The Resemblance is Uncanny

One of Zoe's favorite things to do is pretend play.  Depending on the minute, we could be princesses, superheroes, doctors or ballet dancers.  She loves to pretend.  The other night she made a bed on the coffee table, pretended to sleep and then woke up saying, "oh that clock!  Killjoy!"

Apparently she was Cinderella.

One of the newer things is getting into costume.  She likes to not only act the part, but look the part.  We went to the craft store this week to get some supplies for her big girl room.  We're making some wall decor that I'll show as soon as I'm actually done with it!

She found a display of hats.  They had shark hats, pirate hats, moose hats and any animal you could imagine.  On the bottom shelf they had beanies.  The ones with the propellers on the top.  Immediately she put it on and claimed she was Paublo from The Backyardigans. 

When we got home I asked her to do a Paublo pose for the camera and this is what I got.

The resemblance is amazing.

What I'm most amazed at is how accurate the pose is.  I thought she was just being silly when she posed like that.  Actually she's much more observant that I had ever thought.

McTeacher

One of my dearest friends is Becca.  We've been friends for 10 years.  On one hand I cannot believe it's been 10 years already.  It seems like just yesterday we graduated college and began our first real-life job.  On the other hand I can't believe it's only been 10 years.  She's someone I feel like I've known my whole life.  Her friendship is something I count as a blessing that I totally don't deserve.  She's the absolute best.

She's also the mother of Tucker, the dog that has won over Zoe's heart.  Aunt Becca and Uncle Josh are two of Zoe's favorite people.  When we hang out together it means she gets some much needed love from her favorite 4-legged friend. 

Not to mention it puts off the need for a puppy.

When Aunt Becca informed us that Uncle Josh was going to be serving up french fries at a local McDonalds, we jumped at the chance to go see him.  The McDonalds in Deer Park hosted McTeacher night.  Part of the proceeds from that night's sales would go back to the Deer Park school where Uncle Josh works.

We loaded in Aunt Becca's car and headed up to McD's for some ice cream.

I'll tell you what, go to a McD's on a McTeacher night and your child will feel like the Belle of the Ronald McDonald ball.  When we walked in she got a star sticker for her hand and a Ronald McDonald crown.  I'm pretty sure I saw her doing her princess wave to all the other kids who were there.

We ordered our ice cream and princess-waved to Uncle Josh who was at the fry machine in deep conversation with the actual McDonald's employee.  We're pretty sure he was learning all about oils, best cooking heat and the best wrist technique for shaking the extra grease off.  Uncle Josh is a constant learner like that.

Fortunately he did stop a moment from all the learning to pose in his apron.

Zoe took a moment from her ice cream to pose.  This is her official Princess Ronald McDonald photo.

Thanks Uncle Josh for working the industrial fry daddy for us.  We enjoyed visiting with you.

Happy Birthday to Our Peeps

Happy Birthday Nanny, Uncle Jerry and Great Uncle Mike.

We love you this much!

El Nino Heat Brings March Flowers

We have had an unusual winter.  I think we've had two days with any snow that stuck to the ground.  After the last two winters, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself.  No sledding, no shoveling and no white Christmas.

It's weird. 

What's even more weird is that Zoe and I have been able to play outside this week when I get home from work.  We've been pulling weeds and measuring my tulips.

They're about 3 inches so far. 

I think I need a real winter.  I keep thinking it's almost June. 

Another Bites the Dust...Or Not

In 2000 my mom bought two, $0.12 gold fish from the pet store. She bought a round bowl for them to live in. My nephew MJ was almost 2 and they were for him to enjoy. He would take the bowl in the middle of the table and spin it. The poor fish would slosh around and get their fins stable just in time for MJ to spin the bowl again. These two fish got the names Dizzy and Spinner because of this.


They were the same types of goldfish that you’d win at the carnival. They weren’t expected to live for very long. My mom anticipated they’d be dead before MJ turned 3.

He’s going to be 12 this year and she’s still cleaning a fish tank.

They are mutant fish size now. I actually think you could put them with Koi in a pond and you’d never know they were 12-cent goldfish bought a decade ago. From the tip of their face to the end of their tail, they’re at least 6 inches, but probably closer to 8.

Within the last 6 months one of the fish jumped to his death. My mom was out shopping and came home to find only one fish in the tank. We’re assuming that was Dizzy that jumped to his death.

Last night my mom went to bed later than usual and was overly tired. She set her alarm for early morning so she could get some work done that she hadn’t the energy to do. The alarm went off and she didn’t want to get up. Then she heard it. It sounded like boxes falling in the living room.

She lives alone and immediately her mind started to race that someone was in the house. She went to investigate only to find the house empty. She laid back in bed and heard the noise again.

She went out to the living room and heard nothing. Immediately she thought it was a rat or a mouse. Then the noise started again.

Spinner had jumped out of the tank, landed in a box that was set to go to the dump and was flopping around. She’s always warned the fish that if they jump out of the tank, they’re out of luck because she won’t touch a live fish.

