More Chores Please

Teaching the value of work just wasn't working without the rewards system in this house and from that little revelation the Drive In was born.

Saturday morning dawned fresh and full of possibilities but the house was a war zone and the kids were expectant...expecting mom to go on the usual cleaning tirade while they go comatose in front of The Suite Life on Deck.

After the first decent nights sleep in over 218 days, one can muster up quite a bit of energy behind bribery tactics. After explaining that by doing chores, fake money could be earned and then spent on crap at the drive in, there was a whole new excitement in the air.

Yeah for crap!

The sweet sound of begging for chores began and then cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching...

I brought home 3 boxes from Bountiful Baskets and priority one was to make their cars. Complete with gas tanks for fillin' up, key holes and "I Love Kookaburras" bumper stickers.

I ran to the store for some cheap provisions, after coupons of course and then......let the hidden lesson in money management feast of crap begin!

No one bought a banana...weird!

Thanks to Ice Age 2 from Free Movies On Demand, at the end of the day, the house was once again a mess, everyone was poor and the kids...comatose.

Bribery works EVERY TIME!

What's Up Buttercup?

I am pleased to introduce you to one of my favorite people...Ms. Debi.

Ms. Debi is the creative mind and teacher at BLOOM Preschool.

My precious little snapdragon daughter Olivia is BLOOM's demise 3 days a week. (evil laugh)

Anyway, here's what's up buttercup:

BLOOM is now enrolling for the 2011/2012 school year

School Days: MWF 9:30am - 12pm

Average 11/12 school days per month (Follows the Tahoma School Calendar for holidays and vacations days)

For 4 year olds (must be 4 by January 1)

$50.00 deposit required to hold spots in the 2010 fall class (non refundable)

***But*** If you mention seeing this blog post Miss Debi will take half off the $50.00 deposit.

EMAIL: debisgarden@netscape.com or debisgarden@gmail.com

or call 425-413-0268 or 425-890-6087.

The Academic Calendar:

• 3 assessments a year (trimester 'tests')
• Spring Art Show
• The Bloom Garden - planted by and maintained by the children
• Academically covering Letters A-Z, upper and lower case, sounds, written, and sequence
• Numbers 1-20, Counting by 2's and 5's
• Colors & shapes
• Weekly show and tell
• Proper use of scissors and proper pencil grip
• Pattern work
• Singing
• Music Appreciation – winter trimester
• Early Spanish - last trimester

Benefits:

• Ms. Debi has 7 years experience/licensed/insured
• Cozy kid-sized classroom, chairs & tables
• Small class size (6-8 students)
• Educational toys
• Delightful curriculum
• Individual Attention
• Social Development
• Fewer children per class
• Large play structure
• Warm and loving environment
• Individual progress evaluation as needed
• Special graduation event
• Holiday celebrations
• Letter of the week activities
• Weekly treasure box

"MISS DEBI IS THE SINGLE BEST PRESCHOOL TEACHER IN MAPLE VALLEY AND YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE A COMPLETE DOLT NOT TO CHOOSE HER SCHOOL!!!!!!" -Anonymous

My Olivia loves Ms. Debi and I know your little preschooler will too! She is only teaching one class this year and space is limited so don't be a pansy, give Ms. Debi a call today or you'll be sorry!

Worried

Just yesterday Rob and I noticed that Tatum was starting to twitch a little and a mild concern arose. After watching her closely today, I realized what was going on and we have nothing to worry about.

She has learned that crucial magic word that now puts her in complete control.

A Cliché Kind of Girl

I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to Valentine's Day.

Treasure hunts, candlelit dinners, surprise trips? Not me.

Just give me quality chocolates in a heart-shaped box and I am S-A-T-I-S-F-I-E-D!

True to tradition in this house, I found these under my pillow mid-day.

And boy was I EXCITED! I dove right in. Losing weight or not, nothing comes between me and my Valentine's Day chocolates.

I was nice enough to share with the man.

Oops. Maybe this is disgusting but it is the only way to eat 'em. One bite of each. How else you gonna know which one is your favorite?

Never had their chocolates before but Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory delivered the goods!!

We (cheesily) topped off that evening with sparkling cider in bed....after we had already brushed our teeth.

We are so naughty.

The BEST Burgers EVAH!!

Drop what you are doing right now and head to the store to get the ingredients you don't have already for this burger.

Thanks to Rachael Ray, I am in love. Every time I make these I am amazed at how good they are.

EVERY. TIME.

They are especially good when you are really hungry.

They are a little bit spicy, a lot juicy and (you have to say this next part with a ghetto accent) all kinds of flayvah is 'sploding all up in he-uh. Foh real!

If you don't try this burger, you are so dumb. <------click

I LUUUVV THIS BURGER! (singing)

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Sidenotes:

• I don't use the blue cheese and never have because I am too cheap so I don't know what it is like with it.
• I have used the Orowheat Sandwich Thins that are 100 calories and they hold up excellently.
• I choose to grate the vegetables, not finely chop them. Faster and small is key.
• For the hot pepper sauce, I recommend Frank's Hot Sauce, hand's down.
• I use 2 tsp dried dill because I never have fresh on hand.

You won't be sorry. Actually, feel free to come back and comment on how much you love me when you take your first bite.