Taco Hell.

I found this picture today on my phone, buried in a bunch of throwaways that Mia had taken (of the floor, the sky, a random stranger...). After our homeschool co-op day, we just haven't had enough of each other, so some of us head over to a nearby Taco Bell to chat while the kids eat health food and run around like hellions. I can't believe the employees are actually nice to us. I already miss it, and co-op just ended for the summer. But we all need a break. I definitely won't be eating any bean burritoes for the next 3 months.

Celebrating a Year of Girl Scouts.

Today Mia finished off her first year as a Brownie. It had its ups and downs, but I think we're going to stick with it. We went camping last week and enjoyed it immensely. On the way back to our tent the second night, Mia told me, "I'm really bonding with my girl scout sisters. I like them so much." So, for the end of year party, Sally (the troop leader) called up each of the girls individually and presented them with flowers and their membership pins. Then we had leftover camp food, including veggie dogs. In fact, in the picture showing Mia sitting on the floor, holding a hot dog, she is fervently trying to convince one of the Daisies that a real hot dog is made out of pigs. "Yes, that is a pig that you are eating! It is!!" (I can imagine other troops might take issue with such an activist child. Not this one! They are all individuals.) Yea for Girl Scouts!

Hawaiian Falls homeschool day.

Today we hung out at a water park for 8 hours. Exhausting. We both got very sunburned. I know...bad mama. But the picture proves that she had sunscreen on! Anyway, we have been having a lot of fun lately. It's the time of year. School is officially out in 2 days, so all of the amusement places have been opening up for the season, and offering homeschool days for us weirdos. And we have been taking advantage of them. Smaller crowds, shorter lines...who wouldn't? It is very tiring, though, and it also puts Mia in a "fun, fun, fun" state of mind. We'll have to remind her that the constant entertainment will end soon! She'll have to go back to amusing herself with blocks, dirt, Barbies, bugs, colored pencils, and whatever else she can scrounge up.

Dallas Arboretum.

We had some free tickets to the Dallas Arboretum so we spontaneously headed over there today. It was beautiful as always. We watched lots of squirrels and birds, doing their spring thing. Mia wanted the boy birds to leave the girl birds alone! I told her if it wasn't for all that obnoxious strutting, there wouldn't be any baby birds. She said the girl birds could adopt babies, like she's planning to do. Okay. This is from the girl who has a ranked list of boys that she loves. I guess they let her do the strutting. Anyway, I got a shot of her leaning out of the covered wagon, which I knew I had taken before. The first one is from September 2005, when she was 3. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Girl scouts.

We have really enjoyed girl scouts this year. We joined a little homeschool troop in Dallas that's been around for a long time. I think the drive is worth it, especially if the girls all stick around and they can be bonded as "scout sisters" for years. I wish I had stuck with it as a child. I was probably like Mia, hard to motivate!

Easter.

The Easter bunny put a face painting kit in Mia's basket. So this is what Mia looked like for Easter. We went to Grandma's and dyed eggs, then hid them throughout the house because it was raining. And then we went to California Pizza Kitchen...yummy.

McAlister's Deli.

Wow, we had lunch! How exciting. Well, it was for her. She got a balloon kitty. Then she changed her mind and wanted a dog, but I told her the balloon lady was only going to make one per kid. Right after that, another kid's balloon popped and the lady came over and said she'd make her another one. I don't have to tell you what happened next, do I?

Marathon running and rock climbing.

This morning was the final lap event for the Marathon Kids program. We signed up through a friend at co-op, and I can't thank her enough for doing this. (Thanks Isabel!) The kids had about 6 months to complete 26.2 miles, which they tracked on a form that allowed them to mark quarter, half, and full miles. (So it was math, too!) Mia lost interest toward the end, but she completed it. Then her enthusiasm was re-ignited at the final lap event. I have never seen that kid run so fast! Whole Foods sponsored it, and gave out medals to the kids at the end. Very nice program. We stopped for lunch at a nearby Vietnamese place that kindly replaced all the meat with tofu and it was REALLY good. I wouldn't have known about this place if it wasn't for my iPhone, btw. I am loving that thing. Then we headed to the Perry Homestead Museum in Carrollton for a little picnic and games event they were holding. Dave and Mia played croquet and some kind of toss the ring thing, and then we got to tour the hundred year old house. (I couldn't stop laughing because right after they said how old it was, this kid goes, "Good thing they dusted." Ha!) After that, we ended up at REI and Mia climbed the rock wall twice. Then she discovered to her extreme dismay that she had lost her kitty ("Murray Miss Sparkles") and we had the whole place searching high and low for it. They even made an announcement about a lost stuffed kitty. It was insane. Anyway, a nice boy found it for her, stuffed in the end of a kayak (by somebody else!), and all was well with the world once again. An awesome day!!

