Remember Karate Kid?

DD Crane
Originally uploaded by DoubleMomma

Gee - does this pose look familiar? I thought I was looking at her version of the ending of the Karate Kid movie. No - it was just DD being silly with how she was going to go nuts and win the evening of sparring - there was no winner - it wasn't a competition. I was just glad I had my camera out and ready when DD pulled this pose. The face that she gave me with it had me rolling.

Of course, the other day when I talked to my sister had me rolling, too. At that time though it was because how her 10 and 7 year-olds explained having a baby. The 10 y.o. explained it as, "The baby comes out of the belly button." (Very matter-of-fact and confident in his answer.) The 7 y.o. then pipes in, "Yeah, and it has that string you have to cut." This is in sharp contrast (HA!) to my children who state that you have to "poop out the baby." Hey, at least mine know the right area!

Silly Girl-isms 101

Who is this crazy lady?
Originally uploaded by DoubleMomma

DD is so silly sometimes. Last night it was with her impression of acting crazy - this is the photo for proof. Tonight it was with her explanation of real versus pretend people on TV.

DD started by informing me that not all the people on TV were real. So I asked her who was real and how could you tell. Her answer, "Some people are real, but others - like Lazlo - are not." (Incase you don't know, Lazlo is a cartoon character.) NO WAY!! Lazlo isn't real - this can't be!! I was laughing so loud in my head that I didn't hear the rest of her explanation until she said, "...except the on America's Funniest Pets and People - they are real." These were her final thoughts before going to bed... I can't wait to hear about her dream from last night.

Pretty in Pink

DD
Originally uploaded by DoubleMomma

DD loves wearing dresses. This is just another typical day of dressing for school.... then she emerges from her room and I tell her to change. Well, this day I let her wear the way-too-dressy-dress to school.

This photo was a couple of weeks ago. She has now found two pair of golfing shorts (she has never gone golfing) that she will occassionally wear, and she will wear t-shirts as long as they have sparkles on them. (Makes me think of The Gilmore Girls.) Talk about spunk.

Did I mention that there was a time when she wouldn't do karate because 1) there was no pink belt and 2) you couldn't wear a karate skirt - she could kick higher if she had a karate skirt. (I think she had seen a clip from the new Charlie's Angels on TV.)

Amazingly Smooth - Not unless Nair is Involved

Just one of my little quirks - What are things that are smooth?

• legs after using nair
• a really good, aged liquor
• satin sheets
• my super klutz sister (just joshin' - Jess falls with no grace;o)

However - I have never classified a soda as smooth. I can't believe that this is the new tag line for Cherry Dr. Pepper. The carbonation makes any soda NOT smooth as it sits on your tongue, goes down your throat, and occasionally (after you have drank too much way too fast) that atrocious bellow of a burp. I can't even stick up my pinky and say, "But it is so smooth on my palate." - Not happenin'!

In other (totally unrelated) news - DD will be starting Kindergarten in July. She will be attending the same year-round school as her brothers. They will be in second grade. And - to our delight - she will be in the Spanish Immersion program. I LOVE the Spanish Immersion program. It isn't about the language - I wouldn't care if it were French, Mandarin, Arabic, or Swahili. What it is about is the level of brain usage, the challenges a second language poses, and the creativity utilized by the teachers.

With the boys - there has been no loss of English comprehension. They write as well as and better than most of the traditional (English-only taught) 1st graders in their school. Although they read, talk, and write in Spanish all day - the majority of their time at home is in English. Like many boys they are into comic books and other animation. So, we spend a lot of time at the library - they get to choose some animation books and they get some traditional books. We started the Judy Bloom series about Fudge - they love this series of chapter books. One of their favorite portions to read and re-read and re-read is when Mr. Feathers (the bird) says, "Bonjour, Stupid" repeatedly through the chapter. - FYI: Their school works with the SPLASH! Program. These teachers and assistants are bi-lingual and amazing in their ideas on how to teach.