Ready, set, FIRST trip on my own! Now, go!

It's been a great week around here and the fun is continuing, for me, because I am leaving tomorrow, on my first trip alone since I had the kids, to visit the fantastic, beautiful, best sister & aunt ever, Courtney!!  And the kids will be having an equally marvelous time because they'll get to spend the days Ryan's working being spoiled by Grandma Connie and then they'll spend the long weekend in Yreka with Ryan, Grandma Star and Grandpa Bob.  But, not to get ahead of myself, last weekend was great, too, because it was Pole Pedal Paddle weekend.  This year we rocked another family team and went 7 minutes faster than last year, placing 5th in our division (out of 65 teams).  Go us!  :)  It is such a fun event and we look forward to it all year, especially because it means family comes to visit.  It also seems to signify the beginning of summer (even if the weather doesn't always agree).  If our result and the fun we had is any indication, we should be having a wonderful summer!  Now, off to pack--I will miss Ryan, Kate & Will a lot but I must say I am SOOOOO excited to visit Courtney.  See you in a week!

My dancing queen!

Love it

Will has a pretty extensive vocabulary now (especially in the truck/heavy equipment arena--he pointed at a picture the other day and said, "grapple hook"), but he hasn't figured out how to use "you" or "me."  So, if he wants you to pick him up, he says, "carry it" or if he wants you to read to him, he says, "read to it."  The BEST, best thing he does, though, is run up to me and give me a great big hug while saying, "love it!"  Right back at you, buddy.  :)

Kate quote o' the day

I should really just make this blog about things Kate says on a daily basis.  It's been so long since I've recorded some and I'm kicking myself because she comes up with some awesome tidbits everyday.  Alas, blogging time is so short of late, that I'll just have to settle for the few and far between and just enjoy the rest in the moment (and, trust me, she supplies me with at least one good laugh each day).  She had a good one at bedtime tonight, so here's one while I'm at this blogging things (two in one day?!)

(Kate, sitting in bed, with a devilish grin and the "Where's Waldo?" book)

Kate: "You know what, mommy?  Of all the things Grandma hates, she hates "Where's Waldo?" the most."

Me: "That's not really a nice word, honey.  I don't think Grandma hates things."

Kate: "Oh, yes, she does because that's the word she uses when she sees this book!"

So, mom, fess up, are you airing your long list of pet peeves to Kate?  Or is it just Waldo on the "most hated" list?  Can't blame you for that one!  He's on mine, too, along with that damn "Skippy Jon Jones" (footnote: DON'T EVER, ever buy this book for anyone you know and like!!)

Preschool teachers know it all...

...about all sorts of things that you probably wish they didn't.  True or not, they hear tale after tale from three-year-old mouths and Kate is definitely not an exception to this.  In fact, she is probably the biggest teller of tales and random (or inapproiate) information in her class this year.  My mom told me that my preschool teacher told her, "oh, I hear about EVERYTHING" and this is definitely not something that changes with time.  So, Kate, has had her teacher in stitches quite a few times this year.  It started with Kate saying she was most thankful for Metallica (this is probably the truth!) and progressed to Kate singing "Deck the Halls with Santa's Balls" (yes, this did happen) and went on to Kate giving an (apparently quite entertaining) explanation of the male/female anatomy to her peers.  Luckily, Kate's teacher is my friend and has a great sense of humor, so she's relayed to me countless things Kate has announced and/or demonstrated.  To this point, though, she hasn't ever mentioned much random stuff about me or about Ryan.  Until Tuesday.  She brought a picture of Ryan and I in her backpack (not sure how it got there, but there's always a lot of stuff of unknown origin in there anyway).  It's a picture she found awhile ago and asked if it was me and Uncle Jay.  I told her, "no, that's daddy" and she just said, "oh, okay, it looks like Uncle Jay."  Silly me for thinking that was all she'd have to say about that.  So, she showed it to her teacher and said, "this is mommy and my Uncle Jay from when they were married."  Obviously, her teacher knew that it was Ryan but she said Kate kept insisting that I was married to Uncle Jay and then to daddy.  She said she was pretty sure Kate was making it up, but she was convincing enough to think I really was making the rounds of the Singleton family!  I can only imagine what other rumors about us (all of us, so beware family and friends!) Kate will start as the years progress.....this is a small town, we could have quite the reputation! :)

Kate's kindred spirits: FOUND!

The race is over!  I no longer have a full-time, unpaid job (aside from Kate & Will, that is...)!  It went SO well, actually pretty much just how we'd envisioned it.  The weather was perfect; we got completely lucky as the days before and after have been very, very sub-par.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I've gotten TONS of emails from people saying that they've already put it on their calendar for next year!  And, as the reason for the whole race was to make money, we did--just over $2700 when all was said in done.  Pretty darn good for a first-year effort, especially in an area where there are so many events every weekend.  We're pretty lucky to live in a community where people do like to come out support causes like ours!  So....back to my real "job."  The kids are doing great and becoming better friends (and, on the flip side, rivals) everyday.  Kate loves that Will can talk, except that he has learned to yell "no share!" when she takes something from him.  Gone are the days when he gave in easily to her every demand!  Will is adding so many words each day.  This is my absolute favorite part of having a toddler--it is mind-boggling how they acquire language SO quickly.  Today his favorite word is awesome which is, well, pretty awesome.  He has another favorite word that is not quite as awesome and that is: vagina.  Yes, having a sister to teach you things does have its drawbacks.  I can already see that I'll have to warn his pre-school teacher someday, just as I have to warn Kate's teacher-on a fairly daily basis--about the things she might say.  What else?  Well, Kate and I played our first board games together yesterday and this is what I learned: (1) Kate has not quite acquired the gracious-winner concept (as in she repeatedly yelled, "I win and that means YOU LOSE" every time she won) (2) Kate knows and will use the phrase "that sucks" (great) and (3) Kate knows how and will willingly cheat.  So, she's got all the game bases covered, I guess?  And, on a final note, we have discovered Kate's true kindred spirits......

http://www.wimp.com/superawesome/

Enjoy!