It's Days Like This...

that make me feel so guilty about my job as full-time Mommy. In the summer, without the schedule of school and the freezing cold temperatures, full-time Mommy also means full-time vacation. So, while Daddy works tirelessly almost every day to keep us financially secure, we are out playing... being kids... including Mommy. I feel so fortunate to be able to spend days like this with them while they are little, but at the same time I wish we could be sharing more of these days with Daddy. The few weeks of vacation he receives as part of his benefits package at work just don't cut it.

What exciting thing did we do today, you ask? Well we spent the day in Santa's Workshop at the North Pole. It's a great little amusement park not too far from us that is geared toward the little kids. Its luring array of little-people Christmas-themed rides, a North Pole that is always frozen no matter what time of year, a candy cane slide, a visit with Santa Claus himself and a ride on Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer make this park irresistible to young children. There is something wrong however with hearing "Little Drummer Boy" and sitting on Santa's lap when it's almost 80 degrees outside.

We planned to spend the morning at the park, a quick stop for our picnic lunches and maybe another half hour or so after that before we skedaddled out of there... but we were having so much fun that we nearly closed the place down at 5pm. No one wanted to stop; every single one of us, including the adults, wanted to ride "just one more ride". What's more, the park wasn't crowded at all so we stayed on for 2 or 3 rounds at many attractions. You can see all of our pictures from today... if you have some time on your hands.

The kids will remember this day for many things:

• Priya lost a tooth in the spinning ornament on the white Christmas tree attraction
• Sanjay was terrified in the Haunted House that he thought had "good people in it"
• Priya rode the Tilt-A-Whirl without giving the thumbs down (indicating to the ride operator that she wants it to stop so she can get out)
• Sanjay insisted on riding something that I warned him against and unfortunately had to bear the entire thing with his eyes closed since it was on a timer and the ride operator couldn't stop it for kids in fear... I felt so bad for him
• Waiting for Santa to come back from lunch so they could put in their requests for Christmas
• Falling asleep in the car on the way home from sheer exhaustion

I will remember this day for one thing:

• Spending precious time with both of them and playing like a kid again myself

Airline Fees

Last week, my good friend KO was talking about the airlines and how they are trying to make up for rising fuel costs by adding more random fees for things like checked baggage, in-flight meals, extra legroom and choosing an aisle or window seat. I must say, it's getting a bit ridiculous, but hopefully it won't get as grim as this cartoonist projects. :)

Proof That Branding Does Work

This morning while at a traffic light, Sanjay says to me, "Look Mom, American Idol on that car". After just having watched the finale, it must be fresh on his mind. I'm looking around at the cars, and I don't see it. So, I ask him to clarify... "Which car, Sanjay?". Then, suddenly I realize that he's talking about the Ford Explorer in the next lane over. Sanjay, my 3 year old that doesn't read, equates the Ford logo with American Idol. This was probably the intention of Ford marketing when they partnered with American Idol back in 2002 when it all started.

Ironically tonight I had a similar experience with Priya where a commercial she'd seen affected the way she thought about a particular product. Here's the conversation the kids and I had while getting ready for bed:

Sanjay: What is this?
Mommy: That's Mommy and Daddy's toothpaste. Wanna try some?
Sanjay: No.
Priya: Ooooh. I want to try some. I need it for my teeth because Colgate Total cleans your teeth really good.
Mommy: Really? How do you know that?
Priya: I saw it on a commercial. (proceeds to point out that her kid toothpaste is just Colgate, not Colgate Total)

This last tidbit is not about branding, but it is about a commercial and it's just too cute to be left out of this post. Sanjay on seeing a commercial for the movie E.T. says to me... "The alien is looking for a home and the boy is looking for a friend." How perceptive you are, my little Sanjay, to glean that from a 2 minute blurb about this classic movie.

Flashback to the 80's

In less than an hour we're heading out to see one of my favorite bands from the high school days... The Cure. Bartee just got turned on to them a little while back when he heard "Fascination Street" for the first time and now he's a big fan, too. We're headed to see a great band with some great friends at a great venue... Red Rocks Amphitheatre. What a night!

