Giddy Up

On Friday after school I took Nicco out to the stables where our friends board their horse. They got Banker (whose racing name is Minister of Finance) for Christmas. The girls L-O-V-E horses. Their birthday party was all horsey. Every time we get together we talk about meeting them at the barn to watch the girls ride and maybe even get Nicco saddled up for a ride around the arena.

Banker is a big horse, especially compared to the little kiddos. Nicco was a bit timid and wanted to stay behind the fence.

The ladies walked and ran the horse around the arena to get his energy out and to prep him for riders.

They brushed him and petted him and gave him treats before they saddled him up to ride.

Devin showed Nicco all the other horses while Delaney rode. He just watched all the goings on. He didn't get too close to any of the animals. We offered him several opportunities to pat, feed, brush, and even ride, but he chose not to.

Nobody pushed him because I think everyone understands that it is a bad idea to put a nervous person on the back of a horse. As Devin explained, horses can sense their riders' emotions and react similarly.

Of course, seeing this probably didn't help with the intimidation factor:





Great Horned Owls

This is just about the coolest thing ever.

There is a hollowed out saguaro with a nest of Great Horned Owls. Three babies and a daddy. Or a mommy. Or both. But I think I only saw one parent. The babies are big, probably about ready to leave the nest, so it was a little confusing as to whether or not one may have been a grown up. But they're fuzzy so I'm pretty sure they're babies.

I took Nicco to see them after gym class.

We went back with Patrice later and the hunter flew off just moments after we got there. Awesome!

There were some people there last night with super high-tech cameras with big lenses and all. They could probably sell their pictures to National Geographic even. My little point and click doesn't capture the awesomeness, but still. Totally cool.

Give, Oh Give

Nicco's teacher had the kids and their families and friends collecting pop tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald house. She had a hard time convincing the other teachers to get involved, but her class came through in a big way:

On Tuesday, she asked if anyone would like to go with her to drop off the donation. She called ahead to see if the kids who came along could get a tour of the facility so they could connect their collecting to real help and benefits to others. These three kiddos came along.

The first step in the process (after the obligatory photo with Ronald McDonald, of course) was to weigh their tabs. They collected 4.11 pounds!

After weighing the tabs the kids got to dump them in the bin with the rest of the tabs. There were a lot. The bin was practically overflowing.

They liked running their hands through all those tabs. They wondered how many there were...I said maybe a million. Nicco guessed closer to a billion. Either way, it's a lot.

The lady who greeted us was not the same person Mrs. Cornwell had spoken with previously, so the tour was impromptu and unplanned. But, the kids got to see the play room, t.v. room, cafeteria and playground at the facility. The Ronald McDonald House provides a "home away from home" for families of children facing serious illness and injury. 160 pounds of pop tabs funds one family to stay one night at the house, 147 pounds pays for the electricity for one day, and approximately $7,000 is raised each year for the house through pop tab recycling. A worthy cause, I think, and I'm glad Nicco was glad to help.

The kids got a fresh baked cookie in exchange for their donation.

I took Nicco and Elizabeth to McDonald's for lunch afterwards, and they asked if I had any money to put in the McDonald House collection jars at the counter. "We just want to help," Elizabeth said.

I gave them the spare change in my purse.

They were very excited to help.

They were more excited to climb and play.

Six Words for the Planet

The EPA is running a contest. Six Words for the Planet, it's called. Doesn't that sound nice? All warm and fuzzy and super awesome? All hands across America and Kumbaya?

They, the EPA, are asking people to submit six-word essays about the planet for a taxpayer-funded project aiming to “celebrate the environment.”

Staff members shared their own submissions on the blog post announcing the project.

Many nations. One planet. Our home.
Our only. Our one. Home planet.
{{sniff}}

Staff members at the Washington Free Beacon asked about how much money was being used to fund the project. The amount is unknown. The WFB requests for comments on the use of taxpayer money to fund the project passed unacknowledged. The WFB writer's 6 words for the EPA are:

Request for comment. Was not returned.

Here's my submission. You can see it at the EPA website. My handle is 'taxpayer.'

Why are you wasting my money?

Hiccups?

Yesterday Nicco and I were swimming and he caught a bad case of the hiccups. I mentioned how those darn hiccups weren't going away and he casually shrugged his shoulders and simply stated "Allergies."

Creepy Crawly

Nicco has been learning about bugs and other creepy crawlies at school lately. He knows about abdomens and exoskeletons. He knows the difference between insects and arachnids. He knows about life cycles and metamorphosis.