April Fool's Day at Camp Tonky-wonky.

Actually, it's Camp Tonkawa. I set up a field trip with our co-op group and we chose a beautiful, albeit windy, day to spend outdoors learning about birds and exploring the woods. I was impressed by the activities, and the kids seemed to enjoy them. The call of the wilderness was a little too tempting at times, especially for Mia, but she stayed with us most of the time. At the end of the day, I let her go wild with her friend, because the whole place was private property enclosed by fences. As you can imagine, this made her day!

Impromptu park day.

Okay, so we skipped music. But doesn't this look like a worthy distraction? The girls built a city for butterflies, and decorated it with wildflowers. And before we left, they demolished it because they knew it wouldn't last.

Fossil hunting.

No weapons required. You just dig. And the teacher tells you what kind of prehistoric clam you found. Fossils blow my mind. (This was a class offered by the parks and recreation department of...wait for it...Plano.) We also took a Geology class there, which was excellent. I learn as much as she does, I admit it.

Martial arts.

She's kicking that green guy's ass! Enough said.

Ice skating!

We signed up for an 8-week class for homeschoolers. In Plano! Man, I should really move there with as much as we make the drive. I wasn't sure what to expect, but she's doing great. In case you're wondering, that is a skirt she is wearing over her shoulders. It's the newest fashion craze sweeping the nation...didn't you know?

Plano Environmental Learning Center.

Today we went on a field trip with two cub scout packs, plus our girl scout troop. It was at this little tucked-away place in Plano that I'd never heard of, maintained by the city for educational purposes. I was very impressed with the woman who ran the class...she knew what she was doing. She had this "calm assertive" way with the kids. (Yeah, I stole that from Cesar Millan.) Anyway, they looked for insects, talked about various plants, searched for worms (that's what the picture shows), learned about recycling paints and chemicals, and made their own natural cleaner. We are definitely going back there to explore on our own.

Irving Arts Center.

Today we spontaneously decided to check out a puppet show at the Irving Arts Center. It was a nice show, incorporating many types of puppetry. It was called "The Willow Girl," about a Chinese immigrant family back in the gold rush days in California. Then we walked through the museum displays of kids' artwork and outside to the sculpture garden. Mia is wearing the dress that Grandma made her, and isn't fazed at all by the giant metal hawk about to scoop her up.

Astronomical adventures.

Today was family day at UNT and the topic was Astronomy. We met some co-op friends and had a lot of fun playing with all the different science-related stuff. Mia set off a water bottle rocket, rode a hovercraft, measured her weight on different planets, made a constellation, and looked at meteorites. We saw a fairly new planetarium show (with music from Coldplay!) that I was rather impressed by. I'm not sure what the point of the giant bubble was, but it was fun! Afterward, we all met at Beth Marie's for ice cream and walked through an antique store because the boys saw knives in the window. Apparently boys cannot resist knives. It was really a nice day. Whenever I'm in Denton, I want to move there. But I know what it is...the university. Someday I'm going back to school!

Friends and a creek, what else do ya need?

I wonder what my mother will think when she sees this. Remember, she has a top-notch immune system from all that breastfeeding! This is our favorite park, so far, in the Metroplex...Cottonwood in Richardson. It's got it all. And the kids never touch the "play structure". It's all about gettin' dirty. Today she played with Ethan and Ehlayna, and you just know they're awesome cuz they love Obama!

The Raven.

Mia has a class at co-op based on Poe's The Raven. Yep, that one. I didn't know what to expect but she is enjoying it. Today they made costumes and howled "Nevermore!" on the playground. Really, you can make a class out of anything at that age.

