Our first chick flick

A few weeks ago, I saw that Ramona and Beezus was going to be a movie. I squealed with delight! Yay! Something to share with Maggie from my childhood.

I was a huge Ramona fan when I was little. I remember coming home and finding "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" on my bed after school as a surprise from my mom. I read all of the Ramona books over and over again. I have a lot of them committed to memory.

So, I went to Amazon and got Ramona and Beezus so Maggie and I could read it before we went to see the movie. We had fun reading it and I saw a lot of Maggie in Ramona. She's got a huge imagination, but she's more reserved in some ways like Beezus.

Last night, we went to see Ramona and Beezus. We loved it. They combined all of the books together but included the important parts like slamming an egg on her head and squeezing a whole tube of toothpaste in the sink.

They also included her dad losing her job, which hits home to a lot of people right now. Right before the end of the movie, her dad loses his job, Picky Picky died and they are about to move. Maggie looked up at me with big tears in her eyes and said, "I'm about done with this movie." I assured her that we had to keep going.

It was tied up neatly at the end of the movie. It was the perfect chick flick for a 6 year old!

Squealing with Joy

We were out of town last week. Patrick went to his first foster mom's house for the week. He stayed with 2 other little boys around the same age. She had 3 boys who were all around 13 months old. She didn't seem to mind adding one more little guy to the mix. When we dropped him off, she was feeding all 3 of them. They were lined up in their high chairs and had their mouths open like little baby birds waiting to be fed.

When we came back, he looked at me like he knew who I might be. Maggie got a little more in response. Daddy got a big ole grin and he jumped into Steven's arms. This has been a long time isssue in our house. Maggie and Steven act crazy and scream and make silly faces at Patrick. He responds well to this. He likes the silly people in our house. I'll admit that I wish I would get the same response sometimes.

He's slowly getting back into the swing of things around this house. He was definitely at "grandma's house" last week and is struggling to be back on our schedule.

So, tonight, I went down the hallway at church to pick up Patrick. He came walking down the hall. He saw me and put his hands up in the air. Then, he started squeeling until I picked him up. I picked him up and he put his head on my shoulder. Awwwww....he missed me.

24 hours a day

My daughter can read. This is most evident in the car. She is constantly sounding out road signs and billboards.

Most of our conversations go like this:

Maggie: Mommy, what does S-P-E-E-D say?
Mommy: I don't know. Why don't you sound it out?
Maggie: Sp-eed. Speed. Cool. What does that mean? Why do we need speed limits? Why would people want to go faster than they should?Etc.

When I worked with Pre-K, I got to go to some of the teaching training workshops. I remember that one of the first ways that children learn how to read is from reading "environmental print". This is why children from an early age know that the word under the golden arches says McDonald's.

My daughter is embarrassingly good at environmental print from fast food restaurants.

So, we passed Walgreens on Sunday. She calls it "wal-grees" and I am not going to correct her on that because it's kind of cute.




She said, "Walgrees. Open 24 hours". Then, she paused. She said, "Wow, I feel sorry for the wagrees workers. They have to stay there for 24 hours. I bet they get really tired."

Then, we passed Steven running and she said, "Hurry up and get to him and roll down the window so I can cheer for Daddy!"

Electrolux contest/gift card giveaway.

Kelly Ripa and Electrolux are joining forces once again to celebrate the launch of Electrolux Appliance's new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer - that's right, the familiar duo has split up. And to sweeten the celebration, they're bringing in the "Emperor of Ice Cream" Stephen Bruce, owner and founder of Serendipity 3, the landmark New York City restaurant and dessert spot, into the mix.

Here's some information about a contest that I wanted to share with ya'll.

Kelly Ripa and Bruce teamed up earlier today to make banana splits for a cause. And now we want you to dig in, with your virtual spoon! Starting today, at www.Kelly-Confidential.com, you can build your ultimate banana split using virtual ingredients from classic whipped cream to caramel sauce to rainbow sprinkles. For each "split", Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $750,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer.

As usual, Electrolux and Kelly find new and fun ways to say thank you to those who support this great cause. Everyone who logs on to the site and builds a split will be automatically entered for a chance to win the daily prize - $50 towards sweet summer treats - and the grand prize: the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.

I hope that you will take this chance to make a virtual banana split. Every dessert that you make goes to earn money to fight ovarian cancer. And, you might get a chance to win 50 dollars or a new frig/freezer from electrolux.

If you enter the contest, leave me a comment and let me know. On Monday of next week, I will let Maggie pick a lucky winner from the comments that I have received. Then, Electrolux will send a 25 dollar gift card to the lucky winner for me!