins. We wrap them up in their towels and they squat down and waddle all the way down the hall to their bedroom - giggling the whole way...
It wasn't easy to get this picture - they waddle pretty fast and once they knew I was taking pictures, they rolled around on the floor and I had to delete all sorts of inappropriate photos...
Starting over
Mom overheard Wy playing with his trains.
"OK! Wet's thart over wif a wittle game I wike to call "Thart over!"
"OK! Wet's thart over wif a wittle game I wike to call "Thart over!"
My little Thtinkbomb
As he sings:
Row, row, row your boat!
Gentwy down ve thtream!
Frow your teacher overboard
and ven you'll hear a thcream!
Patient Prince
Jack's teacher and the school Principal gave him this award earlier in the week! Good job, Jack!
Breakfast
An hour after we had breakfast last Sunday Jack asked if he could have breakfast. I told him he just HAD breakfast.
"Can I have second breakfast?" he asked.
"Yah-yuh!" chimed in Wyatt.
I live with hobbits.
"Can I have second breakfast?" he asked.
"Yah-yuh!" chimed in Wyatt.
I live with hobbits.
Caramel Marshmallow Delights
This is a marshmallow dipped in a concoctin of sweetened condensed milk, butter and caramel. Then they are rolled in rice crispy cereal and set to chill on a foil lined sheet in the refrigerator.
Mom and Jess helped me make the delicious treats last night. We will be making up a batch to contribute to the school's holiday bake sale this weekend. I think they are going to go quick!
Outback accessories
I brought Jess and Jack to the theatre on Sunday. Here they are enjoying a little art session while I was busy getting everything ready for the 2:00 show. Jack wasn't too interested in wearing the hat until I told him he looked just like Alexander (of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) when he sings about going to Australia. Then he was all about wearing the hat.
Daddy's bafroom
Wy was having a terrible time falling asleep earlier this week. I went in his room and the two of us slipped in to Jack's bed. I laid there petting Wy's hair when I noticed an odd stubbly patch. I looked down and it was nearly bald. I asked him what happened to his hair and he told me "Devwyn cut it in Daddy's bafroom and I put a (completely unintelligible word) in Daddy's cabinet." This was followed with hysterical laughter.
I finally managed to figure out he put a domino in Daddy's bathroom cabinet as a sort of 3 year old practical joke on John. I also learned that the domino was what was important, the little incident with "Devwyn" and the scissors in the "bafroom" wasn't even a blip on his radar.
I finally managed to figure out he put a domino in Daddy's bathroom cabinet as a sort of 3 year old practical joke on John. I also learned that the domino was what was important, the little incident with "Devwyn" and the scissors in the "bafroom" wasn't even a blip on his radar.
My new bracelet
I was cleaning up after dinner the other night and heard Jack say to John "Can you help me make a bracelet for my mommy?" I peeked around the corner and saw Jack standing there with a box of embroidery thread and a box of beads. John said he would be happy to help so Jack sat down beside him and got to work.
Now, I never thought I would be the kinda mom who got teary eyed over macaroni artwork or plastic beaded jewelry, but this bracelet is truly beautiful. Jack made it with a plan in mind - he followed an AB pattern (they are learning all about patterns in kindergarten) with our favorite colors - Thomas blue for Jack and red for me.
Now, I never thought I would be the kinda mom who got teary eyed over macaroni artwork or plastic beaded jewelry, but this bracelet is truly beautiful. Jack made it with a plan in mind - he followed an AB pattern (they are learning all about patterns in kindergarten) with our favorite colors - Thomas blue for Jack and red for me.
Halloween - a bit late...
I managed to upload our Halloween photos to shutterfly. You can follow the link http://owenlandparkproductions.shutterfly.com/ and click on the Halloween 2010 album to see the boys.
We went to the Community Center and the boys had a great time. If you look through the album you will see they had fun balloons - some of them were hung as apples in the trees and someone tied up a bunch of orange balloons with orange ribbon and made them look like pumpkins! It was very cute. We weren't in the mood to be greedy Trick-or-Treaters so after the Community Center, John took us out for Chinese - where Jack asked our very Asian waiter "Do you speak French?"
We went to the Community Center and the boys had a great time. If you look through the album you will see they had fun balloons - some of them were hung as apples in the trees and someone tied up a bunch of orange balloons with orange ribbon and made them look like pumpkins! It was very cute. We weren't in the mood to be greedy Trick-or-Treaters so after the Community Center, John took us out for Chinese - where Jack asked our very Asian waiter "Do you speak French?"