Oh no! What happened to February?

Oops. I guess we didn't do anything for a month. But if I had to miss any month, it would definitely be February! Anyway, I know what happened. Co-op started up again, and I'm teaching two classes. Plus my husband thinks our daughter isn't learning anything, so I'm trying really hard. And blogging less. Actually I should blog about what she learned, and kill two birds with one stone. (I promise, no animals will be harmed in the creation of this blog.) Oh, and another less productive thing happened. I discovered Facebook. It's taking up way too much of my time, but it's fun! So...right now we have to go slog through a few consignment stores to look for a martial arts uniform (a gi?) for Mia, since I refuse to pay the full retail price. But I wanted to post something hilarious that Mia said a few minutes ago. She was reading one of her billion decodable books, and the focus was "-dge". She kept forgetting it was "j" and asked me over and over. Then she goes, "Then why don't they just put a 'j' instead of three letters?" And I said, "Well, that would be simpler, you're right. But it's not how the English language works." To which she replied, "That's the answer I got from Daddy. I need a different answer!" Really, she has a point. Sometimes I wonder how anyone learns to read and write English.

Who can guess why I'm posting this picture?

Yeah, the kids are cute. Yeah, there's some spontaneous creativity going on. And a ruler for measuring! But this is on my blog for one reason only...my kitchen is friggin' spotless. Yeah, baby. It occasionally happens.

Fun with math.

Today we chilled out at the house until we got hungry. (I'm experiencing grocery store aversion lately.) So we headed to Swirl, our fave little FloMo hangout, that also happens to have free kid's meals on Monday. Daddy hates it, so it's our thing. They do Starbucks. It occurs to me now that Dave and I don't have a place for just us. Hmm...we'll have to work on that. First step: get a babysitter. Anyway...we took some worksheets with us. It wasn't so horrible, though. Turns out domino math is fun!

Auto show and Wild About Harry's.

We headed out to the Dallas Auto Show today. Someday we are going to learn. I think all three of us almost totally gave up on our family and headed our separate ways that day! (We'll take 3 Vespas, please.) I was thinking, "Maybe new car smell is really some kind of chemical cocktail that fries Mia's brain." She was bonkers. Actually I think she's like her daddy, and she just LOVES cars. Anyway, I got nowhere in my car-buying decision. But that's okay, cuz we cooled our heads at Wild About Harry's which has such delectable veggie dogs that I swear there's some kind of animal somewhere in there. They are like nothing you can buy at the store. I want to open an all-veggie franchise in Flower Mound. Right next to one of the billion tanning salons and Cici's. It's a sure thing.

Denton park.

Today we joined another unschooler group in Denton for their weekly park day. Turned out to be zero kids under the age of 12 there! So we just hung out. Gorgeous day and big sprawling park...ahh, gotta love life. Mia found a steep grassy hill and a big piece of cardboard, so that provided at least an hour of fun.

Adventures in Plano.

Today was a public school holiday so I signed Mia up for a Fit and Fun program at Plano Parks and Rec. She was there for 4 hours. I was at Half Price Books for 4 hours. Perfect! Anyway, we were planning to head home and then spotted Planet Pizza (indoor mini amusement park) which we hadn't been to since she was 3 or something. She had such a blast. But wait, there's more...then we saw this place called US Toy which had all kinds of educational stuff in it. And some gnarly masks! You know, looking back I wonder how we did all this with no meltdowns. And then it occurs to me that she got a workout that morning at the rec center. Duh. Get that child moving!

Tree climbing.

This amazing tree is across the street from Casa Manana (otherwise known as the Kimbell's parking lot). After seeing their performance of "The Alamo", for the duration of which Mia squirmed and complained, I let her climb it. Well, she didn't really climb it. I boosted her up and she squealed with delight for a few minutes, then started making plans for a treehouse. She thinks the glorified bunches of twigs in the backyard will turn into this if we wait a year or two. If only. As I type this, Mia is out there trying to ice skate on the frost-covered patio. The fact that it's in the twenties doesn't phase her a bit. A true nature's child...she was born to be wild.

My little one.