The kids had two weeks to complete a research project and prepare for an oral presentation in front of the class. There were five steps in the assignment:

1. Find a bug and bring it to class.
2. Label and draw a detailed picture of the bug.
3. Research the bug.
4. Write 5 facts about the bug.
5. Present the research in class.

After a couple of unsuccessful bug hunts, Nicco resigned himself to learning about a bug on the internet. He chose the Australia Jewel Beetle. But then the cat sneaked out onto the patio one night and caught a bug! Hooray! Frankie to the rescue! We captured the bug and brought it inside. It was a cockroach. It was gross.

Nicco brought it to school the next day and thought he was done. When I told him he needed to draw a picture and write five sentences, he said "too late, I already brought my bug in." I reassured him that he could research the bug without it being in the house.

With just a little hemming and hawing, he drew a great picture of his cockroach, including the spiky hairs on its legs. With some drama and stubbornness (wha???) he wrote five facts:

1. Boy cockroaches are skinnier than girl cockroaches. ("Ha ha, girls are fat!")
2. Cockroaches live all over the earth.
3. Cockroaches come out at night.
4. Cockroaches are scavengers.
5. Cockroaches eat anything, even poop.

Here he is, presenting his drawing to the class.

And here he is, reading his facts.

I asked him if the kids laughed when he said the last fact about eating poop. He said, "No, they were like 'eww!' Next year I won't talk about poop. I don't want that to happen again."



The Bloomin' Desert

The cacti and flowers are popping now.

This is the cat's claw climbing on our back and side walls. I've never seen it bloom like this before!

And here is our hedgehog cactus in bloom:

Ocotillo are one of my very favorites once they bloom. And, this is the first time the desert spoon grew the giant stalk in the middle. All I can think of is how that will affect my allergies once it is in full blossom. Ugh.

The jasmine have not popped out yet and we had the giant bush trimmed yesterday, so hopefully the allergens will be minimized.

Also, I accidentally scared our mama quail from her annual nest. Boo! I've seen our pair bobbing along lately and I knew they were nesting somewhere, but I hoped not to discover their nest so as to NOT scare them away and abandon the eggs as they've done in the past. That mama fluttered and her wings and puffed her chest and screamed and sqawked at me. I moved away quickly so she could see that she "scared" me away. I kind of don't want to take my trash out to the curb until those babies hatch safely! I don't think I can hold out that long though. Even if I could, I'm sure my husband would intervene.

Oh. My. Goodness.

A Collection of Nicco's Random Thoughts

On Grandparents
On the eve of his grandparents' arrival when I told him to get his jammies on, he squealed, "Yay! Jammies!" I replied that jammies are indeed awesome and he said, "Not that. It just means I'm closer to seeing my grandparents!" Later when we snuggled for sleep and I told him to have sweet dreams he said, "If I have sweet dreams it will be like more time with my grandparents because I will be dreaming about them."

As their departure date approached Nicco said, "My grandparents don't have to leave. They don't have pets."

On the night before their departure,  Nicco said he would probably cry all night. When he woke up in the morning, he was "double sad" and said he will not be happy again until July 4th when we go to visit them again.

I feel a little sad for my tender-hearted boy, but I love how much he loves to have his family around.

On Easter and Baptism
After the egg hunt and before church services on Easter morning, Nicco and I read from his Bible the story of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. When I snuggled him to sleep that night he said, "That pilot (a.k.a. Pontius Pilate) was not so bad. He just had bad soldiers. Why would a pilot want to have bad soldiers?"

When I told my boy that Jesus died to take on our sins for us, he said "I know another way to wash away our sins. We dress all in white and dunk in the pool. But can we just do it in the hot tub so I can hold on?" Later he asked me if he has an all white shirt and all white pants. I said yes to the former and no to the latter and he said, "I guess I can't get baptized then."

On the Tooth Fairy
Nicco is dying to have a loose tooth. A while ago he told me that when he loses a tooth he will put it under his pillow and wake up with a toy. I said that when I was a kid, I got a quarter in exchange for a tooth. He asked if I thought the tooth fairy was my parents. I said no. He asked what the tooth fairy would want with all those teeth, then speculated that she makes fairy houses using teeth for bricks.

On the Death by Cat of a Small Fuzzy Chick
"Now my heart is double broken."

