This morning our whole family walked to Starbucks in Saco to enjoy the beautiful weather, wonderful Starbucks concoctions, our books and each other. Along the way Kirsten and I demonstrated to Jenna the intricacies of sidewalk navigation and how to be a good and safe pedestrian. It was a glorious morning, and the sun was warming the air to an unseasonably warm temperature.
At Starbucks we ordered our drinks, found some comfortable chairs and began to read, play our iPod/iPhones and talk. It was wonderful. After a little while Hayley looked quite tired, so I offered to hold her on my lap as I read. She squirmed around a bit to get comfortable and dozed off to a restful sleep. Then she puked. All. Over. Me. Where in the hell did all that oatmeal come from, and how did two oatmeal packets turn into quarts of oatmeal vomit?
Photo: Kirsten Uhler
Dorothy, a frequent Starbucks customer and barista, kindly got me two clean wet washcloths so I could begin to remedy this embarrassing and completely disgustingly awful situation. When the worst of the vomit was off the chair and floor I went to the bathroom to clean myself. Kirsten had already rushed Hayley off to the women’s restroom so she could continue to purge the putrid oatmeal from her unusually gargantuan stomach.
After the chunks were off my shirt and shorts I walked home to get the car–alone, and soaking wet.
Hayley and I have now showered and life has returned to its usual blissful state. Hayley seems to be feeling well, but is carrying a bowl, just in case.
The Harry Potter Extravaganza was well done, and the girls had a good time. They had their fortunes told by Professor Trelawney, played games, colored Harry Potter pictures, and made wands. Hayley dressed as Hermione Granger, Jenna dressed up as Cho Chang, and Skye as Ron Weasley. The girls even convinced me to dress up as Professor McGonagall.
Yesterday Kirsten and I had the opportunity to visit Hayley’s kindergarten class for an end-of-the-year beach party. It was a lot of fun. Mrs. Arnold’s pupils went through their usual morning routine before reading to us a book they’d written and illustrated. Then Mrs. Arnold played for us a slide show that was absolutely wonderful (a tear jerker). She is an extremely talented photographer and was able to capture not only the activities of the students, but their personalities as well.
Kirsten and I feel very fortunate that Hayley had Mrs. Arnold this year. She has great command of her students and exudes compassion for them.
Hayley: I think it’s so great because we can all get together and have a time to be together and, like, spend time with each other. Read the rest of this entry…
I wanted to learn about how they make paper because it was the only thing I could think of. I liked learning about how they make paper.
Paper is made from fibers that come from plants and trees. The fibers are beaten and mixed with water to make what’s called pulp. Then you put the pulp on a fine screen called a mold. Then you let it dry. Then you take the paper off the mold.
Egyptians made another kind of paper called papyrus 4,000 years ago. The word “paper” comes from the Greek word papuros.
The girls’ artwork is current on exhibition at the Saco Museum. We visited yesterday morning. It was our first time at the museum.
Hayley made a stuffed fish in her art class. It’s isn’t a fish you could filet and eat for dinner. Nor could it swim in the ocean. It’s mostly made of paper. They drew with oil crayons over the paint. With the red crayon Hayley made lipstick. Then they cut out fish shapes, stapled the edges together and stuffed them with newspaper.
