Owenland Park Productions

All I wanted was a chicken wing.

Wyatt was attempting to take a toy tool box from Devlyn. Poppy said "Wyatt, Devlyn had it first." Wy didn't miss a beat "I had it second!" You can't argue with that.

John snagged these trains and the boat from the strike of Around the World in 80 Days. He mounted them on backing boards, made tracks for the trains a dock for the boat and then brought them home for the boys. Jack & Wy were thrilled when John told them we were going to hang them up in their room. Jack immediately knew which one went on which wall and personally supervised as his daddy hung them up.

When I was in gradeschool we had to "swish" twice a year. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Once or twice a year the school nurse would bring in little paper cups of flouride and we would swish this stuff around in our mouths for 30 or 60 seconds. Then we spit it back out into the cups and ditched it all in a large trash can. Why do I tell you this? Wyatt swishes his saliva. Constantly. Loudly. I think it is a substitute for the passer he no longer has. He has to suck something so he sucks his spit...

Wyatt was SUPPOSED to be taking a nap. After listening to him putter around for way too long, John went upstairs to get the little guy back in bed. He went to open the door and Wyatt tried to stop the door from opening. He said "Daddy, I'm not done!" Then John saw Wy's little face. It turns out Wy & Devlyn were having a make-over with Devlyn functioning as the beautician. They said they were "putting on Wyatt's make up."

Abby and some of the girls in her class made up a little song for a "talent show"
Abby taught the song to the other kids and now someone is always singing this little bit of foolishness. The tune is "I Believe I Can Fly"

I believe I can fly

I just got shot by the FBI

All I wanted was a chicken wing!

From Burger King!

That's it for me.

Blessings from Owenland Park!

A Culture of Love

I honor that place in you of light and truth and love.
I honor that place in you where we can be as one in peace and joy.
And when the best in you becomes the best in me as well,
perhaps the good we wish to see will happen
when we tell our lives in love.
I bless you forever.

I attended part of an RCIA retreat before Frindle rehearsals started two weeks ago. The blessing above was one of the reflections. As I listened and thought about the days' topics, I decided to make a change at Owenland Park. Now, I don't want any anyone to think that we live in the house built by Chuckie but it is very stressful here. This unrelenting stress has led to hurt and resentment. The only way to change that is to begin changing not the people around you, but yourself. How do we do that? Sometimes you begin by making the choice to love. And quite frankly, love breeds love.

So I decided we would start making our changes at the dinner table. This is the one place where we all gather together every day - as a family. Instead of mindlessly reciting Grace as a group before dinner, we now pair off (different pairs each night) and say the blessing I quoted above to each other before we have dinner. And I mean say it to each other - look into each other's eyes and say the blessing. It has only been two weeks but the kids already know the whole thing by heart. And, I think it is helping a little bit. Please keep us in your thoughts.

(I do not the source of the blessing. I cannot decipher the citation as it is in very small print and a weird font. I have looked on line a bit, but cannot find it there either. If anyone knows it, I would love to give credit, where credit is due.)

Blessings from Owenland Park.

The Trouble With Thomas

Vice President for Owenland Park Productions John Owen announced today that the survival statistics for Thomas the Train while in residency at OPP are a dismal 62%. As a result, the Owenland Park Thomas will be placed on the list of species that are candidates for Endangered Species Act protection. Pictured from the left and listed by their Latin names are the current survivors;

1. "Holiday Thomas"
Holiday Thomas has all his paint and wheels. He is distinguished by the appearance of snow, a Christmas bell and a ribbon.

2. "Ve Uhver Holiday Thomas"
Ve Uhver Holiday Thomas also has all his paint and wheels. He too is distinguished by the appearance of snow, a Christmas bell and a ribbon.

3. "OLD Little Thomas"
Old Little Thomas is identifiable by the chipped paint which can be found around all edges and corners of his body. This is most visible in his lack of eyes and eyebrows. Old Thomas has possession of all his wheels.

4. "Broken Thomas"
Broken Thomas is missing two sets of wheels. His paint is very worn, especially around the eyes and eyebrows, though he still possesses these features.

