Signs, signs, and more signs

Since Ryan loves to spell things, he loves to spend countless hours (and I do mean HOURS) making signs to tape around the house. These signs are taped on his door, on the laundry room door, on our sliding glass door, etc. I don't leave them up for long, but just long enough to make him feel proud of his work. He comes up with some funny things to write on the signs, but they are always things that are on his mind. He is really big into listening to music, so it is not uncommon to find signs on his door that are about the music he is listening to. He is really good at remembering song titles and knowing the artists because whenever he likes a song he asks what it is called and who sings it and it is in the memory bank. And onto the sign it goes!

I have some pictures here of some of the signs he makes from time to time, but one of my favorites I don't have a picture of yet. Whenever I am in the kitchen making something (which hasn't been much this week, thus NO picture!), he makes a sign that says Mom Chef. He hums theme music to the show and says in his best announcer voice, "Okay everyone let's welcome Moooommmmmm Chef!" He then continues with what I will be making and then asks that I give a little diaglogue with what I am making for the "viewers at home." You would think that we watch the Food Network all the time, but honestly the boy spends more time watching Disney than anything else. It is really a crack up, and the whole time I am cooking, the Mom Chef sign is proudly displayed on the refrigerator. He ooos and ahhhs over all the things I'm doing and comments how this will be my best food yet. I'm not sure what he is waiting for, but I don't think anything that miraculous is going to come out of this kitchen!

Here are some pictures of some of the other signs he has made. And for the record, this is HIS spelling:

Confused on this one? Well, it says, according to Ryan, "Yes, we have NO smoking here". When asked where it says no smoking, he looks matter a factly at you and says, "There is a circle with a line through it. That always means no!" Alright then...



He loves to watch American Idol with us and it was "too early to vote" so he just made a sign for all the American Idol people.

And just in case you were thinking of taking a shower in his bathtub, you'll find this note posted on the door to the bathroom:


And finally, another favorite of mine. When he gets his own water, sometimes it spills, so we get a wet floor sign.



For those of you not versed in kid spell, this says "Wet floor experience".

I will admit the signs drive me crazy. There are open signs, closed signs, exit only signs, etc. But for now, it is kinda cute to see what is on his mind and hey, at least he is practicing his writing and spelling.

Happy 40th Birthday Tom!!

This post is a couple days late, but with a month full of birthdays and anniversaries for our family and toss in Valentine's Day, a dance competition and some illness, I think only a couple days late is not too bad considering.

Tom usually keeps pretty quiet about his birthdays around his co-workers. The kids and I decided this year to send him a balloon bouquet with some chocolates at work so that people would know it was his special day on Thursday. It worked perfectly as the front desk receptionist called him up to receive his balloons that morning, a few of them gathered around the office and sang Happy Birthday to him.

Later in the day, the kids and I drove to Tigard and met him at McCormick & Schmicks for some yummy seafood dinner, his choice. They print their menus daily, so they even put a special message at the top of the menu that said "Happy 40th Birthday Tom" on it. We thought that was pretty cool. He dined on crab and shrimp stuffed salmon, served with mashed potatoes and veggies. He said it was really good. The waiter brought him a chocolate raspberry truffle cake with a candle too. Of course, we had to help him eat that since we had dessert waiting at home! :) That was some yummy chocolate.


When we returned home, we had arranged for his parents to come over so we could have a miniature celebration. We visited, had Chocolate Cookie Dough Blizzard ice cream cake from DQ, and he got his presents. The kids and I gave him a Blazer limited edition Brandon Roy photo that was framed and matted with Blazer and NBA gold coins. He really loved and it and overall it was a good birthday celebration for him. He topped off the evening with some relaxation and playing on the Wii. Here's to another 40 years and more!

So this is what we're paying for...

As a mom, I NEVER get tired of watching Courtney dance. She has danced for 7 years and I still love all the recitals, shows & competitions. The studio she has been with for the last couple of years has a parent watch night every couple of months so that we parents can "see what we're paying for". I get to see Courtney dance A LOT! She dances around the house, at the store, in her room, marks dances in the car, and I'm sure she has even been caught dancing in the cafeteria or the hallways at school. Parent watch night is a can't miss night for me. I really enjoy seeing her progress as well as the progress of everyone in the class. Her classes on Monday span about 4 hours since she dances in different styles & classes. It is so worth it though to see her in HER element. I can't believe how much her gracefulness has improved in this last couple of years alone. She is now doing ballet en pointe and although she has only been doing that for about 5 months, she looked good. Really, really good. I know I'm her mother and I'm sure the teachers and professionals would have plenty to critique, but there were times it was hard for me to believe that she was doing a pirouette en pointe like she was after just a few months. I mean to move that gracefully with your toes crammed into a wooden block on the floor is amazing. I can't wait to see how much more she has improved after several months of training in this new technique. It was also fun to see her getting reacquainted with some old tap moves and finding her "inner hip hopper". Jazz/contemporary style is definitely her favorite and it was fun to see her and her dance team work through their competition piece that they will take to an event on Saturday. (VERY early Saturday. We have to be in Portland by 7 am. Anyone that knows her and I knows that is VERY, VERY early to us!) I saw a lot of growth in all of the kids on Monday. It was fun watching a few girls and friends that Courtney has brought to the studio grow in their dancing as well. I can't wait to see the next parent watch night in April and the culmination of all of their hard work at the recital in June. Sometimes it is nice for us parents to get to sit back and enjoy what we are paying for.