Funny, Funny, Funny!

Someone sent this comic to Andrew at work (if you click on it you can see the enlarged version and actually read the words), I think it was another auditor. I don't think it is entirely true for Andrew, but it is funny anyway. Of course like you'd expect, Andrew is very successful and effective at work. His bosses and clients are constantly amazed by how much work he accomplishes and constantly praising him for it. I am proud of him, but not surprised, and really happy about how quickly he accomplishes it so he doesn't have to live at work!

Now for a Clancy update...his favorite song is "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree". He can do all the actions and when it gets to the popcorn part, he says "Pop, pop, pop". He loves bananas and could eat several each day if I would let him (I don't, so don't worry). His new daring feat is to climb up some stairs or on a stool or box and jump down (I am not too fond of this practice). He also loves story time at the library because of the parachute song and the bubbles.

True Washingtonian

Well Andrew says that I am a true Washingtonian since I have been mourning the loss of some pine trees near us. When I saw a large area that used to be wooded clear cut in order to make room for some single family homes, I was really sad. Who would have thought? I should be happy because the more houses there are, the more likely it is that we'll be able to afford to live here, but instead I feel like we have lost something that is really irreplacable. I guess the tree-hugger hippiness of the Northwest is rubbing off on me, but I have had seeds of that for a while. (The picture is one of my favorite Washington tree pictures, obviously not the pines that were cut down).

Playing Favorites

I am starting to learn how I fit into the family....A couple of weeks ago Clancy had a bit of a diaper rash and was feeling a little bit sick. After he woke up from a late nap (about 6pm) he screamed and screamed as loud as he possibly could. I figured that his diaper rash was hurting him so I tried letting it air out and he screamed, I tried rocking him and he screamed, I tried singing to him and he screamed--no matter what I did, he screamed. I finally got him to sleep for a couple of minutes (he was exhausted from screaming) and then he woke up and screamed. He was unconsolable so I figured that I would wait until Andrew came home to figure out what to do. The minute Andrew walked through the door, Clancy stopped screaming, jumped off my lap and was happy. Since Clancy was screaming for 20 minutes or more, I didn't have time to clean up his toys or to make dinner, so I was a little stressed. When Andrew offered Clancy some crackers, he ate them, though 10 minutes earlier when I offered him the same crackers he just screamed. To add insult to injury, when Andrew asked Clancy to help him pick up his toys that were scattered tornado-style all over the living room, he did! He never helps me when I ask. I was hurt and suggested that Andrew take Clancy out to find something to eat. I actually just got to work and made something for dinner and Andrew sent Clancy in to give me a hug. He hugged and kissed my legs while I cooked. Now, a couple of weeks later I am humbly accepting that Clancy is a daddy's boy and I am not so hurt by his playing favorites. A caution though, the next one better be mine!

Sun Lean Fie Lock! Happy Chinese New Year!

Well, it's the year of the rat. It's not all bad though, rats are actually a symbol of wealth and prosperity in Chinese culture. I was just reading about the chinese zodiac symbols and found out that there is a legend about a race between all the animals that was sponsored by "the Gods". The first twelve animals to the finish would be the 12 animals of the Zodiac calendar. Somehow, during the race, the rat caught a ride on the bull's back across the river and jumped off early enough to cross the finish first, thus becoming the first animal of the 12 in the Chinese Zodiac calendar (this is an internet one-sourcer, so don't bet your life on it!).

Last night Andrew, his parents, Clancy and I went to the Seattle Asian Art Museum in order to celebrate Chinese New Year. Every first Thursday of the month the museums in Seattle (are free, so we try to go every month. I think we will have to live here for 50 years in order to see them all, and then they will have new exhibits!

We dressed Clancy in his special Chinese outfit that his MahMah and YehYeh bought for him in Hong Kong, and toured the museum. In the Japanese wing there was an exhibit of paper cutting that was amazing. The paper was made from Mulberry wood and was cut with very intricate floral, bamboo, or animal designs. Some had a grid-like design with paper strands as thin as hair. After Clancy took a rest on a tatami, he proceeded to point to everything and say "Wow!". In the Chinese section there was a ceremonial jade dagger from 11oo b.c. and tiny glass snuff bottles that are painted from the inside (I have no idea how you fit a brush into the neck since it is less than a centimeter in diameter). After touring the museum, we went to Seattle's Chinatown and had a feast at the "Jade Garden" restaurant. Clancy is so lucky to have such a cool heritage, the Chinese, Cajun, and Scotch-Irish. If anyone has a kilt I will have him wear it on Whoopite Scoorie (March 1st for those of you that don't keep track of Scottish holidays).

Success!....I think...

Ok all you blogging experts, if you can't see this picture, then I need some serious blogging help. When I posted "Boon" the picture was visible, but when I revisited it, it was not. Hopefully this picture will work and all will be well. I am going to ignore the risk of sounding ancient and technologically illiterate, but...what is a "blog roll"?

On a different subject, Andrew and I barely made it to a U2 3D concert last weekend. We dropped Clancy off at his MahMah and YehYeh's house (Grandparents Wan) and rushed to find parking and to run to the theater. We were so disappointed when they told us that there is no late seating, but then they had pity on us since we had already purchased the tickets. We ran down this hall/ramp that seemed like it would never end, and the nice worker at the end let us go in.

I have been to a live U2 concert and they were both totally fun. I think I liked the 3D concert better--the music was still loud but not deafening, you still see the crowd but you don't smell them and aren't getting pushed around, and you get very up close views of the band. At one point it seemed like Bono was just feet away! Andrew and I were totally impressed, as always, that U2 lyrics actually have meaning and a purpose. It is refreshing that there are famous people that adopt causes and use their fame to make the world better for someone. If you like U2, you should try to see this concert--it is a lot more budget-friendly than a real concert and really awesome. It is playing at IMAX theaters all over the country.

