"The Worst Mom"? "Dumb"? Ouch!!
Monday, November 10, 2008
On the way home from grocery shopping on Saturday, Natalie casually mentioned that the kids in her class think that I am "the worst mom" because I don't make very good lunches since I don't put many treats in her lunch box.
Well, I believe that fruit snacks are equivalent to gummy bears, that goldfish crackers are essentially cardboard, and I actually follow our pediatrician's and dentist's advice to cut out most juice, especially the juice box-type drinks. So if that makes me "the worst mom" then I guess I am, in fact, the worst mom. But, ouch, that hurts my feelings! I don't want to be the worst mom. I don't want the kids at school to think Natalie has a witch for a mother. This is not a fun feeling.
I then asked Natalie how many kids' moms write notes to them on their napkins that are packed with their lunch? She could only think of one other child in her class. So I felt happy that at least she knows she's loved when she gets her napkin note from mom every day at lunch.
Now this morning as I was packing her lunch, she mentioned that the kids in school think that I am "D-U-M-B" (yes, she spelled it out for me) because of the things that I write on her napkins. Ouch again! I do write rather silly things on her napkins, like "Boom Shaka-Laka" or "10 days til Halloween" or "Thanks for making your bed so nicely this morning". I can picture the kids sitting down at their lunch table and someone saying, "So, Natalie, what did your mom write today?" in a mocking voice and everyone laughing. Again, not a fun feeling.
I expected peer pressure to come someday on clothes, music, going to sleepovers, etc., but SACK LUNCHES? I must confess, that every once in a while, I DO buy fruit snacks, goldfish crackers, and red-colored sugar water mislabeled as "juice", mainly because I recognize that a sandwich and fruits and veggies can get boring day after day. But I guess an occasional treat is not enough for my daughter to escape ridicule.
Should I just ignore the pressure and take satisfaction in knowing that she is eating healthy? Or should lunches from our house become a pre-packaged party of sugar and cardboard?
Signed,
Lisa (aka "the Worst mom")
Lightning Brendan
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Brendan played on the Purple Dragons soccer team. The kid is fast if you just can keep him moving in the right direction.
Natalie Soccer
Natalie played on the Purple Panthers team this year with a crew of her friends and did great. \
Check out the war paint she put on to keep the sun out of their eyes...wait...this is Portland in October...there is no sun in your eyes!
(Hint: You can click on the picture for a larger image)
Halloween
Two pioneer girls, one pumpkin, and one Boba Fett with a laser gun (that makes an awful noise). The funniest event of the evening was seeing this 8 year old pioneer girl run around with a laser gun...
Lisa made the pioneer costumes, don't they look great!
And AJ had a great time.
Carving the Pumpkins
We originally planned to go the pumpkin patch, but after unending weeks of soccer, we were exhausted. On the way out of the last soccer party we saw a pile of pumpkins at a grocery store and offered root beer floats and one pumpkin each if we could just pick one out and go home...boy I'm sure glad the kids like root beer.
As can see, the kids designed them and then we helped cut them out. For the first time, Natalie scooped everything out by herself.
Summer Smiles
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
It's been appearing randomly for a couple of weeks, but today we finally captured it--Summer's smile!
"Should I smile for Mom?"
"I guess maybe just a little smile."
"Okay, you can have a big smile."
"Here it is!"
"Now give me back my fingers to suck on!"
Move over applesauce, Amanda's got a new favorite food
When she gets hungry, she knows just what to do--head straight for the freezer for some Tillamook!
Visualization of Hood to Coast Results
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Remember, I'm an absolute data geek...so please have patience with me.
When I ran Hood to Coast with the Team "Runs in the Family", we placed 201st in the Mixed Masters group. So I grabbed the race results and plugged them into my new favorite website - Many Eyes. The site takes your data and plugs it into different visual graphics. Just think of user friendly Excel that helps you visualize results and interact with the graph.
So how did our finish time compare to other teams?
The professional teams are to the far left. My team finished 201st.
How fast were the teams from the different cities?
Each color represents a city. The larger the circle, the slower the time. If you mouse over the circle you can see the team name and place they finished.
And lastly, the distribution of where we finished.
Thanks for listening...I got the "That's nice dear" look from Lisa when I showed her...
I promise to not show any more math or running posts for a long time...
Friends Come to Visit
We had some fun when some friends from California came to visit this summer.
In mid-July, our good friend and former across-the-street neighbor Melodi came to visit. She and her two children, Nehemiah and Adie were visiting her mom in Eugene, so they came up for dinner one Sunday afternoon. We met Melodi's mom and were able to catch up on what has happened in the year since we both moved from Lorelei Ave. The kids got to play Legos with Nehemiah (just like old times) and we were able to meet Adie for the first time. The only thing missing was Ken, who hadn't arrived in Oregon yet. 
Then last week, Tom and Mindy and their three girls from good old Lakewood 3rd Ward came by. They were driving through Portland on their way to a family reunion on the coast. They stopped by to say hi. We ate pizza and the kids kept busy on the trampoline. I had wondered if the kids would be shy around each other, but after about 10 seconds of shyness, it was like they had all seen each other yesterday. Good times! 
So if anyone out there is making travel plans, please note that if you come to the northwest, you can get a free dinner at our house! We love visitors!
Hood to Coast
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
What Hood to Coast is NOT:
-A trail some tree hugger treks each year
-A rap song about the homeboy Richards clan (wouldn't even know where to start)
-Wearing a hoodie while you snorkle...
-The latest Oregon Rain gear (environmentally friendly of course)
-Something I want to do again in the next 350 days
What is it really?
A 197 mile relay race from Mt. Hood to the Oregon coast. Twelve people to a team and over 1000 teams participating. Imagine traffic jams, no sleep, sweaty runners, and way to many crazy people torturing themselves to finish the race.
But we had a blast....
Heddie, my sister, came up and showed us how the pros do it. At one point I even heard someone say, "Dang she's fast! She's even faster than when she started!"
Above you can see the cheering squad at the end of our first run. The whole family made it!
Below is our team. I'll tell you, by the end of this race I knew everyone very well...
What a great time...if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend it.
Size
Friday, August 1, 2008
Amanda still seems like such a baby to us, but the difference in size amazes us. 
Amy Yoder Begley - Olympian
Today we drove by a local shopping center and saw a big crowd of people all waiting in line to meet and get their picture with Amy Yoder Begley. She is running the 5000 meters (10k) at the Olympics in a few weeks. She was super nice and signed pictures for the kids. She runs about 70 miles a week and cross trains a ton. Even more impressive...her mile pace is about 6 minutes. Geez I feel like a slug.
Go Amy!!!
Does anyone else have their kids pumped up about the Olympics?
A Great Help
Grandma came to visit and was able to hold the baby and help out on a million other things.
Thanks Grandma!
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