Has anyone see the Hidden Valley Ranch commercial where they're at the county fair and all the rides and attractions have to do with ranch dressing (i.e. salad eating contest, etc.) ? My daughter is absolutely is obsessed with this commercial and screams my name whenever it's on and I'm not in the room. I then have to fake/run to catch a glimpse of the commercial. It is always followed up by little awe inspired whispers of "ooh, that looks fun" or "yummy!". Today she actually said, "Mommy, I don't want to go to Disney World (another imaginary vacation, or 'fabri-cation' as Shadley so cleverly calls it) I just want to go there with the salad." She honestly, truly believes its real. That girl LOVES her ranch dressing!

These are some signs that I experienced today that remind me I am the mother of a pre-teen. Jackson turns 13 in August. So, we went to our pediatric clinic for his physical today. After registering, he begins to sweat in his chair about wether he is getting any shots today. I assure him that I didn't THINK he was, but wasn't sure. He asked me, "Am I getting too old for this doctor? When do I get to go to your doctor?" I told him to hush and read the Highlights magazine I threw at him. Which of course got just the reaction I was hoping for. The nurse calls his name and asked him to take a cup into the bathroom and "try and go potty" in it. We made eye contact and we both just busted out laughing. I felt kind of bad, hopefully she didn't think we were laughing at her. Our doctor visit was great and she was very encouraging to him. Some of my favorite quotes are as such:
Doc: So, at home you are respectful of your parents and do your chores and help out around the house, right?
Jackson: Is there any other option? If there is, I don't even know what that would be!
Doc:Good answer.

Doc:So, you used to be a picky eater...are you still or are you getting better about that?
Jackson: I still don't like vegetables, but there's no getting around that. I just quick eat them and get it over with.

Doc: Do you ever fight with your brother and sister?
Jackson: Mostly just with Noah. Me and Lily get along good. Ususally its either me and Noah fighting or Noah and Lily. He's the common link.

Doc: So, in two years you'll get your driver's permit...
Jackson: Actually, it's a year and a half. I can't believe its a year and a half. My parents can't believe they're that old.

Jackson ended up having to get 2 shots which he must have looked nervous about because the nurse asked him afterwards if it was as bad as he thought it would be. He replied, "Hey, that's life. No big deal." Riiiiight.

p.s. Emily- I actually got introduced to a new nurse as the sister to 'Flat Emily'. You must still be hanging around the office somewhere!

Noah.

I have some GREAT Noah stories! Are you ready??? (Noah stories are the best.)

Noah story #1:
So, I was feeling bad because (see previous post) the kids tomorrow win a free recess tomorrow if they don't watch TV tonight and REALLY I don't actually NEED the TV until later in the week, so I'm going to try and sneak in a few nights of no TV and then fizzle out at the the end of the week. I know. I'm a lame Mom. So, tonight we were playing charades. I know some of you have played charades with Noah before and it is so much fun. He REALLY gets into it. So, it was my turn and the card I drew said "Putting dirty laundry in the washing machine". I swear I cannot get away from the laundry! Anyways, I go about acting out sorting the laundry and then sticking it in the washing machine. No one was guessing, so when I put the imaginary clothes in the imaginary machine, I plugged my nose and fanned the air in front of my face to get across that it was dirty and smelly. Noah pipes out, "Oh, sorry. That was me. I'm kind of gassy tonight." I bust out laughing and told him that was part of my act and he said, "O- KAY. Lets just pretend that didn't happen."

Noah story #2:
Noah took his bath tonight and I realize all his undies are still in the dryer, wet, so I threw him some comfy shorts and told him he'll have to just wear them without undies. He seemed shocked at the the idea, but finished up his bath. When he came out of the bathroom he walks up to me and stares at me. "Hi." I say.
"Um, Mom. Have you ever tried this before?"
"What?" because I've completely forgotten the situation.
"Wearing pants without underwear."
"No. Never."
"Well it feels.....GREAT!"
(Oh, no.)
"I feel free as a bird."
"I'm going to do this everyday!"
"No. You're not."

Confessions Of A Stressed Mom.

Confession: I didn't sign my kids up for 'No TV week' this week because I have an art show on Friday and I need the TV. I can't live without it. Bad Mom.

...And The Gap Just Got Bigger!

Today, Noah came home with the item school-age kids around the world covet the most. The infamous tooth treasure box. He is now the proud owner of this great big smile...

Easter Celebration 2009!

Bunny cake... Candy, candy, everywhere....
Grandma being pummeled by plastic eggs, mostly by her oldest daughter, who has really bad aim, by the way.... Laying on a bed of eggs.... Checking out all the eggs, all 192 of them... Look at those happy cookers... Jesus gets two thumbs up from Lily... There was the most charming couple there. They clearly were madly in love. Every celebration has to have a little bit of Wii. Nothing says, 'The King has Risen!" like a little log-jumping... it's a little hard to wait your turn when a bunch of people are playing... but Dad/Uncle Joe is quite entertaining to watch... Bakc at home there was some paddle-ball action going on...(lots of action, not a lot of hitting.)

Peep Farve.

Today, Jackson's class got to decorate marshmallow peeps into a famous person or book character. This is Peep Farve when he played for Green Bay not to be confused with the Peep Farve that plays for another team that I can't remember the name of. That was stressed greatly for some reason. Now you know. There was some interesting ones, I saw everthing from Robin Hood to The Beatles to a very disturbing but very funny Friday the 13th massacre of marshmallow peeps body parts and various marshmallow carnage. It really kind of made me hungry minus the rubber cement.

Easter Egg Fun!!!

Art By Noah (this kid cracks me up...)

This is inspired by recent events...

and this is the product of the weaving unit in Art class.

Dew Intake.

Today, Joe calculated his Mt. Dew intake for this busy season. Here it is broken down:
-29 Gallons
-which is equivalent to 315 cans OR
-3, 780 ounces
Whoa.

For Noelle.

I made this for my niece Noelle. She is 4. And she is a STAR in every way. She loves all things girly and sparkly. We were recently in Kansas visiting and we all went to a wonderful Tex Mex restaurant (I really wish I could remember the name..) I was sitting next to the little girls at one end. It just so happened that the tables were covered in white paper and crayons were abundant. I couldn't just sit there, of course, and twiddle my thumbs! So, a large beautiful crayon drawing of Noelle the rockstar started to take shape. She just loved it! She stared it and we talked about it most of the meal. Silly me, I didn't think far enough ahead that she would be upset when it was time to go. She frantically came up with this crumpled up napkin and asked me if I would copy it. I contemplated ripping off that end of the table, but it was NAST! Pretty sure the parents weren't going to like the BBQ stained art hanging on their daughter's wall. Her little face was so sad! So the minute I got back to Iowa, I got to work and sent down this little piece just for her...because I love her so much!

Homework.

You don't see this too often...two boys, both with Math homework, working quietly side-by-side, no wrestling involved. Noah is probably doing fractions or money counting. Jackson is probably doing something I don't understand. I think I stopped paying attention after 6th grade Math.

Noah=The Toothless Boy Wonder!

When Did This Happen?

He just looks like a young man lately. It makes me a little bit sad, but mostly I love seeing a glimpse of what he's going to become.