Book Lists

The other day at Mother Goose Story Hour I picked up some flyers that gave suggestions about books that you should read to your kids. I was glad for the suggestion, so I thought I would pass it along.

100 Books Every Child Should Hear Before Starting School:

Babies:
Ten, Nine, Eight; Molly Bang
Goodnight Moon; Margaret Wise Brown
The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Eric Carle
Freight Train; Donald Crews
Lunch; Denise Fleming
Where's Spot?; Eric Hill
Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue? An Adventure in Color; Tana Hoban
Brown Bear, Brown Bear; Bill Martin
Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom; Bill Martin
Who's Counting; Nancy Tafuri
How Do I Put It On?; Shigeo Watanabe

Toddlers:
On the Day I Was Born; Debbi Chocolate
Good Dog, Carl; Alexandra Day
Feathers for Lunch; Ehlert, Lois
Go Away, Big Green Monster!; Ed Emberley
Ask Mr. Bear; Marjorie Flack
Is Your Mama a Llama?; Deborah Guarina
Hush! A Thai Lullaby; Minfong Ho
Rosie's Walk; Pat Hutchins
Harold and the Purple Crayon; Crockett Johnson
Jump, Frog, Jump!; Robert Kalan
The Teddy Bears' Picnic; Jimmy Kennedy
Whose Mouse are You?; Robert Kraus
The Carrot Seed; Ruth Krauss
Over in the Meadow; John Langstaff
Dim Sum for Everyone!; Grace Lin
Little Blue and Little Yellow; Leo Lionni
Guess How Much I Love You; Sam McBratney
Whose Hat?; Margaret Miller
Shades of Black; Sandra Pinkney
The Little Engine that Could; Watty Piper
Good Night, Gorilla; Peggy Rathmann
We're Going on a Bear Hunt; Michael Rosen
Cars and Trucks and Things that Go; Richard Scarry
Lizard's Song; George Shannon
It Looked Like Spilt Milk; Charles Shaw
Farmer Duck; Martin Waddell
Mouse Paint; Ellen Stoll Walsh
"Hi, Pizza Man!"; Virginia Walter
Noisy Nora; Rosemary Wells
The Lady with the Alligator Purse; Nadine Westcott
Buzz; Janet Wong
The Napping House; Audrey Wood

Preschool:
Happy Birthday, Moon; Frank Asch
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing; Judi Barrett
Madeline; Ludwig Bemelmans
The Mitten; Jan Brett
Stone Soup; Marcia Brown
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant; Jean de Brunhoff
Mr. Grumpy's Outing; John Burningham
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel; Virginia Lee Burton
Mama Zooms; Jane Cowen-Fletcher
The Empty Pot; Demi
Pancakes for Breakfast; Tomie DePaola
Abuela; Arthur Dorros
Are You My Mother?; P.D. Eastman
Corduroy; Don Freeman
Millions of Cats; Wanda Gag
The Three Billy Goats Gruff; Paul Galdone
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses; Paul Goble
All the Colors of the Earth; Sheila Hamanaka
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse; Kevin Henkes
Bread and Jam for Frances; Russell Hoban
Amazing Grace; Mary Hoffman
Angelina Ballerina; Katherine Holabird
The Wolf's Chicken Stew; Keiko Kasza
The Snowy Day; Ezra Jack Keats
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog; Jack Kent
Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock; Eric Kimmel
I Took My Frog to the Library; Eric Kimmel
Tacky the Penguin; Helen Lester
I Love You Like Crazy Cakes; Rose Lewis
On Market Street; Anita Lobel
Frog and Toad Are Friends; Arnold Lobel
Frog Goes to Dinner; Mercer Mayer
Make Way for Ducklings; Robert McClaskey
Raven; Gerald McDermott
Goin' Someplace Special; Pat McKissack
Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore!; David McPhail
Martha Speaks; Susan Meddaugh
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash; Trinka Noble
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie; Laura Numeroff
The Ant and the Elephant; Bill Peet
The Tale of Peter Rabbit; Beatrix Potter
Martin's Big Words: the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Doreen Rappaport
Curious George; H.A. Rey
The Relatives Came; Cynthia Rylant
Grandfather's Journey; Allen Say
Where the Wild Things Are; Maurice Sendak
The Cat in the Hat; Dr. Seuss
Caps for Sale; Esphyr Slobodkina
Imogene's Antlers; David Small
Snapshots from the Wedding; Gary Soto
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble; William Steig
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly; Simms Taback
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; Judith Viorst
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; Bernard Waber
Owl Moon; Jane Yolen
Seven Blind Mice; Ed Young
and
Harry, the Dirty Dog; Gene Zion

Now, if you don't have kids of your own, or they won't let you read these books to them for some reason.....then come to Seattle and read them to Clancy. He loves books and he loves visitors!

"Boon"

Clancy loves these mylar balloons. If I had only known before his birthday, I would have filled his room with these things. Every week Clancy and I go on a grocery marathon--usually going to Safeway, Fred Meyer, QFC, and Albertsons, and sometimes even Costco, so we can get all the best deals. Everywhere we go, he always points to the balloons and says "Boon". Sometimes he spots them through the glass doors before we get into the store.

I didn't give in until this week, but he has been loving it ever since! Every morning when he wakes up he says "boon", during his bath he says "boon", when he's done eating he says "boon" and all the other times he carries it around with him. If only we could all be so happy just because we had a heart-shaped, half-way deflated mylar balloon.