After the flopping stopped, my mom started to feel sorry for Spinner. The poor fish was suffering. Even though she had no idea she’d have these fish for a decade, she’s grown quite fond of them. She grabbed a towel, screamed her head off and put Spinner into the tank. It had been 30 minutes of flopping around and she was concerned he’d just float and she’d prolonged his suffering.

Is that what he did? Nope! He started swimming around like he was out for a field trip. He’s alive and well. The front of his face looks a little different, but he’s absolutely fine.

One on hand we’re relieved that he’s alive and well. I’m totally proud of my mom for facing some fears and saving the poor guy.

On the other hand, if a fish can survive for 30 minutes in an old computer box, he’ll be around for awhile. Probably until MJ has kids of his own.

I Blame Keds

I was always the kid who wanted to be like everyone else.  If the cool kids were crimping their hair and putting it into a side ponytail you better believe I wanted to do that.  It didn't matter how ridiculous it looked.

In junior high the cool thing was Keds.  White Keds with four lace holes on each side and a blue "Keds" tag in the back.  You could get a similar shoe at other stores with a green tag in the back, but it wasn't the same.  It screamed "wannabe" rather than "cool."  Or so I thought.  Honestly, my permed and ratted hair screamed "wannabe" way more than colored tag on the back of my shoes, but the 13-year old me wouldn't have ever believed that.

I still remember the first day my mom said I could have the Keds.  It's such a big deal that it's one of the few things I actually remember from junior high. 

Apparently this awareness starts much earlier than 13 now.  It could be the times or it could be that I was just totally unaware of status.  I'm going to choose to believe it's the times.

It's Sunday morning and Zoe is in the nursery at church waiting for all her friends to arrive.  She's in adorable navy blue pants with butterflies on them and a green shirt to match.  She's got on her new Echo shoes that sparkle and her hair is perfect.  Then her friends arrive.

First Carolina shows up in a princess-like dress.  The bodice is covered in pink, satin roses and the skirt is overlaid with tulle.  It's a cross between a princess dress and a frilly Easter dress.  It's beautiful. 

Then Eve shows up.  She's in a princess-like dress.  There are flowers and tulle.

Then Katie shows up.  Same thing.

Zoe starts to cry.  She wants her princess dress too! 

I'm going to confess.  I'm not a fan of those dresses.  They're cute, but they're really frilly.  I have a hard time paying money for a dress that looks like she's entering Miss Toddler USA.  Do I put on some red lipstick, put her hair in pin curls and teach her something to do for a talent competition? 

I thought Zoe looked perfect.  She could run, jump, climb and whatever other physical activity she wanted in her pants.  She was girlie too.  Pink butterflies are totally girlie.

Her outfit didn't have tulle and satin flowers and frill.  It didn't twirl and make her feel like Cinderella at the Sunday School ball. 

It was crushing. 

We tried on last year's Easter dress and the Christmas dress.  Apparently these are the only acceptable outfits for Sunday School. 

My mom willingly spent an extra $10 to get me the blue label on the back of my shoes.  I'd spend $1,000 on the tulle and satin flowers.  Everyone needs to feel like a princess.

Ten, Dix, Zehn, Diez, A Decade. A Whole Decade.

In all honesty I never thought a decade could go by so quickly.  When my ten year high school reunion came upon me, I felt like it had been more than ten years since I was forced to do P.E., put all my books in a locker and ate my lunch in the hall of the annex with my friend.

High school wasn't a time of fun.  It was torture.  I had zero desire to celebrate at a reunion with people I didn't talk to and couldn't remember their names.  I think I'll always feel like the dork from high school in that crowd.

College was a different experience.  Make no mistake, I was still a total dork, but there is something about college that I can look back on and appreciate.  I made some really amazing friends at college, had some memorable times and realize I didn't enjoy it near enough.

I was on Facebook the other day and saw that my ten year college reunion was happening this fall.  Ten years since I went to Western Baptist, now Corban College, the college surrounded by most of the prisions in Oregon.  I don't think I could believe it. 

Granted my student loans are almost paid off, so I knew it was coming.  It's totally eye-opening.  I can no longer related to college students.  I'm closer to 40 than I am to a freshman in college.  I started to realize this when Zoe was a baby and I was pulling all-nighters.  I don't pull all-nighters.  Especially not 10 years after college.

Imagine my surprise when I received a call from my good friend Brooke.  She's helping plan the reunion and wanted my help.  We were two girls who went to college for an education and new friends.  Neither of us walked out with an M.R.S. degree, but we did make some awesome memories.

We experienced many firsts together and I am so excited to have a chance to work together.  If she's the only other person who shows up to the reunion, then it'll be worth it.

We're both secretly hoping our reunion is huge.  If you're one of my college peeps and graduated in 2000, the reunion is October 1 & 2.  Plan on coming.  We'd love to see you even if we didn't chat much in college.  We're both much cooler now than we were then.  Or at least much more social!