I'm not the kind of mom who constantly craves the baby days again, once they are gone. I love watching her grow...more than watching, I feel like I'm part of it. I'm reliving growing up! But I went back a few years in my photo library and found this picture. I must admit, I want those cheeks back! And this may seem petty, but I want jeans back! Mia won't wear them any more. They "bother" her, like many other articles of clothing. We're down to leggings and dresses, and smooth shirts with normal necklines. The mere mention of a turtleneck will send her screaming bloody murder down the hallway! Anyway, my three year old sure was a cutie.

We need a new car.

Our car has all kinds of problems which we have no desire to spend thousands to fix. So we've been getting used to the idea of getting a new one. We have to ease into these things, because Mia, especially, is not fond of change. Let's just say, she doesn't handle it well. Those around her pay the price! So, we had laid off the topic for a week, after going on multiple test drives a couple of weeks ago. Then this morning on the way to Starbucks, she said, "Here's the kind of car we should get: a convertible minivan with a big engine sticking out the back, so it goes fast." You see, she's a sports car lover like her Daddy, but she can't get over that third row of seats you get in a minivan. She has this idea that she'll fold it down (because you know the sales guys always show you how incredibly EASY it is to do that), and camp out with all her stuffed animals back there. Yes, while the car is in motion. Anyway, although it falls very short of Mia's specs, especially in the speed category, we are considering a Mazda 5. It is like a mini minivan. Weird. But it's cheap. And it has room for our dog. What more could we ask for? But first, Dave has to get over the fact that we aren't buying European. So no more doors that shut with a big "chonk". More like "clink". And no more quick response handling. But we get lots of cupholders! Again, what more could we ask for?!

Boats Afloat.

Today we played with boats. In the name of science, of course. I found a cool book at the library last week with things you can make and then experiment with. We used clay to make our boats and then counted how many paper clips and marbles they would hold before they sank. Then Mia hypothesized about what would happen if we added salt (a lot of salt!) to the water. She knew the answer; the boats would hold more. And where did she obtain this valuable information? From The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a Narnia book. See, I knew I wasn't slogging through those every night for nothin'. (Actually, I quite enjoy them. I'm not eager to return to Junie B. Jones.) Her other hypothesis (also correct!) was that the boats would not hold as much if we floated them in vegetable oil. I think that was just a good guess, because she added, "Oil is sucky. It will suck the boats down." Oh, and Mommy learned something! I love it when that happens. Did you know that cold water is more dense than hot water? So, ships traversing the North Atlantic are allowed more weight than they are in equatorial waters. Anyway, we had fun.

President Obama.

The first thing that brought me to tears today was a comment from someone on MSNBC, that when the Muslim world heard Barack Hussein Obama take the oath of office, how could that not speak to them in such a profound way? He bridges gaps before he even speaks a word, just by virtue of his name and skin color. And then he speaks...and well, he had us at hello, right? I want to call him Prince Obama! I loved this from his speech today, more than anything else:

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history."

So being a progressive doesn't mean you trash all tradition. This was so meaningful to me, as a person who tends to always look for something new, something better, on the horizon. But really, as a mom, I intuitively feel that all I need to thrive was already there from day one...my (and our) inborn desire to love and be loved, and all of the good qualities that stem from that. These things are old. And they can and will sustain us.

Another observation...when Obama speaks, he appears to be looking toward something beyond the audience, as if he is visualizing what he speaks of, on the horizon. Contrast that with Bush, who always seems to be looking inward, self-consciously, and sees nothing beyond his own skin.

It's a beautiful day!!

So long, but don't fare well.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/18/16484/3008/808/685677

I love this! I still can't believe that tomorrow Bush is gone. It's been a LONG eight years.

Nasher visit.

We had the best day a couple of weekends ago. We woke up and everyone looked to Mommy for plans, as is usual on a Saturday morning. I remembered that the Nasher Sculpture Center is free on the first Saturday of the month, so we headed out. We hadn't been there since Mia was two. Pathetic, I know! Anyway, we headed to Northpark afterwards to watch a Science demonstration that the Dallas library was presenting. It was not so much science, but entertaining. I didn't get any good pictures from that. But I like the one with her standing against the giant orange sculpture. Mia took the one of Dave inside the room with the opening at the top. Future photographer, maybe?