our song

Every night when I cuddle with OM as they go to sleep I sing them a song:

'I love you Maya

oh yes I do.

I don't love anyone

as much as you.

When you're not near me

I'm blue.

Oh Maya 

I love you.'

Then I sing it to Owen. (Or vice versa.) Sometimes, when they beg for more, I change the names to their favorites:

'I love you baby sis....'

'I love you baby boy...'

'I love you snugy buggy...'

'I love you sassy girl...'

'I love you sweet, sweet prince...'

And the reason I even know this song and (somehow) remembered it* all these years later is because I watched Bye Bye Birdie on numerous occasions during my adolescence. 

I adored the scene where Ann Margret changes out of her school clothes into her regular clothes...love, love, love the whole thing: the choreography, the outfit change (those socks!), the song, Ann Margret's oozing charm. If you haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favor and rent it. 

It is worth seeing.

Another favor you should do yourself is make this key lime pie. 

Woody loves key lime pie so I always make it for his birthday and this year he requested it for Father's Day too so I am recently reminded about how freaking delicious it is. 

Ina Garten knows her stuff.

OK, last thing, if you have 20 minutes (you do) you should watch this commencement address Conan O'Brian gave @ Dartmouth. 

*I may have remembered the lyrics incorrectly but I like the version we have going as a lullaby. I'll have to rent it myself and see how I did.:)

Oregon's beauty

*Thanks for the suggestion Debi:) This park was fantastic.

summer's off to a good start!

Well, kinda.

It least it's an exciting start. 

The very nice tow truck person was a pleasure to meet and it was the first time OM had seen their dads' truck towed...you can find the positive in anything if you try.

A few weeks ago we started working on some diaramas. 

 (Maya worked very hard on hers...painted every single surface of her box, glued stuff on and then painted over that. She was very engaged.)

 (Owen was not pleased with how his was turning out. He got frustrated and went on to do something else.)

(I think it turned out great...he was going for a starry night scene. I think he achieved that.)

As I mentioned last time, I was inspired by Yo-Yo Reggio to create a 100 list of things to do this summer.

So we did:

 (Owen felt like he needed a nap after all that creating so he got cozy and made a note to go with it:

...See, he's sleeping and he doesn't want anyone to come up and scare him:)

We hope everyone else is off to a great summer too!!!

Ed Emberley

I was reading this blog post by Heather Ross a couple of weeks ago and immediately clicked on my dear, dear Beaverton library website and requested as many titles of Ed's as they had.

Owen and Maya, but especially Owen, are DIGGING them:

 (first he drew a shark and a standing pig)

 (then he drew the fish and crab but putting them in the ocean scene was his own idea)

 (big and little dragons)

 (E.E. explains on the first page that if you can draw about 8-10 basic shapes and squiggles then you can draw anything in any of his books. You just start with the shape on the left and then keep adding...it's really amazing and there is such an endearing tone to the books)

 (Owen is also obsessed with tape; we go through LOTS of tape in this house)

I have loads of ideas rumbling around in my head for summer plans with OM and now Ed has given me a few more. 

Actually, after reading this post over @ Yo-Yo Reggio I feel I should make a list. 

A nice big, fat, long one.

Because, ya know, I have the whole summer free.

Starting Wednesday.

Wooooohooooo!

Change

As some of you know, I left my position @ the children's hospital and have now gained new employment @ Clark College in Vancouver, WA.

Woo Hoo!

I'll be teaching Health 100: Food and Your Health! I am so excited.

Course Description: (condensed):
Explore the connection between food choices and health with an emphasis on whole foods. Expand awareness around the impact of these choices from an individual, social and envirnomental perspecitve. Develop personalized healthy eating strategies.

Course Outcomes (also condensed):
Differentiate between a food, a nutrient, and an additive
Examine healthy eating guidelines
Interpret food labels
Explore mindful and sustainable eating practices
Cook a healthy dish

Check out the Required text:

I can't believe my good fortune. Remember all those pesky posts in the past about What to Eat and exercise...can't believe I'm going to get paid to pester other people about it. Sweet!

An added bonus is that the Health Department @ Clark is located inside the Fitness Department. Dream come true. I love being around people so interested in health and exercise and I'm hoping that some of the folks enrolled in the fitness trainer program will need bodies to practice on and I'll score some free personalized training.

On a related note, I checked out this beautiful blog today and am already figuring out how to add it to the class. Good stuff! I love how it shows exactly who is doing all the back-breaking work to get us our food. 

I'm reading Animal,Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and savoring every well-written word. I'm so drawn to this lifestyle..I can't stop reading about it.

In other change news:

my baby boy graduated from kindergarten yesterday!

It was an adorable celebration: the preschoolers joined the ceremony and walked out to the theme from Star Wars, followed by the k'gartners and their procession to Pomp and Circumstance. 

Then O's class sang Stand by Me. 

I get a giant lump in my throat just thinking about it. 

Way to go O! 

We're so proud of you.♥♥

(this is Tya, one of Owen's classmates. She loves Maya:)