Looks like although The Cure hasn't been churning out much new music, they sure have been putting on a lot of shows. I haven't seen them since 1987 at the MCI Center in Washington DC. We were just teenagers and our seats weren't great, but we knew some folks who had tickets in the 9th row, so we snuck past the security guys and squeezed in that row for a few songs... it was awesome. Soon the security guards started checking tickets with flashlights, so we scampered back to our assigned seats. Tonight, I'll be content with our general admission seating while I sit there filled with nostalgia.

Robert Smith, we're on our way...

Preschool Skill Assessment

Sanjay brought home his first "report card" recently. I could hardly wait to tear it open to see what his teachers think of him... to see if he acts differently at school than at home. He received very good marks. His lowest rated skill was "Shows compassion/understands other children's feelings", which tends to match his at-home behavior. According to the report, he still has not mastered "I can line up and follow the leader"... I can just imagine the amount of fidgeting he must do when having to obey this kind of structure. My favorite part of the report is the personal note from the teachers... I always love this section. They wrote about Sanjay:

"It has been a pleasure to have Sanjay in the Honeybee class. He is a sweet, bright little boy who just lights up the room. He is doing well in all areas and is constantly learning. We will miss him! Stop and see us in the fall. Have a great summer!"

Out of curiousity I grabbed Priya's skill assessment from the same class and same teacher when she was Sanjay's age (+3 months). Her lowest marks were in the following skills: "I can line up and follow the leader", "Helps with clean up time", "I can play cooperatively/take turns and share", and "I can use scissors with control". It's funny because I remember specifically her teachers talking to me about her ability to effectively cut anything. But, those memories only surfaced when I pulled out this report. Luckily she's crossed that hurdle since her preschool days and now is a regular pro at creating artwork, and even slippers, out of construction paper. Here is what the same teacher said about Priya three years ago:

"Priya is a very sweet girl. She is a great Honeybee and is well rounded in all areas. She is a joy to have in class. We are working on our 'cutting skills'. Thank you for sharing her with us this year."

Preschool End Of Year Program

The preschool puts together a lovely program for the parents at the end of the year. It was Sanjay's first time on stage and he did great. He was fully focused on performing and knew the lyrics to nearly every song. However, at home when I ask him to sing these tunes he can't seem to find the words. On the drive home, he let me in on his secret... he said, "Mom, when the teachers lips moved, I sing'd their lips". I put together a scrapbook page of the event...

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my Mom-friends who are reading. Hope your day is really special!

For me, this week has been filled with celebration. When I walk downstairs this morning I am completely surprised by what I find on the kitchen table. Bartee had set it up nicely last night when we got home after I disappeared upstairs to sleep. There were cards, gifts from the kids that they made in school, a balloon and a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi! If you've been following along here on the blog, you know that I went back to Weight Watchers at the end of February. Since then I have been trying, really trying, to like diet sodas. I have tried them all; Diet Coke, Diet Rite, Fresca, Jazz, Diet Dr. Pepper, Tab... you name it. Nothing compares to a good sugar-loaded Coke. Even while in India, I had to escape to the Royal Shoppe for a cold Coke on several occasions. Anyway, a friend said to me... “Diet Pepsi is the best” so I bought a 6-pack of the small cans. Any other time I tried buying diet soda I ended up giving a bunch of them away and/or throwing ½ a can out because I don't really like the stuff. But this time, I nearly finished the whole 6-pack... it's not too bad, this Diet Pepsi. Bartee noticed this and went ahead and satisfied my addiction. Thanks honey... very good timing as I only have 1 can left.

Later we had a great family brunch at Golden Corral... where we ate the all-American home-cooked breakfast. And, this afternoon I went hiking with a great friend while Bartee stayed home with the kids. Two hours of solid adult conversation, covering topics like health care, gas prices, electric cars, teacher gifts, movies and books, in the foothills and trees of Pikes Peak. It was beautiful.