Memorial Day Tribute to the Soldiers in my Life

Not all my soldiers are fallen soldiers, and none of them fell on the field of battle. Nevertheless, I thank and honor them, and their brothers in arms.

The brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
Their courage nerves a thousand living men.
~Minot J. Savage

They are dead; but they live in each Patriot's breast,
And their names are engraven on honor's bright crest.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My Grandfather, in the 40s

Grandpa in his dress whites, 1944

My Dad in his dress uniform, a draftee in the Viet Nam War

Basic Training

I'm not allowed to share any of Patrice's army pictures so this will have to suffice. He fulfilled his duty and served his country. He's my soldier, knight, and dragonslayer.

(When Mom finds her dad's army pictures, I can add those.)

My heartfelt thanks to all the soldiers, past and present.

Soapbox

Finishing pre-school and kindergarten IS NOT GRADUATION!!!

I feel like this is a symptom of a larger problem in our society, where *yay* everybody wins! Rewarding accomplishments that aren't really accomplishments rewards laziness and punishes ambition and destroys competition. It may help the self esteem of some people, but it will destroy others. Not just their self esteem, but their drive to succeed. If they are going to win no matter what, why bother trying? And by the way, does it honestly boost your self esteem to be rewarded for a false accomplishment?

I say NO to preschool graduation! I was lucky this year because I didn't have to explain to Nicco why we aren't going to his graduation. There aren't any formal start or end dates at his school, so I just decided that the end of May is a good time for us to stop. His graduation isn't until July, so they haven't even talked about it. He won't know he's missing something. So besides being anti-preschool graduation, this particular celebration costs participants $22. For a diploma. And a cap and gown. For a 5 year old. Unbelievable.

I'm out to change the world one passive aggressive non-participation at a time!

Quote of the Day

We are meeting Danielle at the library today to get Nicco's "reading map" for the summer reading challenge. After the library, we are going to have our friends come back to our house to swim and eat lunch. Every morning, Nicco brings all his stuff to the couch (spongebob, pillow pet. soft bear, and at least 3 blankets...) to watch a show and have his sippy.

This morning he came out and said, "I don't want any help with my stuff today. I want this house to be clean when Danielle gets here."

After reading about the crisis of unmotivated boys, I'm glad my boy wants to impress his girl.

Ladies' Man, Part II

Today Nicco had a playdate with his little red haired girl, Danielle. We met at the library for story time:

Then we went to the park for a picnic and to play.

When it was time to get Danielle's little sister home for her nap, neither one of the kids want their fun to end. I suggested that it is a good time to leave while everyone was still having a good time, and that we would play again soon. But Danielle asked if she could show Nicco her house, so we were invited over for cookies and a few more minutes of play. A few more minutes turned into four hours. The kids had a blast, laughing and playing and making believe. Danielle's mom and I just chatted and chatted away. I don't normally chat like that unless I'm with one of my sisters! (Patrice will be so proud of me...I was social. We might have new friends!) Somehow, at the end of nearly 6 hours together, we still managed to leave when everyone was still having fun.

The library's story teller introduced the summer reading challenge and listed all the prizes for reaching certain milestones. Nicco is very excited to get his "reading map" and to go to the library again next Friday. "And I think Danielle will be there, and then we can go to the park, and have a picnic, and go to her house, and do all the same things," he said. I am sure that Danielle's mom does not want us to come to her house for four hours every Friday, so I suggested to Nicco that we may want to invite Danielle to our house after the library next time.

When we got home from swim practice, Nicco spread his arms as wide as he could and told his daddy "I had THIS MUCH FUN!"

Ladies' Man

Last Thursday when I picked Nicco up from school he said sadly, "Today was Danielle's last day. That means I'll never see her again." Nicco and Danielle have been pals ever since she moved in. She is the "little-red-haired-girl" of Nicco's world. I left a note for Danielle's mom to call me if she wanted to get our kids together to play sometime. We set a date for Friday. Yesterday when I dropped Nicco off at school, his teacher told me he will surely miss her. He always asks if he can sit at her table at lunch. He sighs and smiles when he talks about her. She always seemed like a sweet little thing when I saw her at school pick up times. It will be fun for them to play together outside of school, I think.

The last couple of months when Nicco was still taking 1/2 hour swim lessons, there was this cute little girl named Madison in his class. She turned up at the big pool to join the swim team a few weeks ago, and Nicco was happy to see his friend again. On Monday, he waited for her to catch up to him when they put their towels away. She brags to their coach that she and Nicco were in swim class together. She's a little more feisty than Danielle, I think. Maddie is a take charge kind of girl. Where Danielle waves timidly to Nicco across the rug at circle time, Maddie takes his hand and they march together back to their swim coach.

I think it's cute. Patrice is very proud.

