Radio Head

As much as I love Cleveland, one complaint I have always had is that radio in this town stinks. There is not a big selection in the first place, and what there is to choose from leaves much to be desired. Too urban, too redneck, too mid-70's rock. You know it is really bad when you actually start to enjoy listening to Radio Disney, an AM station that is pretty staticky most of the time.

Between two trips downtown to Cleveland Clinic and two trips to the dentist in Avon, plus swimming and piano this week, I've gotten to spend some quality time with my kids in the car. They of course request Radio Disney, and I have to say I don't mind and am even tempted to listen to it even on my own. I mean, you can't go wrong with a little Hannah Montana and songs from the High School Musical soundtrack. Those seem to be the songs in the highest rotation. But they throw in Carrie Underwood's song from "Enchanted," "Tatoo" by Jordin Sparks, "Love Like This," by Natasha Bettingfield, a lovely acoustic version of "Wait For You" by Elliot Yamin, and even some U2. That is more than I can say for Q104. I hate Pink and Nickleback and why did I hear Bon Jovi TWICE on that station the other day?

So what if I have "Bet On It" constantly stuck in my head? Who cares if I miss the chorus of "Miss Independent" due to some weird interference noise? What difference does it make if I am supporting the biggest machine in this country's industrial history? Disney makes my kids happy, and I am not ashamed to admit I love the magic too. Tune in next time to AM 1260.

We're all ears!

Happy 100th Day!

Yesterday was the 100th day celebration in Andrew's kindergarten class. As a room mom, I got to go in and share in the festivities. Each child had to count out 100 of something and bring it in to school. Andrew brought in 100 pennies. They strung 100 fruit loops on a string for a necklace, made 100th day headbands, drew a picture of what they'd look like when they are 100 years old, drew what they would buy with $100 (Andrew drew a home theater), and had a special snack. It was a lot of fun to see the kids and hear them say over and over, "Happy 100th Day!" Here are some pictures of the festivities:

Andrew with his collection of 100 pennies.

Our beloved Miss Zkiab (in red) and friends checking out everyone's collections.
Stringing a fruit loop necklace
A fitting 100th day snack!

Andrew got to go home with a friend after school, so after I got the kids a snack, I sat down to watch the rest of Project Runway. The girls of course followed me into the living room and lined themselves up on the couch to watch and do homework. They were actually pretty productive--maybe it's better to be comfy!

Study hall!

Update

I called the Clinic today to see if there were any MRI cancellations, and lo and behold--there is an opening on Friday! So the wait has been cut from 3 weeks to 3 days. Much better.

I have to tell you something funny Andrew said as we were waiting for the bus. But first, a little background. Our mailman is the nicest guy, but a little dense when it comes to actually delivering the mail properly. Quite often we get mail for others, not too big of a deal, but it makes us wonder what mail of ours is misdelivered. One Saturday the entire stack of mail in our box was for our neighbor. Included in that pile were some important looking envelopes, i.e. bills! I called the post office in frustration and the lady I talked to said our carrier would be reprimanded.

Now, this guy always says hello and has throughout the years, so I don't want him to get in major trouble, and I kind of felt bad that I had snitched on the guy. So one day when Andrew and I were out waiting for the bus, I saw the mail truck down the street. I told Andrew I was going to hide on the porch because I didn't want the mailman to see me after I had called and gotten him in trouble. In the days that followed, Andrew either missed the bus or I sent him out by himself (while watching him out the window, of course) because I was still in my PJ's and it was really cold. Today was the first day in a while that I had gone out with him. He said that he would tell me if he saw the mailman coming so I could go hide again. Then he says "The mailman is going to get rubber banded." Huh? "The lady at the post office is going to rubber band him!" I may have to call back with the rubber band suggestion if the reprimanding doesn't work! Ouch!

Appointments and Accomplishments

Brooke had her appointment at the Cleveland Clinic today. The doctor confirmed what I had been thinking, that the chances that the nodule on her brain growing this fast are very slim, but she should have another MRI to make sure. I made an MRI appointment for the 25th--far away, I know but that was the first opening. They said I could call back daily to see if there have been any cancellations. A pain, yes, but that's how it goes. I feel calm about everything, and it was good to take her in today, because he sees nothing else wrong with her. So I guess we now play the waiting game.

