Music He Doesn't Like, Other Than Jazz

(Listen to the song here).

Boylee just told me: "This hippie, spiritual song is TORTURE."

Spring!

We're planting basil, and Juliette and Sungold tomatoes. Both of those are small, cherry-type tomatoes, which will be much easier to deal with when harvest time comes around. Last year Boylee found it incredibly painful waiting, day after day, for our ultra-big tomatoes to ripen. We already have chives, strawberries and a single green onion growing.

Four Months Later

Boylee finished the last Harry Potter book this morning. So it took about four months to read however many thousands of pages. He cried a lot over the last fifty pages or so, and as soon as he was done reading he said, " When will she write another book?"

Jogathon Highlights

Wow -- 21 LAPS! Unprecedented! Boylee really turned on the afterburners! Based on our pledges it looks like we'll be raising over $400!

Here's how it all went down:

First, a dad who's a big-time runner helped the kids warm up.


Then they were off! Boylee started at a great slow and steady pace, exactly how they've been practicing with their beloved PE teacher.


Some kids walked at times, but I don't think Boylee ever stopped. (And here he is holding a torch, which was passed from kid to kid.)


Volunteers gave the kids water throughout...though most of it ended up dumped over their heads.


At the end of the 15 minutes Boylee seemed a little wiped out...


But he perked right up!



Afterwards, they all had water and a snack




All in all, it was a great success. I'll be curious to see how much money we raise. Last year with 250 kids we raised $40,000. This year we have 500 students...

Projects!

I was in the mood to sew...

A purse for a girl's birthday:


Some diaper cloths for a pregnant friend:


And a dinosaur tail for a boy's birthday:

Boylee's Current Favorite Song

My Little Prince

Just finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Tonight we watch the movie. Tomorrow, he starts book seven.

Hail!

Hail!

But I missed it, because I took Boylee to the dentist. That was only about 5 miles away but the sky was bright and sunny.

Please take one minute...

...and follow this link to automatically send a protest letter to key state leaders re: new legislation that would decimate charter school site funding. This directly affects Boylee!

Go HERE. Just click on the link and you'll be guided through the rest.

Snow? What?

With relatives in Montana and Alaska, we're used to hearing about snow. But we're not used to experiencing it ourselves, unless we get in the car and take a trip up to Big Bear. That's why we're simultaneously shocked and amazed at this weekend's weather report: snow levels in L.A. are expected to drop to 500 feet.

And then I found an online tool that told me the elevation at our house. And it's 711.9. Wow!

That Didn't Take Long

After last week's playdate was a grand success, Boylee seems to have really changed his thinking about going home to other people's houses. Today he's going to a different kid's place, letting that mom pick him up after school. And he's even going to stay for dinner. Wow!

He said, "If I stay for dinner how long will the playdate be before you pick me up?" I told him I thought it'd be about two hours, and worried that might be a deal breaker for him. But instead he reacted with pure happiness!

The Result

It was a grand success. The other mom said he wasn't shy about it at all! By the time I got there he was having so much fun and was in no mood to leave -- which actually made the end of the playdate kind of annoying, with both boys grumbling at each other. Oh well.

Another First

Tomorrow Boylee is schedule to go home after school with another boy. It's the first playdate with that boy. And it's the first time he's let any other family take him home for a playdate after school! It's unprecedented and I was certain he'd say no to it. But he didn't, though he did make me promise to pick him up at their house after exactly one hour. I'm thrilled about it, mainly because the other kid is a very, very sweet boy and I'll be really happy if the two of them become good friends.

My Sensitive Thug

He's such a boy's boy, but this is also Boylee's favorite video:

Daddy Enjoying His Birthday Gift!

First Sleepover!

Boylee's friend Cormac spent the night! It was a total success. The boys had a blast, played nicely and even went to sleep around 10 o'clock (which is earlier than I thought they would). I heard them chatting around 6:45 this morning, and then they laid out the plan for me: they'd get up, have breakfast, brush their teeth (yes, they listed this!) and then they'd play some Super Mario Brothers. How could I resist such a charming agenda?