Lunch Duty Quotes pt2

I told you there would be more. Here's the exchange I over heard today, all yelled back and forth on the playground:

Lili: What are you guys playing?

Lili's friend: Cops and Robbers!

Lili: Can I play?

Friend: Yeah, you're a cop!

Lili: No, I'm a Religious Sister!

Friend: Okay!

They run off and play, leaving me to wonder if this is a regular part of Cops and Robbers, like maybe the Religious Sisters are one step higher on the authoritative chain of command than the Cops, or maybe Lili just wanted to pretend she was a nun...I'll have to ask her about it when she gets home from school.

Lili's new smile

That darn tooth finally fell out: actually I tied a piece of dental floss around it and popped that sucker out.

Thanksgiving decorations

I know I have said this before, but I am mystified by what goes on in Audrey's head. While I was cooking and cleaning in preparation for hosting several family members for Thanksgiving, Lili and Audrey started making Thanksgiving decorations on our back patio. Lili meticulously drew and cut out all sorts of iconographic Thanksgiving pieces: corn, an acorn, a turkey, etc. Pretty standard stuff... Audrey came up with these. I asked her about them. The purple piece on the right is a picture of monkeys. It doesn't make much sense but she told me she started that one before they started doing holiday-themed work. The blob on the bottom left is an acorn. She was super proud of the fact that Lili helped her spell the word "corn" so I guess that the green piece stands on its own. The one that bothers me is on the top left. The black one hanging askew. She told me it was a picture of Aku.

This is Aku, the villain from " Samurai Jack" Lovely, isn't he? My kids were introduced to Samurai Jack over the summer when I left them at Nanny's house for the three hour round trip to Providence airport to pick up their daddy. Nanny hurt her back that day, so their dear sweet Uncle Joe stepped up to babysit them. My dad walked in to check on them and found Lili and Audrey staring raptly at the TV with wide eyes while Joe entertained Kateri. That night Lili told me all about how awesome Samurai Jack was and Audrey told me about "that bad guy with the fire eyebrows." She hasn't mentioned him since we returned home to Phoenix, so I have no idea what put him in her head in conjunction with Thanksgiving. I guess his color scheme does kind of match our table...

Thanks Uncle Joe! By the way, when I went to take down Audrey's decor I found that shae had affixed the bottom two items to the wall with glue...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Cousins cousins everywhere!

Aunt Katie oh so generously hopped a plane this week so we could all get a Fifi fix. Everyone fell madly in love with Fiona during the 48 hours she was in Phoenix. I really think she is the happiest baby in the whole United States. Goose and Geege trying to get as close to her as they possible can...

It is so funny to look at this beautiful little girl and see my big brother looking back at me!

This little elf hat was made for her...(actually it was made for Lili 7 years ago but it looks like it was made for Fifi...)

I know I am a horrible person to take a picture of a sad baby but I couldn't help it! Her expression is so exactly like Jon's fake-crying face! Jon, take a picture of yourself making this face so I can post them side by side!!! Thanks so much for the visit, Katie!!

A new little cousin

We were so thrilled this week to meet the newest addition to the Wintering clan: Vivienne Camille! She is absolutely beautiful.

Isn't she tiny? She reminds me of Butterfly Charlie here...

Audrey was so happy that she shares a middle name with the new baby. She said, "It's almost like we're twins!" Not sure on the logic of that, but she sure was excited.

Kateri, unfortunately, was more interested in playing with Gianna and Tolton and trying out Vivienne's gear...

Welcome to the world, Vivienne!

Lunch Duty Quotes part 1

I'm qualifying this post with a "part 1" because I know there will be more...
I have mentioned in an earlier post that this year I am doing lunch duty at Lili's school, VDM. I really love getting to observe the interactions between all the kids. Every day there is something that makes me smile. My favorite quote was from a little girl who walked up to Emily and said "I'm really sick...I have the H1N1...that's the swine flu." I just love how she called it THE H1N1.

This week some of the kids were tossing out insults at each other ( in a playful, not mean, way, otherwise I would have intervened) one said laughing " You are the ugliest person in the world" and the other one fired back, "Oh yeah, well you're Billy Ray Cyrus!" THIS is Billy Ray Cyrus...with his 15 year old daughter!! So the kid is right, being Billy Ray Cyrus is WAY worse than being the ugliest person in the world.

This Monday, Lili walked out of class with her little pink lunch bag and said to me airily "Hello, Modor!"

"Modor?" I asked, to which she replied matter-of-factly "Old English." Learning Old English in second grade? I love VDM.

A disturbing development

Our lovely big table used to be a safe zone, where the older kids could happily color and play with Star Wars legos without worrying about Kateri eating their crayons or teeny Storm Trooper helmets. Alas, those days are gone. Kateri knew all of the good choking hazards were up there and, as any mother knows, toddlers wrote the book on stubborn determination. I turned around earlier today to see Kateri proudly standing on the bench, and wanted to see if this was going to be par for the course from now on. It is. I was talking to my mom on the phone at the moment and she said, "If she can get on the bench she can get on the table, and if she can get on the table she'll be swinging from the chandelier before you know it." Sweet.

Talking and getting into trouble...

that sneaky little thing loves her ice...

Enjoying the winter lawn

I know Kateri needs some new clothes...I'm on it!

Happy Halloween!!

As I have mentioned before, this year's Halloween was a Peter Pan themed one. Luke

was a very good sport and let himself be decked out as Captain James Hook. He DID look pretty fabulous, I must say. My brother Joe was worried, and said, "I think Luke is in danger for the first time in his life of getting beat up if he goes out like that." Come on! Nobody messes with Captain Hook! Except Peter Pan...

Pictured here with Wendy. This picture is kind of blurry, but I love it. I might have to do a whole post on Jack and Lili's friendship, which makes me really happy.

Tiger Lily and Tinkerbell. Lucy's wings had tiny lights that flashed on and off. When she told Audrey about it she said, "Oh GOOD! That way I can find you if I lose you..."

Tinkerbell 2.0 I know her dress is more than a little tight...tight enough to give her some cleavage. I do not yet have the costume-making skills of Nanny, so cut me some slack!

Wendy with the other Darling children...Jimmy as Michael and Finn as John...

How adorable is Mr. Smee?

It was a great night! Also in attendance were Mr. and Mrs. Darling, another pirate, Tiger Lily's father and even J.M. Barrie himself, but sadly I did not get photos of them...We had a great time trick or treating as well. Kateri insisted on marching along with the big kids, although she was too timid to go up to very many doors and actually get some candy in her little pumpkin. Hope all of you had a great Halloween!

Pumpkin carving with the Winterings and Nona

The Speiers and the Winterings had a great time getting ready for Halloween together...
Our homage to Papa's pumpkin carving style...

Our jack-o-lanterns on display...(Erika made a Suns carving)

The cousins having a great time together...

Look at Pirate Nona in her eye patch!