All About Me....and other "fun" activities

So, it is Alex's "All About Me" week at school this week. In preparation for this, he had to do a whole packet of homework describing his likes, dislikes, family, etc. We also had to put pictures in it to show the class. Pretty harmless and he's pretty excited for this week. At dinner tonight, we were asking him what else he gets to do besides share his book and his favorite toy. He proceeded to list off the following:

1. Count how many students are taking hot lunch or cold lunch each day- record on lunch sheet
2. Carry all of the cold lunches down to the lunch room
3. Sharpen all the pencils
4. "Tattle" on the other kids if they break the rules when the teacher leaves the room
5. Deliver all of the classroom mail
6. Bring all notes and other paperwork to the office
7. Take out the classroom trash

Ok- don't know about the rest of you, but sure doesn't sound like anything I'd be looking forward to! Oh, to be 7 again :)

The Stealth Ninja

The other day we asked Alex to watch Sarah in the living room while we were making dinner in the kitchen. He kept up with her for a little while......however, anyone who has been over lately knows that Sarah will keep you hopping. She is on the table, couch, over the gates, so fast you barely see her coming. The other thing about Sarah is she is very quiet- most of the time. She hardly makes a sound which makes keeping an eye on her from another room nearly impossible. Thus, why we needed Alex's help. After about 10 minutes of taking her down from the window sills, the table, the couch....Alex came to the kitchen gate with a huff of, "This is impossible mom, she is like a stealth ninja." Can't argue with that, she really is quite ninja like. It got me thinking about what a "stealth" ninja really is. Yes, many times I am schooled by my 7 year old. Or, in this case google. Here's what I found:

The ninja is a supreme master of stealth, able to vanish in a puff of smoke or change into a wild animal form in order to facilitate an escape.....hmmm....yes, definitely wild animal like and most of the time an escape is the goal....

The ninja uses the ever-elusive method of "silent movement". Everything must be approached in a subtle manner if ones endeavors are to remain a secret- most definitely has this one down...

Another ninja tactic is the art of using animals. This makes use of wild animals as a diversion. I wonder if Jazz counts as a wild animal and if Sarah using him to climb up onto things would count. Not technically a diversion, more of an assistive device.

So, now you are all schooled on what it really means to be ninja- like. And, we are keeping our heads above water, trying to manage the care of such a creature. Mostly, it's just a continuous mission to keep our little ninja from accidentally breaking her neck. Here is hoping the ninja likes turkey day!

The Lost and (sometimes) Found

For those of you who have followed the blog for any length of time, you are probably guessing this post is going to be about Alex. Actually, (now I'll probably regret saying this), he has had a good year. Aside from the first day when he lost his lunch box, all things are still accounted for. Anna, of course, hasn't even lost one crayon, but I'm not surprised. No, this post is about sweet litte Sarah. Looking for things where you last left them has taken on an entirely new meaning. Sarah is very good at "picking up". We actually play this game with her and encourage her to pick up her toys and put them away. She does and we clap. However, she also picks up everything else and shoves it in various places as well. It is not unsual to put on a shoe and find a pacifier or a stray toy of some kind in the toe. She also really likes car keys and has hidden them in some very creative places. The worst thing she hides, though is her milk cups. It wouldn't be bad if they were all empty, but sometimes there is just a little milk left in the bottom. Not so fun finding these in a drawer 2 weeks later. Disgusting. Ok, so what actually made me post about this was the phone. For about the past week, one of the cordless phones has been missing. We have taken apart couch cushions, toy boxes and looked in every drawer that Sarah could possibly get to. No phone. We've even asked Sarah where she put the phone. She just gives us a really cute look and puts her hands up as if to say, "I don't know what you people are talking about, but how could you possibly be mad at this face?" Well, today I was digging through the shoe closet trying to find a matching pair of shoes for Sarah since we had to go to Alexis' birthday party. The phone rings. It is in the closet somewhere. I start ripping apart the closet looking for the lost phone. After about 20 minutes and a missed call (I didn't bother grabbing the other one since I was so excited the lost one was nearly found) I located the wayward phone in a coat pocket. I'm guessing she shoved it in the pocket and then it got hung up in the closet. Probably the last place we would have looked. Just never know what you'll find at our house. I guess it's kind of like living in a real life hide and seek game all the time. I wonder if secretly Sarah really knows what she is doing and is taking some kind of evil enjoyment in watching us look all over for her hidden little treasures. Wonder what she'll hide next....