It isn't true...

Sunday afternoon Lorien looks at me and says "Woah, Mom! It looks like you are getting a little bit pregnant!"
"What!?" My natural reply.
"Yhea, you do because your tummy is out like this--" She pushes her stomach out as far as it will go. "--but your back is all straight and your not pushing your tummy out like me. Your baby must be about the side of a grain of rice."

Just to calm the worries of my mother and set straight anyone else who thinks I look a tiny bit pregnant, I'm not. I am however recommitting myself to my New Year's resolution of exercising.

"Look what I did!"

The local Mom and Pop hardware store in our neighborhood comes complete with a penny candy display at the check out counter. This week I took Clare and Wyatt with me to pick up a few tools for yard work and of course a piece of penny candy. Wyatt quickly licked his candy into a fine point and said: "Look what I did Mom!" I was sufficiently impressed. After a few minutes, I noticed that Clare, who normally hovers at my knees all day, was missing. I knew she couldn't be far so I kept working with out interruption (trimming rose bushes takes serious concentration). Soon I hear Clare calling from the other side of the yard: "Momma, wook! Wook wa I did!" I find Clare sitting with her candy sucked down to a itty-bitty point just like Wyatt's. Clever mimic.

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Softball...

Last Saturday was the big kick-off party for the spring season of softball. The day was sunny but the wind was blowing making the air a little chilly. The nip in the air did nothing to subdue the excitement in Lorien and her fellow Blue Birds. The teams marched around the main field in a parade while Sammy the Shark (of the San Jose Sharks) and Lou Seal (of the San Francisco Giants) passed out new softballs. There was a bounce house, bounce slide, BBQ and huge speakers blasting out the soundtrack for the afternoon. Only the sweetest hip-hop tunes would be tolerated, like the 1999 classic "Mambo #5" and Aly & AJ's "Potential Break-up Song". If you don't think I went straight home and added those little gems to my i-tunes you are sadly mistaken my friend. Below are some picts. from the day.

Oh, did I mention Sammy the Shark is the mascot for an Ice hockey team? Was he a bit out of place? Yes. Was he less loved by the girls? No. Did he win the home run derby? Yes...for an ice skating-stuffed-shark, he knocked the stuffed-pants off Lou Seal, oh wait, Lou was never wearing pants.

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Yes, she is stuck there and yes, she is having fun...

Tricks of the trampoline...

Lorien has crazy trampoline skills.

And all this in a skirt!

Another try at the city...

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Last week we were invited on a preschool field trip and we don't even go to preschool! Some friends who do a home preschool were going to the Rain forest Cafe in San Francisco to finish up their section on the rain forest. First we stopped at the end of Pier 39 to watch the harbor seals and then we had lunch at the Cafe. All the kids liked checking out the giant fish tanks and life-like rain forest animals. Thanks for inviting us!

Who knew Cinderella could ice skate and sing?

I know you cannot see any thing in this picture, just trust me, there are a bunch of princesses skating around with their princes. Lovely...

Lorien and Momma had a date to see the Dinsey Princesses On Ice show. Lorien sang her heart out along with Ariel during "Part of your world". She also took plenty of unviewable shots from our seats way up in the rafters. We both had a fun night with friends and girling it up princess style.

Click it...

My maternal grandmother died of breast cancer when I was pretty little. I don't remember much about her but I remember knowing she was sick. As I have grown older and had time to meet new and amazing people I have been surprised at how many people are effected by cancer. Below is a link to the Breast Cancer Site. If you can take a minute and click on the site they make it possible for women to get free mammograms. So when ever you are checking your email, surfing the net or checking out blogs do your good deed for the day!

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

It is totally legit, you can check snopes.com if you don't believe me: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/charity/mammogram.asp

The Animal Kingdom...

Excepting Lorien, my kids loooooove animals. Wyatt asks frequently "Can we have a dog?" Clare jumps out of her skin with joy when she sees a cat, dog, bird or squirrel cross her path. Both Wyatt and Clare are never shy around animals, walking up to any four-legged creature to say "Hi!", pat it and if possible, give it some loves. I am more on Lorien's level when it comes to the other inhabitants of the planet. Lorien freezes in her tracks and starts to cry if a dog comes into view. To calm her down once I told her that she was very brave around dogs. When I was a kid, if I saw a dog I would climb up on top of some one's head to get away. (True stuff, ask my brothers, sisters and friends whose necks I nearly snapped in my dog-induced freak-outs). I know a lot of people who derive deep satisfaction from a special relationship with their pets. And I am happy for them, really I think its great. I, however, have never had the desire to befriend any creature other than humans (and even those can be pretty unpleasant at times). While these days those standing around me are fairly safe from the possibility of me jumping up on their shoulders and clawing my way up to their head if a dog comes around, I am no where near trotting off to the pet store to pick out the next brown-eyed, furry member of our family. Sorry kids!

The rain keeps coming!

Today was another day of rain, rain, rain. Lorien really loves the rain. Even if it is freezing cold she cannot wait to jump in the puddles. Our house is at the bottom of a hill so our yard is always full of puddles. This afternoon the rain was coming down in heavy sheets but the sun was shining. We could look up in the sky and see parts of the sky covered in heavy clouds and parts where the sky was clear, it was neat.