Have Your Peeps Call My Peeps

Nicco's "Best Easter Ever" started with the traditional egg hunt. Once he found all his eggs, he counted and sorted his loot.

 I mentioned something to Nicco about all the birds he got in his basket and he said he only got two. I said it looked like six to me, and he said very matter of factly, "Mom. Those aren't birds, those are peeps." When I said they are in the shape of birds he just laughed at me and repeated the obvious fact. Those are peeps.

The bunny was pretty generous with Nicco. He was very pleased.

I did read the story of Easter in his cartoon scriptures so he would know that it is about more than chicks and bunnies and eggs and chocolate and peeps.

Arizona Centennial Quilt Project

Arizona celebrated 100 years of statehood on Valentine's Day this year. Part of the celebration was a call to Arizona quilters to stitch their AZ inspiration in fabric. An exhibit of the entries is on display at the history museum through the end of the year and since my mom likes quilts and museums, we left grandpa in charge of Nicco for the afternoon and we had a mommy-daughter date.
The entries included everything from Brownie troops to professionals, and everything in between. There was a chile pepper quilt done by an 11 year old boy whose grandmother taught him to sew when he was 7 and he's been quilting ever since. There were a couple of school groups who pieced their history and art lessons together. There were families and family tributes, tributes to Arizona's historical people, places, industries, flora and fauna. Each quilt had a story and it was fun to learn and see how the state has impacted all these different people.

This was one of the first quilts on display:

It is shaped like the state and shows landmarks and significant influences in Tucson. The details are amazing.

I also liked this tribute to the cattle ranchers with all the brands.

This quilt acknowledges the Mexican influence and celebrates the Day of the Dead. According to the culture, there are three deaths; death of the body, death of the spirit, and death of the memory. To avoid the third death, families of the deceased celebrate those who have passed on with, food, flowers, dance, and song.

This quilt was a prize winner. It was stunning. There were several quilts that represented the different cacti and they were all unique. It was interesting to see all the different interpretations.

I liked this golden treasure one too. All one color, but everything you can think of that represents Arizona was stitched in gold. Here's a detail of a road runner:

I could have and was tempted to take many more pictures, but I felt kind of silly photographing all the quilts. Mom and I agreed that creative people are kind of awesome and we are glad they share their talents with the world.

Zoo Trip

Nicco wanted to take his grandparents to the zoo, so when our travelers returned from abroad, we fulfilled that wish.

Nicco and his grandma listening to the narrator talk about the animals at the zoo. Ever since Nicco saw the key his friend used to hear about the animals he's been begging to go back and get a key. He was very pleased with it. His primary love language is gifts, so I am always happy when I can speak his language to him without spending too much money. $2.50 is a pretty small price to communicate "I Love You."

It looks like my little monkey is trying to join the troop behind the barrier.

The Denver Zoo is one of the very nicest zoos I've ever visited. Our zoo in Tucson is significantly smaller than the one in Denver, but it is nearly as nice. It is very clean and has big, open habitats. You feel very close to the animals.

It is also very kid friendly. Nicco always spends some time playing in, on, and around the tortoise shell in the kids' play area.

There were some baby duckies in the flamingo pond. So cute! There were also signs saying "Please don't pick up the baby ducks." It was tempting, I confess. They're so fluffy!

The zoo recently expanded and upgraded the elephant habitat. Expedition Tanzania, as it is called, is worth the admission to the park by itself. They got some new elephants, the one they seem to be most pleased with is a big giant-tusked male named Tembo, but I was most pleased with the two little babies.

The elephants have a very wide expansive habitat to wander about, and the rest of that section of the zoo is an interestingly and neatly landscaped garden path with tidbits about elephants and African culture.

And some boulders to jump on.

This is the donors' wall. Very nice, I say!

Nicco and his grandparents in Tanzania. They didn't notice the big giant snake in the tree above their heads! Can you spot it?

This water play area is called "Kenya Get Wet." It is a brilliant idea in Tucson. Nice for the kids to cool down on hot zoo afternoons!

Relaxing with the grandpa.

I'm not exactly sure why there is a giant dinosaur egg at the zoo. There were no dinosaur exhibits. Unless this is just an oversized bird egg in the aviary. Nicco says that birds ARE dinosaurs. He learned something about dinosaurs being relatives of modern birds, so now he thinks birds are dinosaurs.

When we cane home, Nicco built a zoo.

And here is a video of my boy playing the drums in Tanzania.

