Paul Newman

So. I hear Paul Newman has died. He was 83. I am not one for being a huge fan of celebrities, but I was a fan of his. I enjoyed his acting in every movie of his that I can recall. I respected him. He had a long marriage (50 years this past January) and truly loved and enjoyed his wife. He had a huge commitment to being charitable. (The Newman line of products has given over $240Million to various charities, to date.) (Figure quoted has been edited since original post.) He was physically beautiful. He had a wonderful direct gaze. He seemed like a fun, positive, strong, centered, and reliable sort of guy. The sort of guy that many guys of his generation happened to be.

Here are a few pictures of how I best remember Mr. Newman. May his family and friends feel peace.

Irene's bubbles and infinity song

Irene picked up two new talents today. She can now blow bubbles with bubble gum! (Photos below) And, she can sing The Infinity Song. Do you want to hear The Infinity Song? (This would be the point where you YELL in a pleading voice, "NO!! PLEASE, NOOOOOOOOOoooooo!!")

The Infinity Song:

" ... There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over. Roll over.' So, they all rolled over and one fell out. There were (unintelligible word) on the bed and the little one said, ... "

(may be repeated to infinity - and beyond - or until your half-crazed mommy (that would be me) barks at you to stop it!!

I tried to teach her the concept of adding counting down to this song, but she went back to the Infinity version. Erg!

New (old) post

I forgot that I had saved the "Crafty Girls" post as a draft on September 10, but had not posted it. Sooooo ... I just posted it. But, it won't let me change the date and put it in order. If you want to see it, click on the link on the right side of the screen, or select "Older Posts" till you get to September 10.

Flashback - June 30, 2008

May watering her garden in her Kathy Boots.

Happy Birthday, Janie!!

Yesterday was Jane's 5th birthday! Wow. She is getting to be such a grown-up girl. She is such a YUMMY! I adore our youngest daughter. I am so fortunate that she is mine. Lucky me!

I now have TWO five year old daughters (until December 1). Must remember to take my vitamins!! haha

She decided to wear her Happy Birthday crown from last year, even though it has been broken and taped back together with packaging tape! Jane really likes familiar things. She took Mother's Frosted Animal Cookies to school to share with her classmates at snack time. They gathered in a cake (circle) and she chose 5 kids to stand in the center of the cake (circle) to be her candles. They sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she blew out the "candles." It was adorable! They enjoyed the cookies and then one of the teacher assistants read them a book about a stinky bear. Cute!


I love the photo of Jane with her teacher. She is a GREAT teacher. I never know if I should name people's names in this blog.


When it was time for dinner, Janie chose pizza. Chris and the girls made two pizzas while I rested my knee. Dinnertime was a BUZZ of pizza, gifts, and cake! The purple frosting made our tongues look very interesting! Janie loved all her gifts, and went especially crazy for the play laptop computer!


When she told me a while ago that she wanted a LAPTOP for her birthday, I knew I would have to disappoint her. When she amended that to a PLAY laptop, I gained hope. I swear this was the best $20 I ever spent at Wal-Mart! As you will see from the pictures, she gasped with delight at opening it, played with it before it was even out of the box, played with it while wearing MY reading glasses, and even took it to bed with her. LOL! It has 30 features and games, and holds the attention of all 3 girls. Many of the features (letter recognition, number order, etc.) are things they all already know. But, there are many things that will keep their focus for quite a while to come. Janie LOVES things that play music, phones, and computers. She is VERY good on computers and has perfect pitch when singing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my sweet Janie!!

Ellis Island for Third Grade

May's class (and all the other 3rd grade classes) acted out the process of arriving at Ellis Island via ship, and going through the immigration process (Baggage Room, Information Room, Medical Room, Deportation, and Welcome to America!) a few days ago.

I volunteered in May's classroom, which was the Medical Room. A long and winding line of kids arrived in front of me, and one-by-one, I asked them these questions

* Have you ever had chicken pox?

* Have you had a chicken pox shot?

* Have you ever been hospitalized? If so, what for?

* Do you have problems with:

Heart

Feet

Eyes

Walking/Limping

Face

Mental Illness

I had a LOT of fun asking the question of whether the child had problems with their FACE! LOL!! :-) Also, I looked at them sideways when I asked about their mental health (I know a lot about mental health problems - believe me!!)

The kids carried a brown paper bag from Safeway as their baggage. They were to pack the things they would need for the journey back then (no electronics, etc.). They had things like changes of clothing, stuffed toys, dolls, food, photos, books, etc. They dressed in old fashioned clothing and many of the girls had their hair in buns or braids. Lots of the boys had hats on.

The kids were so nervous about getting all the steps right and being allowed into America. They were so serious and determined. It was HARD for me to mark any "negatives" down on their medical forms. Just a small handful played like they were sick, and seemed to want to get that noted as they moved along to the "doctor" (May's fabulous teacher).

It was AMAZING to me how many kids would disclose to me their REAL LIFE medical issues and hospitalizations. I got to learn which ones had heart surgeries, broken bones, too-fast growing fingernails (no, really! I know and trust this girl.), eczema, and countless tonsils out. Only a very few had experienced chicken pox. And, I got to explain that having the chicken pox shot (there are actually two shots now) is a GOOD thing. (I hope there are no crazy anti-shot moms reading this! Hee! No offense, Crazy Anti-Shot Moms.) (OK - I was going to leave that at that. BUT - one of my children carries a communicable virus. It is NOT a big deal. She is HEALTHY. This is a greater risk to HER than to anyone else. Once her body discovers the virus and fights it, there are greater health risks to HER. There is a shot to protect against this virus! If YOU do not see to it that YOURSELF and YOUR child are fully immunized, then YOU are putting your child and yourself at risk in this world. Period. Fact. The End. Crazy People. Sigh.)

But, I digress ...

(Take a breath, Holly. Sheesh!)

It was a GREAT exercise for the third grade kids to be in a huge mass of people, moving slowly along the complex process. Most making it into America, but some being deported. :-(

I was so thankful that May did not get deported. This is an exercise, but immigration is real and personal to kids who have actually DONE it. :-)

ANYWAY -- here are some photos of the experience. In the first two shots, May's teacher is reading to her class from a book that has letters from people who actually immigrated. It was a great thing to hear! I need to find out what the name of the book is, so we can read it. May is in a white sweater and dark long skirt. She can be spotted easily, because she is beside her friend with the turquiose sweater. (Except in one photo, where I caught her beside my possible future son-in-law, Camello - I hope I spelled that right. Carmello? He is a great boy. He is on my short list of boys who I would love to have as a future son-in-law, should May grow up to be heterosexually marriage inclined. She has a lot of time before she makes those choices.).