Updates on Many Fronts

Patio Update:
The stucco is painted a lovely chocolatey color. When Patrice asked us if we liked the color, Nicco said it's nice, it looks like chocolate. I asked him if he thought it looked good enough to eat, to which he responded matter of factly, "You don't eat paint."

We added a sun-shade over the grill. It makes a huge difference in both the temperature and the ambient lighting. It creates a cozy, yellow glow in the corner.

Speaking of ambient light, Patrice also hung up our stars that we didn't know what to do with and added another light to brighten up the corner and to make it practical and usable at night. He also added a row of tiki torches.

We did eat in our new outdoor kitchen the other night, and it was a little slice of heaven!

Pool Update:
The temperature in our pool has been hovering between about 74 and 76 degrees. Nicco swims almost every day, but Patrice and I have only jumped in a couple of times. It is still a little on the cool side for us to really enjoy. People keep telling us we need to put a solar cover on it. We hesitated and debated and decided against the cover because of the kid. If he fell into an open pool, he would be able to swim and climb out. However, if he fell into a covered pool, he may just get wrapped up and drown.

We caved when our friends said their pool is up to 88, and they don't heat it...that temperature is only due to the cover.

We made a #1 Tippy Top Most Important Rule that Nicco NEVER goes to the pool side without one of us. EVER. We explained why. It was 76 when we put the cover on yesterday. We made bets on how high it would get by the end of the day today. Patrice said 85, I said 86, Nicco said 90. It is already 80.

Quail Update:

I heard a rustling noise outside my window this morning so I grabbed the camera and quietly sneaked out back. In spite of my efforts to be stealthy and silent, I startled the Mama and Papa out from the pile of dead palm leaves Patrice cut down yesterday. They proceeded to pace back and forth at a safe distance from me, but clearly agitated. I am susipcious that they hid their babies in that pile of leaves. I kind of hope not, because they don't know it, but that is NOT a safe place! The leaves will be hauled away on Friday! I don't think I can talk my husband into keeping trash in the yard for the sake of my quail babies. I will probably try, though.

Also, I saw one little solitary baby quail crossing the street by the wash on my way home from dropping Nicco off at school. While he was as cute as he could be, it was sad to see him alone. I hope his family was nearby, and that he just needed to catch up, not that he was abandoned.

Quail Observation, Day 2

After I checked on the empty nest yesterday, I didn't see any other signs of my quail family. This morning, however, Mama and Papa are out and about. They were circling some of the plants on the patio and walking along the wall. I was glad to see them, but they had no babies in tow.

I brought the trash cans in and saw another little baby quail corpse. This one didn't have as many feathers and was being devoured by ants. Uck. I wonder where the other babies are.

Preview

Papa Quail was pacing noisily around the yard all day yesterday. I hoped his sudden vocal expression was either a warning to other critters because his babies were hatching, or a proud announcement because his babies were hatching. I have been really good about staying away from the nest. I never told Nicco about it, and I told Patrice so that he would not disturb them doing yard work and clean up.

This morning when I took out the trash, I heard scurrying and rustling among the dead leaves and when I peeked in the corner, sure enough! The babies arrived! A couple of them scooted out then scooted back into their safe hiding place, but I did not have my camera with me. Boo hoo. When I brought the trash can to the sidewalk, I saw Mama and Papa on patrol. I think it is curious that they both went out, leaving the babies unattended.

No one was home when I snapped this picture, so I wonder if the parents were scouting to make sure the coast was clear before going back to get the babies. I don't know how many babies there are, but based on this evidence, there is at least a handful. It also looks like one or two didn't make it. And there is also one who apparently ventured out too soon. I don't know what got him, poor baby. But look how itty bitty and cute and fuzzy they are! (please ignore the poop...)

I wonder if they will come back to their nest when they are done with their walkabout, or if they will keep wandering. I think they stick close to home, generally. Last year I watched a little family grow up...they would cross the street in the mornings when I went to pick Nicco up from school, so I expect my little bird family will return to their nest. I will have to keep my eyes peeled and my camera handy!

...and a democrat

There is a special on French t.v. commemorating Francois Miterrand. Apparently, there is going to be  celebration of the 30th anniversary of his election. Bizarre. Patrice said "That would be like in 30 years celebrating Obama's election. Why? It was the worst thing to happen to the country." Nicco said emphatically "Obama's stupid." I said "Yes, and a liar and a hypocrite." Nicco added the final insult: "and a democrat."

My Mama

I love my mommy.

So cute.

So pretty.

(Remember this book? Happy Mother's Day, Mom!)

Let This Be A Lesson To You; a.k.a. Quote of the Day

Mama, let me teach you a lesson.
If you feed me grease, don't feed me too much.
Because that could be a little.........unhealthy.

Thank you, my wise son. The next time I feed you grease (What the what???) I'll be sure it's not too much.

Oh Happy Day

Osama Bin Laden is DEAD.
I say feed his body to the pigs.
God Bless America
God Bless our military.