Proud writer mom

I just got to say to my kid, “Don’t stay up too late - your characters will still be there in the morning.”

Cockatiel in alcohol ink on marker paper

I mentioned my kid was a good artist, right?

It's a tradition

We visit the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Liza insists on visiting the butterfly release, I have to kill half an hour taking pictures while she communes with nature.

I was all ...

So I was all, "Go clean your room," and she did.  But it still looked messy, and she didn't have places to put stuff.

So I was all, "Let's buy a loft bed," and we did. 

So I was all, "We might as well paint the walls while the furniture is all moved out anyway," and we did.

So I was all, "If you're going to be underfoot anyway, here, be useful," and she was.

So I was all, "Hold up, you're not the only one who gets to graffiti on the walls," and I did.

So I was all, "Dang, that looks pretty good!" and it did.

So I was all, "Wait, you want me to paint the drawer fronts HOW MANY colors?"

And that's what I'm doing today.

Days 2 and 3 in Chicago

Again, in app-mandated wackado order:
- Shark embryos, sea jellies, and sea dragons (oh my!) at the Shedd
- Goofing off on the Ledge at The Tower Formerly Known As Sears
- Sue, Mr. "Look I Have A Goose," and a kid willingly eating chicken sate.

Mackinaw-some! (groan)

When Jason learned he had an opportunity to take a seminar held at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, he realized it was a great chance to learn some stuff while giving me a special treat.  Staying at The Grand, you see, has been a pipe dream of mine since my parents brought me to Mackinac Island as a wee thing.  At something like $400 a night, it was going to stay that way ... until the wonder of corporate training dropped a boon on our doorstep.

Liza wasn't sure how much of a boon it was during the car ride up there, though.

We were doubly lucky to have access to a cabin in Mackinaw City that belong's to Jason's sister's husband's family (that makes them, what? my in-laws-squared?).  While we waited for the family to return to the cabin, we killed some time at the ferry dock checking things out in advance of our voyage.  Meanwhile, Jason made a cool discovery ... you don't see to many DeLoreans sitting in parking lots, even in Cleveland.

That afternoon we met with the Hathaways, and Liza especially enjoyed playing on their Lake Huron beach with the youngest of the grandchildren visiting this week.

One branch of the family brought their pet lizard with them - guess it's hard to find a lizard-sitter for weeks at a time - and it was really friendly to everyone but me.  Apparently I'm evil, as far as lizards are concerned.

After dinner we went out to the cabin the Hathaways loaned us, just in time for the sunset.

Liza wasn't about to let a little thing like fading light keep her from checking out the beach.

Meanwhile I was taking advantage of the view from the living room.

The next morning we did some serious shell-hunting (better selection that at our beach on Lake Erie).

We braved the chilly - but very shallow - and super-clear waters of Lake Michigan.

Liza added onto the existing complex of sand castles and giant beach holes with her walled, moated, humpbacked island of awesomeness.

I supervised.

This is my kind of beach - empty, shallow, and cold enough to wear a sweatshirt over my swimsuit.  Perfect!

By lunchtime we were ready to pack up and head for the island, which I'll have to post about tomorrow, as it's getting to be bedtime now.  In the meantime, thanks again to the Hathaways for their stupendous hospitality to virtual strangers.  You guys rock!

The photographer doesn't fall far from the tree

I let Liza use my camera during our last trip to the zoo.  Don't tell Jason, but I was kind of hoping she'd drop it so I can get a DSLR to play with ... no luck there, but we have proved that she's able to take decent pictures now that she's paying attention to what's in the viewfinder.

"Okay, now you go over there, Mom, and you'll have to crouch down because you're too tall and I don't want to cut anything off."  (You hear that, Grandma?)

"Smile!  No, I said 'Smile!' No, smile pretty!" 

"I'm taking your portrait, Penny!" 

"Okay, I'll take a picture of you while you take a picture of me.  Look, mom!  We're so meta!"  

"Those stupid meercats won't stand still for me, so I'll just take a picture of this."

Of course, they can't all be gems ...

Guess where we went last week

We went to the crystal clear, gently lapping waters of ... Lake Erie.

Laugh all you want, beach snobs.  It was warm, perfect for wading and paddling about, you could see what you were stepping on, and there was hardly any trash on the beach that day.  Take that, Jamaica, with your vast quantities of plastic spoons washing up on shore every day.

 You know, if you go when it's 97F outside, you pretty much have the place to yourself.

Like the chess masters, Liza takes her castling very seriously. 

Home base, or, as I call it, "The only reason I was willing to set foot on a beach when it's that hot outside."  Shade of a giant tree 30 feet from the shoreline? Brilliant idea, nature!

Also, this happened

She already swims better than I do (but I've got more stamina and spend less energy staying afloat, so I'd totally outlive her in a Drowning Situation, so there!). Yet another thing I've done right as a parent - check!

Young authors

Have I mentioned recently how awesome my daughter's school is?  Last week was the culmination of the Young Authors project that each grade has been working on for the past few months.  Liza's kindergarten class used the project as an opportunity to learn about non-fiction books, and each student capped the project by writing his or her own nonfiction book.

The kindergarteners' books included all of the standard non-fiction items, including a table of contents, author biography, and glossary.

This project has been going on for months - can you imagine the level of dedication and skill required to usher 22 kids through that whole process and come out the other side with your sanity intact?  Kudos again to the K teachers for managing to pull this off!  And then on Thursday evening all the parents were invited in to see the books and learn more about what some of the other classes had been doing.

It was a great chance to celebrate the students' achievements and take a look at some of the other kids' books.  It was amazing the breadth of subjects the kids picked, and how excited they were to tell us all about what they wrote.  The kids do this each year, so by the time Liza graduates, we should have quite a library of her books!

Okay, this one actually isn't too terrible

Remember the Christmas concert?  Well, in order to get the full grade school experiences, Liza's school does a spring concert, as well.  It was mercifully shorter than the winter concert, and somewhere along the way this year most of the classes found a bucket in which to carry a tune, so it wasn't as painful, either.

The kindergarten and first grade kids performed songs from "Barnyard Moosical," with each class taking the part of a different animal.  Costumes were easy - try to dress vaguely like a farmer,

... and put on a chicken headband right before you go on stage.

Liza's been running around singing her performance song for the past few weeks, so we already knew it was going to be a cute song ... but when you get 22 kids up there doing the Funky Chicken Strut, the cute increases exponentially.

Isn't that impressive?  You can actually understand many of the words they're singing!  Way to go, 5- and 6-year-olds!

Srsly, I've been sort of busy lately

You can read more about the epic Angry Birds party preparations here.  And here.  Also here.  And did I mention here?  I told you it was epic!

Also, please start humming "Sunrise, Sunset" while perusing the following photos:

5th birthday: http://mind-flush.blogspot.com/2010/05/thank-goodness-rain-held-off.html

4th birthday: http://mind-flush.blogspot.com/2009/05/whew.html

3rd birthday: http://mind-flush.blogspot.com/2008/05/more-partying.html

2nd birthday: http://mind-flush.blogspot.com/2007/05/taking-advantage-of-dsl-birthday-pics.html

1st birthday: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9047701054124759441#