5. "New Broken Thomas"
New Broken Thomas is battery operated. He is missing the treads on his drive wheels and one connecting rod. His stickers have a worn appearance.

6. "Big Thomas"
Big Thomas is a radio control unit but his controller has been MIA for over 2 years.

7. "Trevor Thomas"
Trevor Thomas USED to be connected by a retractable string to Trevor the tractor. Recently, Assistant Secretary to the department of Owenland Park Productions Jackson Owen insisted on separating these parasitic twin engines. The procedure went off better than expected and without any post operational regrets by any of the parties involved.

8. "Flashlight Thomas"
Flashlight Thomas is battery operated. Assistant Secretary Jackson Owen was deathly afraid of Flashlight Thomas during the first 3 years of his residency at Owenland Park. (Flashlight Thomas emits a loud chugging engine sound when his light is turned on.)

MISSING THOMASES (Would the plural of Thomas be Thomi?)

1. "Wyatt's New Little Thomas"
Wyatt's New Little Thomas took up residency at Owenland Park 2 weeks ago when a small portable turntable was installed on OPP grounds. He has all his paint and wheels. He has been missing 1 day.

2. "Jack's New Little Thomas"
Jack's New Little Thomas has all his paint and wheels. He has been missing 1 month.

3. "Old Broken Thomas"
Old Broken Thomas is a battery operated engine. He is missing both his connecting rods. Old Broken Thomas travelled to California early last summer and enjoyed a week of off-roading. Unfortunately the California dirt brought on early onset rheumatoid arthritis. His wheels turned terribly after that excursion.

4. "Driver Thomas"
Driver Thomas had a driver who stands up from the center of Thomas' cab. You push the driver down and Thomas was SUPPOSED to roll forward. Unfortunately, Driver Thomas never rolled forward without physical assistance from one of the OPP grounds keepers.

5. "Jack's First Little Thomas"
Jack's Fist Little Thomas has possession of all his wheels, though they turn terribly. His paint is heavily worn and looks as though some of it has been chewed off of his body. He has been missing 1 1/2 to 2 years.

Assistant Secretary Jackson Owen outlined a ground breaking step forward in boosting the survival rate of imperiled trains within Owenland Park: "We should go to K-mart and buy another Thomas!" Activist Wyatt Owen supported this proposed action in a surprise bi-partisan announcement "YEAH!"

I win! I get the trophy!

The weather was so beautiful the last few days that I took the kids out for walks. Let's be honest here: I walked, they ran. They can run as long as they stop at the next driveway. This prevents them from getting too far ahead of the adults - ok me. Jack and Devlyn are "super slow fast!". (In the language of 4 year olds, this means they are Olympic srpinters.) Poor Wy can't keep up with them. He stops after a few paces, hangs his head and in a pitiful voice says "I can't run anymore." I finally asked Jack & Devlyn to run with Wy to cheer him up. They all joined hands and ran that way for the rest of our walk. They laughed and cheered each other on. Wy called out "Mommy! We are having so much fun!"

I am not sure when or how it started, but Wyatt is obsessed with winning. And who knows WHERE he picked this up, but he is constantly calling out "I win! I get the trophy!" He will tug something away from me and call out "I win! I get the trophy!" If anyone else says "I win! I get the trophy!" he makes a "Zzzhhhwhip!" sound, points his finger at you and then hugs his arm to himself.(This is his super hero power of taking the invisible object away from you)and announces "-I- have the trophy!"

We finally took the outdoor Christmas decorations down last weekend. A few days later the kids and I went to the grocery store. As I was hauling in the groceries, Wy calls out "Mommy, I found CANDY!!!" I knew it couldn't be good because he was still in the garage. "Wyatt - whatever it is DO NOT PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH. Do you understand me?" What did I hear? "Mmmwwhwmmhmm!" I looked around the car and found Wyatt sucking on one of the candy cane yard decorations...Jack thought this was so funny that he stuck it in his mouth too. Well, three can sort of play at that game - I made them bring it upstairs and suck on it again so I could share this picture with you.

Later taters,
Love and blessings,
Amy & the gang