Corn feeder
Connie spent the night at the KC zoo with her Girl Scout troop this weekend. One of their projects was a hanging corn feeder. Grandpa helped her put it up in the back yard after she came home.
Brothers
Melanie sent me this text over the weekend:
So noah was just arguing with me that he has brothers: They are Jack & Wyatt cause they let him borrow stuff
So noah was just arguing with me that he has brothers: They are Jack & Wyatt cause they let him borrow stuff
Make a Difference
Each year JP2 decides on a school theme. This year's theme is Make a Difference. The teachers, staff and parents are teaching the children how they can make a difference (big or small) in themselves, the people around them and the world. The story the Principal shared with us at the beginning of the school year, and that we keep coming back to is the Story of the Starfish.
The Starfish Story
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley 1907 - 1977
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out
"Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"
When the teachers or staff see the kids doing something that makes a difference, they put that child's name on a paper starfish and post it in the main hallway. Slowly but surely the hallway is filling up with starfish. Activities are planned with the theme in mind as are school masses. One of the songs the kids sing frequently is "Go Make a Difference". They have heard it enough that they sing it at home and we sometimes get to hear it at mass on Sunday. Little Wy has heard it enough now that he sings it while playing with his trains;
"Go make a difference.
You can make a difference.
Go make a difference in the world!
Go make a difference.
We can make a difference.
Go make a difference in the world!"
The Starfish Story
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley 1907 - 1977
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out
"Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"
When the teachers or staff see the kids doing something that makes a difference, they put that child's name on a paper starfish and post it in the main hallway. Slowly but surely the hallway is filling up with starfish. Activities are planned with the theme in mind as are school masses. One of the songs the kids sing frequently is "Go Make a Difference". They have heard it enough that they sing it at home and we sometimes get to hear it at mass on Sunday. Little Wy has heard it enough now that he sings it while playing with his trains;
"Go make a difference.
You can make a difference.
Go make a difference in the world!
Go make a difference.
We can make a difference.
Go make a difference in the world!"
The Middle Name
The boys begrudgingly let me sleep in late today. This was extra-luxurious due to daylight savings. (Poor John had to be up and out the door by 7 yesterday and today as they are building, building, building A Christmas Carol: of course the design team couldn't be held to their deadlines so the shop is very behind, again.) Anyway, I got up to make the boys banana and honey french toast sandwiches. We were out of bananas so I had to make a change in the game plan. This was not good because the boys were already all over me about how hungry they were. My eye landed on some apples so I decided to make up an apple pie filling to put on top of the french toast. Delicious, but I thought the boys were going to drive me NUTS while I cored, peeled, cut and cooked up the apples. While I was washing the dishes after breakfast Mom & Jack were at the computer and had the following exchange:
Grandma: Here, Jack. You can get on the Thomas site.
Jack: No, Gammy, ve middle name is WEB. You know, Thomas WEB Site. (He spoke to her as if she were very slow and used his hand to punctuate each syllable.)
We took the boys to see Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day this weekend. Jack told me his favorite part was when the dad fixed Alexander's Mickey Mouse Night Light. (Alexander has as I'm sure you can guess a really rough day which ends with his beloved night light burning out.)Jack then went on to list his other favorite moments in the play. He paused, I could see him thinking, then he said "And vose were my 1o favorite parts." Then he nodded once and left the room.
Earlier in the week the boys were playing in their room and Mom overheard Wy tell Jack "Well, you doesn't has to be rude to me, you know." (He didn't like that phrase off a tree. I can often be heard saying to any one of these 6 kids "You DON'T have to be rude.")
Grandma: Here, Jack. You can get on the Thomas site.
Jack: No, Gammy, ve middle name is WEB. You know, Thomas WEB Site. (He spoke to her as if she were very slow and used his hand to punctuate each syllable.)
We took the boys to see Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day this weekend. Jack told me his favorite part was when the dad fixed Alexander's Mickey Mouse Night Light. (Alexander has as I'm sure you can guess a really rough day which ends with his beloved night light burning out.)Jack then went on to list his other favorite moments in the play. He paused, I could see him thinking, then he said "And vose were my 1o favorite parts." Then he nodded once and left the room.
Earlier in the week the boys were playing in their room and Mom overheard Wy tell Jack "Well, you doesn't has to be rude to me, you know." (He didn't like that phrase off a tree. I can often be heard saying to any one of these 6 kids "You DON'T have to be rude.")
