McFCAT

 

 

If my child has to sit and take four days worth of high-stakes standardized testing, the least I can do is give him a special sendoff.  The Breakfast of Champions was free at McDonalds, and filled his belly with protein, carbohydrates and fruit, as suggested by his teacher.  The chocolate milk was just because.

 

In our house we are treating FCATs as a rite of passage, with no pressure to perform.  Even if he were to freeze up and not pass we would deal with it.  I'm not giving my kid an ulcer over a test. 

 

Good luck, buddy! 

 



A Very Important Person Indeed...

This week Dan is the VIP of his class.  He gets to sit in a special chair, wear a "VIP" button, gets a bracelet, and must complete a timeline of his life to share with the class.

Huh.  Turns out that's a lousy photo.  And the video is too long to upload.  Still, his presentation was just about as Daniel as Daniel gets.  Which means I smiled.  A lot.

I Min(d)ed, a Little...

Dan's school does a fundraiser every other year in which they take a piece of each child's artwork and make it into printable art.  It can be made into magnets, mugs, shirts, bags, pot holders - a ton of different options.

Two years ago Dan created this image:

So awesome!  A self-portrait, with great colors and the date and it was just perfect!  We had it made into a magnet and pot holders. 

This year I was so looking forward to Dan doing something along the same lines.  I have to admit I was disappointed when Dan came home with this:

Frickin' Minecraft.

In retrospect, the colors are bright and beautiful, and it truly reflects Dan's interest at this time.  When he's older he'll be amused.

Still, we will only buy the magnet this year.

Frickin' Minecraft.

Jewish Easter Egg Hunt and Fun on the Beach

Today we continued celebrating Dad's 75th birthday with a barbecue by the beach.  Since it is Easter, I brought eggs for an Easter Egg Hunt.  Sure, the kids are getting big.  And are mostly Jewish.  But it's fun!

The kids are all getting so big!

The "look"...

 

The hotties...

 

 

 

Cousins...

Jake and Dan in the pool...

Aunt Ami soaks up some rays...

 

 

Jake.

Dan really loves his cousins...

Deb and Adam...

 

Adam.

Laura and Sammi.

Adding Jared to the mix...

 

My sistas...

 





 

Getting ready for the egg hunt, Dan wants to make sure his pail is empty...

 

 

And they're off!

 

Very cool dude, but not too cool to look for some eggs...

Ditto...

Ha ha!  Found the last one!

It was a great weekend celebrating a great man, and even us Jewbies got some Easter eggs.  Shalom!

Last Minute Easter

Yesterday was my Dad's 70th birthday, and by the time we got home from the birthday celebration I was too exhausted to help the Easter Bunny.   I've never really pushed the EB thing, but Dan's always believed in him (or her).   "Dan's 8," I told myself, "so he probably doesn't believe anymore anyway."  So, I went to bed, ignoring the pangs of mommy guilt. I was too tired to care.

I awoke at 5:30 the next morning.  As I lay there in my comfy bed, I remembered about EB.  So I got out of bed, put jelly beans and candy and small toys in eggs, made a basket from a few things I'd picked up and a few things I stole out of the playroom and re-gifted to him (I'm not the only one who does this, am I?), and hid eggs around the family room.

 

Dan didn't even notice when he first awoke.  Twenty minutes later he ran into my room to tell me the Easter Bunny had come. 

 

Turns out he does still believe. 

 

So glad EB and I went to the effort. 

 

 

 

 



Olympic...Chocolate??

Dan and I were cuddling, watching the Olympics on TV.  This is the conversation we had...

Dan:  "You know, the gold medals arent REALLY gold..."

Me (irritated with Pete}: (Insert speech about what the medal represents and the journey athletes take.) 

Dan:  "I think the road race winner should get a piece of chocolate instead of a gold medal."

Me:  "I bet YOU'D choose chocolate over the medal..."

Dan:  "No, I wouldn't..."

(Surprised but happy mom for 1.2 seconds)

Dan:  "If I got the gold medal I could buy all the chocolate I wnd...anted!"

And... peace out.

From Wolf to Bear...and face paint!

Today Dan crossed over from Wolf to Bear with the rest of his den.  Unlike last year, he allowed us to apply the ceremonial paint to his face.  This is huge.

My boy is growing up.  Congratulations, Dan!

 

Stop the presses!!!!

Daniel tried Broccoli once, about three years ago. It was so abhorrent to him. Since then we have used "Tastes like broccoli!" whenever Dan wanted a taste of something scrumptious we are eating in hopes of deterring him.

Okay, I never said it worked...

Tonight we went out to celebrate Mother's Day. Yes, it's nearly 2 weeks late, but the sickies had taken up residence in our house so this was the first night we all felt marginally well enough to go out.

Broccoli came with my entree, and it was very mild. I dipped it in butter (yeah, I know) and told Dan he could have another of my shrimp if he tasted it.

 Not only did we not get the mortified face with the tongue stuck out as he wiped all traces as quickly as possible with no regard where the pieces landed, he actually asked for seconds. And thirds.

I think we need a new go-to phrase. Perhaps, "Tastes like liver!" I think we'll be safe with that...

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Every year Dan's cousin Jason celebrates his birthday with a party in the park.  Being January, the weather is usually beautiful for an afternoon outside.  Today was no exception.

Dan loves playing with his cousin Cooper...

 

 

 

 Nana came out with us...

 

 

 

The birthday boy!

Dan's a little big for Cooper's bike...

 

Jason and his Mom and Dad..

 

 

 

 

A great day!