In other good news.....the new interim principal at Holly Lane has a new bulletin board in the front hallway called the "Wise Owl" board. Teachers submit a student's work or something good they've done (weekly I believe) for display. Andrew's "H" worksheet has been chosen this week! Way to go, Andrew!

Today at Holly Lane children's author Stephen Krensky is visiting. He has written over 100 chilren's books. He spoke to the kids today, and I took Andrew to the school this morning to hear him (Andrew is in PM kindergarten and Mr. Krensky was only speaking in the morning). He was very entertaining and funny, and the kids had a lot of good questions for him.

The 3rd and 4th grade classes had a writing contest, and 2 students from each class were chosen to have lunch with Mr. Krensky. Leah and Sydney were chosen! We are so proud of them and I can't wait to hear what it was like to sit down and talk with a real author! I hope Leah got to ask lots of questions...one thing she has said she might like to do when she grows up is be an author or editor, so this is a great opportunity for her.

The kids will be home soon and we have a nice, relaxing afternoon ahead of us!

A Taste of Cleveland

Poor Andrew. His Patriots lost last night. With a big smile on his face he exclaimed, "The Indians, Ohio State, and the Patriots! All the teams I like lost!" Isn't that funny. Welcome to life as a Cleveland sports fan, my friend. He puts his support behind an undefeated team and he's still disappointed. He has no idea. One of these days that smile will fade as he pounds the floor and yells at the TV yet pulls out the Indians/Browns/Cavaliers t-shirt at the start of each new season with renewed hope. It's the circle of life here in the Cleve.

Hmmmmm......

Does this look like someone who is sick? I am not so sure. Brooke was complaining this morning of a headache (nothing new these days) and an upset stomach. I asked if she thought she might throw up and she wasn't sure. So I told her to get her PJ's back on and she could stay home from school. Andrew was thrilled to have a TV watching buddy. However, with no fever, no vomiting, and no lethargy, I think I may be dropping her off at the ol' Holly Lane here pretty soon.

Still, I am not too excited about headaches coupled with nausea. Let me just say that I am very glad Brooke and I are headed to the Clinic tomorrow. I'll keep you "posted." (Appropriate use of air quotes, no?)

Our Super Bowl Celebration

There has been a lot of talk about the Super Bowl in our house this year. Andrew is really into football, a bit obsessive perhaps (gee, wonder where he gets that from), so we have had a lot of talks about Giants vs. Patriots, Brady vs. Manning, etc. Andrew and Glenn are both rooting for the Patriots (gravy trainers, I say) while I am hoping Eli gets a ring of his own to flash in Peyton's face. This girls don't have much of an opinion on the matter, except for Brooke, who declared, "I hate the Patriots. I hate the Giants. I hate all football. Daddy shouldn't be watching sports on Sunday."

So our party today has been a long time in the planning. Andrew decided he wanted to make a cake and frost it all by himself. It features a Patriots helmet and a smaller (of course) Giants helmet. Andrew specifically wanted to put the "vs." in the middle. He had a clear vision of how he wanted his cake to look.

The master at work!

The finished product!

The Ryans, Franklins, and Chattertons came over for the big feast this afternoon. We had sub sandwiches (Emily Musso's wonderful recipe!), veggies and dip, seven layer dip, little smokies, cheese and crackers, fruit salad, and spinach dip with sourdough bread. Yum-O!

And of course, Daryl made his famous wings.

You cannot have a Super Bowl party without them. Daryl, Emma, Leah, and Sydney had a wing eating contest. Pound for pound, I think Sydney was declared the winner. Emma and Leah would have kept going but they ran out of BBQ wings and they just couldn't make the transition to the world of hot sauce.

Who knows how the game will turn out. Glenn and the kids are in there right now watching it. It is funny to hear the kids laugh at the commercials and listen to Glenn explain why we care not sure why Tom Petty is the half-time show entertainment. At least we won't have to worry about any wardrobe malfunctions. Well, I hope not. Anyway, I need to go remind Glenn that we need to pause the action to get the kids in bed. For now, Andrew can only dream of the Patriots making history and will just have to check out ESPN in the morning.