Saturday, May 16, 2009

Mother's Day was super-fantastic!

Mother's Day was a lovely day this year, sunny and warm, with few responsibilities. Well, okay, I had the same responsibilities as always, but I ignored most of them, because it was myyyyyy daaaaaay. My sweet little family gave me a new Bible--an archeological study Bible that I'd hinted at--a nice cover for it, a chocolate bar, and some mints from Chick-Fil-A. (Why the mints? I don't know, but I ate them anyway.)

We picked up lunch at Jason's Deli and took it over to my in-laws house, and had a nice, unhurried visit with them. The girls napped for most of the afternoon, and Batman and I planned our vacation (the Grand Canyon!). I spent the rest of the day reading ("Closing Time" by Joe Queenan, very dark but well-written). Of course I have no pictures of the day, but trust me when I say we all looked happy and beautiful.

Mother's Day and Valentine's Day are the two holidays that I think have the most pressure attached to them: store ads and the media are constantly offering "the perfect gift" and urging men to plan the "perfect" day, and the next day everyone wants to know what you got and how you celebrated and it's just not possible for reality to match expectation. That's why I LOVED this post by Manolo the Shoeblogger. He captures the typical Mother's Day in all it's reality--loving, precious, and the total opposite of a Kay Jewelry ad. Jayne Seymour may not have this type of Mother's Day, but the rest of us do. And it's perfect.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

She refuses to wear the ribbon

Every year the 5th grade has a science fair; it's a pretty big deal, sponsored by Exxon, and the kids work on it throughout the spring semester. After a lot of Googling and discussion, Number One decided to do hers on "what kitchen cleaner best kills raw chicken germs."

We did the experiment twice just to make sure our results were good, spent a lot of time on the research and notes, and we now know more than we ever wanted to know about salmonella. Batman came up with the title ("Eat More Chicken--Thoroughly Cooked") and called an acquaintance at Chick-Fil-A who provided lots of promotional materials for Number One to use on her display.

All her (our?) work paid off--she won second place in the "Life" category and got a shiny red ribbon!

It's currently hanging on her door, and I'm pretty sure it'll stay there until college. She's shown it to several visitors and possibly the yard guy as well. The only drawback to this whole project is that none of us have much of an appetite for chicken anymore. Let's just say that what grew in the petri dish, should stay in the petri dish.

(You're welcome for not posting THOSE pictures.)