Cake Decorating

Here's Ben hard at work earlier today decorating a cake for Joel's mom for her birthday. Note the chocolate around his mouth - he had to sample the frosting to make sure it was up to par. Happy birthday Nanny!

Goodbye Pilot, Hello Sienna

On Saturday (with mixed emotions I admit) I traded in my 2008 Honda Pilot for a 2009 Toyota Sienna. We worked out the trade so it was pretty much even-steven, except for the fact that we paid a little extra for them to upgrade it to leather seats. The Pilot was practical in theory - it had a third row and could seat 7 or possibly even 8 people, it's just that some of those 8 people would be very uncomfortable and might possibly be required to enter and exit the car through the trunk. The Sienna seats 7 people comfortably without anyone having to climb over anything, and 8 people with maybe just a little bit of climbing... So far the kids seem to like the new ride, but Ben lamented about the loss of my Obama '08 bumper sticker. I told him we can get another in 2012.

Bedtime Routine

Rebecca's bedtime routine has undergone a shift lately. It seems that I am her 3rd choice to conduct the bedtime rituals. Joel is her favorite now, and if he's not around she turns to Ben, who is usually quite happy to comb her hair, brush her teeth, read her stories and sing her songs. Last night Joel had a late meeting at work, and so Becca as usual insisted on Ben doing all her bedtime duties. Mom was relegated to the position of camera man.

Rockin' the Vote (or boat)

Or, the "boat" as Rebecca called it - "come on, it's time to get on the boat!" I think she was disappointed, and confused when we arrived at the polling place and not a boat was to be found. Ben was disappointed that Barack Obama was not on the ballot, but he cheered up when we told him he could write it in.

Report Card, and Popcorn Update

Ben's first quarter conference was Friday, at which we received a copy of his report card. It was the first time that Joel and I got to meet his new teacher, Mrs. Day, whose class he's been in for only three weeks. His original teacher, Ms. Bean was at the conference as well, to provide input on Ben's progress during his time in her classroom.

As usual the conference was unsurprising-- Ben needs to focus on neatness with his handwriting, and on being more responsible with his belongings. On the 3-2-1 scale that's used until 3rd grade, he got a "2" (inconsistently meets expectations) on "takes care of materials", and 3s in everything else. His teacher also mentioned that he sprawls back in his desk chair (I used to do this too), and that can be very fidgeting in the hallways and in line.

I guess it's her job to make sure we understand all the things he needs to work on, because she only mentioned his reading as an afterthought, which has already surpassed the level the first graders are expected to achieve by the end of the school year. She also called him "sweet" and excited about learning, but she also - which Joel took great offense to - called him "average" as in, "he's a nice all-around average kid" or words to that effect. My kid? Average?!

For those of you looking for a popcorn update - the web site is having issues so it is not tracking Ben's online orders, so I don't know how much money Ben has raised online. I know Kathleen ordered (thank you!) and my mom tried (try harder!), but I don't know what his total is. He did, with Joel's help, sell $218 in door-to-door sales, however when I posted the $200 challenge I was thinking (though did not explicitly state) that this applied to online orders only (note the wild back-pedaling).

If you still want to order, the sale ends Wednesday I believe. Scroll down to the popcorn post below for the link, and read the comment I posted about what to do if it switches to saying "supporting no one" when you click through to make your order. The chocolatey caramel crunch, I can say with good authority, is DELICIOUS!

Very Frightening

Hammer-wielding ear-less Halloween kitty:

Halloween 2010