An Appropriate Follow-Up to My Previous Post

Once upon a time I made a chicken pot pie for dinner. Nicco hated it and he held it against me for months. Every once in a while out of the blue he would say, "I'll never forgive you for that pie."

Last night I cooked again. We had shrimp. It was World War III trying to get the kid to choke down 3 bites of shrimp. My goodness he grumbled and complained. He said things like, "shrimp tastes like rotten fish." He asked for salt and pepper, then claimed it was horrible with salt and pepper and brushed off the offending granules of seasoning. I told him to smother it in ketchup and it would be just like anything else he eats. "Ewww..ugh...ack...!!! I HATE this!" he cried. He got up from his chair to hoarsely whisper in my ear, "DON'T.EVER.MAKE THIS.AGAIN!"

It took a long time and the kid shed some pitiful tears and contorted his face amid the torture of EATING SHRIMP!!! But he finally succumbed and ate 3 bites. Jeez!

A nice mom might have microwaved a few chicken nuggets, but when it becomes a battle of stubborn wills, I.must.win. And I did.

Of course, he punished me in return for the inhumane injustice of, again, EATING SHRIMP. He came into my room at 1:15 this morning complaining of an upset tummy. Must be the shrimp, he said. I said it's because he didn't eat enough. At breakfast this morning while he was eating strawberries and bananas, he complained about the shrimp. Give it a rest, already!

I have a feeling I'll be hearing about the shrimp for a while. At least until I cook something new that Nicco hates.

How I Tease, Torment, and Otherwise Torture My Child

It is really rough being my kid. I make Nicco do things. Like homework and go on walks and practice riding his bike. Ugh.

Nicco's homework assignment over the weekend was to find a bug (or a picture of a bug) and write five facts about it and draw a detailed picture of it. To that end, we took a walk. It was a bug hunt. Arizona is decidedly void of bugs. Especially when one is hunting them.

We saw lots of interesting things, including this blooming cactus in our neighbor's yard:

So pretty! I love it when the desert blooms!

Nicco looked between cracks in the rocks, but only saw teeny tiny ants crawling around.

But he had fun taking the high road.

More pretty blooms.

Nicco and his grandpa found some more tiny ants and a couple bees, both of which were evasive and tricky to capture. Nicco gave up.

Then he found a discarded couple of bricks and thought there might be some bugs hiding underneath. He was right. There were more tiny ants and some squirmy, slimy larvae.

He said he wanted to go home, but needed to do something first. He grabbed a rock that fit just right in his hand and "took care of those nasty white ants." SMASH...SQUISH...SMASH AGAIN.

Walking in the open spaces in shorts and crocs made Nicco's feet and legs itchy. He was mad at me for causing this trauma. "You made a bad choice," he said. And, "I'm NEVER doing that again. You're on your own."

He decided to look up some bugs on the internet instead.

If the bug hunt wasn't bad enough, I shamed Nicco by my attire when I dropped him off at school this morning. I've been running a 3-mile loop starting at the school to get ready for the T-Bird Trot in a couple of weeks, so I dress in my exercise garb, drop the kid off, then go on my run.

As we were getting ready to leave Nicco said to me, "I don't think you should wear that to my school.. If someone sees you, they might think you look silly." Now, I know my old running shorts and ribbed tank tops don't necessarily match the style of other OV moms out running, but I just don't care much. My purpose is to exercise, not to look cute. I told Nicco I don't really care what other people think about me, so it will be okay. He said, "But Mom, they'll be doing it to hurt your feelings." I said they can only hurt my feelings if I let them.

Then I wondered if he was really concerned about my feelings, or if he was just embarrassed to be seen with me.

If he thinks it's bad being dropped off to kindergarten by his mom dressed in running gear, just wait until middle school when I hug and kiss him and tell him to be happy, friendly, kind and true and shout "I LOVE YOU!!!" while he walks away. 

Just for Fun

I saw this when I hijacked facebook the other day. It took me a while to figure out what they were at first, but once I got one, I got them all. Except for two. I asked my sister if she got them all, and neither she nor her husband got the two I was missing. I had a guess for the last one, but it was only half right.

So I'm curious. Can you figure out what all these images are? And do it without cheating. Or at least admit you cheated. I had to cheat on two of them, I admit it.

So, do you have to cheat to figure out the 3rd one in the first column and the bottom one in the second column? Or do you have a European background, specifically, French? Because that's the only way I think anyone could get those two...by cheating or by being French.