Calvin's 'Bail Out'

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Valentine Box

It's February and that means celebrating a ground hog, some dead Presidents, sending flowers to your loved one, and the ever popular, valentine box. This is the second year that Jacob's vision of combining the world of sports with the joy of candy has produced an unconventional Valentine collection receptacle. Last year he went with a football field. This year he is starting to feel the itch for swinging the bat. We built a Metrodome replica complete with a 30'x60' (not to scale) Daktronics ProStar Video Display system and a ProFence display scoring system.

Abbie went with a more conventional approach and decorated hearts with glitter glue on a bag.

Happy Valentine's Day

Political Interest vs. Economic Interest

I found this interesting video of an interview between Milton Freidman and Phil Donahue from 1979. Or is this 2009?

Question: Is political self interest (government control) better than economic self interest (self ingenuity)?

LOST

Very few things in a 5 year old's life are as exciting to lose than that of a tooth. From the first sign of a wiggle, there is great anticipation of making the step of surviving the 'tooth fairy' visit and living, temporarily, with a gaping hole along those neatly placed candy smashers. For about three weeks now, Abbie has been testing the tooth's ability to hold ...taking it to the edge and back...each day a little more and a little more. But that little sucker was holding on for an unusually long amount of time.

So finally, on Sunday afternoon at about 2:30pm, I decided to take an extra look at it for her. I placed my finger on the top of the tooth and pushed it back with a little more force that usual. There was a little snap. Abbie flinched but hung in there for more. I asked her if it hurt and she said no. I brought the tooth forward and snapped it out. And with a little blood starting to ooze, the celebration began. Abbie's first tooth. Immediately, Julia proclaimed that she now had a loose tooth. She didn't.

Abbie's only concern with the tooth fairy coming, was that she was going to take the tooth away from her. She wanted to take it to 'show and tell' in her Kindergarten class. So mom wrote a nice note on the zip loc bag that politely asked the fairy to not take the tooth and just leave the money. 'How much money am I going to get, Mom", asked Abbie..."probably a million dollars?" she followed with. I said, "Oh, I don't think a tooth is worth that much, honey. Maybe 2 quarters"

Abbie was ecstatic to find 2 whole dollars under her pillow right next to the tooth, the next morning.

Isn't there something in the Senate's economy so-called "stimulus" package that earmarked money for tooth fairies?

Ground Hog Day

After arriving back home last Friday evening, today was back to reality of school and work. I don't think the kids fully understood that while we were in sunny, warm Florida all week, our home was still in the frozen tundra, dead of winter. The shock hit them when we left the last warmth of the parking ramp sky walk toward the car. They were kind of upset and proclaimed 'we hate the cold'. Of course, leaving all their winter coats in the cold car didn't help either.

Today, Abbie's Kindergarten class learned about Ground Hog Day. Not sure what she learned from her teacher but she had her own impression of the plump little 'hog'. She came home and the conversation went like this...

Abbie: "Mom, did you know a RAT saw his shadow today and now we have to have 6 more weeks of winter?"

Mom: "Oh really"

Abbie: "Yeah, what does a RAT know about winter anyway?"

I laughed so hard and had visions of Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.

Hurry Spring...I miss my backyard!