Cinco de Mayo

JR got off the bus today with these cute paper flowers in hand.
JR: Mommy! These flowers are not your surprise we're making at school.
Me: Well, they sure are pretty.
JR: I know. Today's Mexican Day, so we made them.
Me: You mean, Cinco de Mayo.
JR: Yes! Cinco FO Mayo.

I know. As a native Texan I should be ashamed that my child's Chinese accent is better than his Spanish one. But I think we were both redeemed as our conversation continued.
JR: And since it's Cinco FO Mayo, we are supposed to eat Mexican food tonight.
Me: Boy that sounds good, I sure could use a margarita. (Oops, did I say that out loud?)
JR: And I want a tamale.

Tamale, margarita, chips and salsa.
Ummmmm....
Tex-Mex, mi amigo, Oh how I miss thee.....

Food Network Part 2

I've reported before about JR's food issues. He's still holding on strong to his picky eating, but lately he loves to watch Food Network. I can only guess he's trying to teach himself to cook since I'm not so good. He loves watching Extreme Cake Challenge, which I totally get. (His favorite episode is where they make 'The Simpsons' cakes.) And lately he's become a big fan of Man V. Food. (Which actually is on the Travel Channel, but it's a food show so I'm going to include it.) Just this weekend I found myself calling out, "JR! Come quick! Man V. Food is on!" And here he comes running up the stairs screaming, "What's he doing? What's he eating? Remember when he ate the hottest food in the whole, whole, whole wide world?! Remember?!" But what I don't get is why he likes some of the other shows. Every time he sees the Iron Chef commercials he begs me to let him watch it (we just haven't caught an episode yet), and I sat with him the other day and watched a whole episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats about having a crawfish boil! Now neither JR, nor myself, would ever eat, touch, or even smell a crawfish. But we both now know all the ends and outs about them...(shudder!) He's definitely got 'chef genes' in him (he just didn't get them from me) so maybe this is his chef-ness trying to come out. But since he still refuses to taste or touch most foods, I guess Food Network really is the way to go...no smelling, touching, or tasting required!

We're Expecting!

This has been in the works for awhile now, but today I can officially announce that we're expecting! Can you believe I'll be adding another boy to my already male dominated household? That's right. Come August we'll be the proud parents of a high school Chinese exchange student. (Did I have you going there? Even just for a second?) It's actually a really cool deal because we already know who we will be hosting. His name is Harry (he named himself after Harry Potter) and he is the son of Johnasen, who was Jason's main salesman in China. I've known Johnasen since the second I stepped off the plane in Beijing, and we never would have made it through the first 3 months without him. We think this will be an exciting experience for us all, and are really looking forward to next school year. I only have one picture of Harry and it's from 2005 when we went to the Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin. (back, middle in the bright blue coat) And yes, we were freezing. And yes, that's JR and he was asleep. That child could/can sleep anywhere...unlike his 2 brothers!

White Out

Poor JR, this face says it all. There really is nothing more embarrassing than having your mom take a picture of you at the bus stop. But, in my own defense, it was class picture day today and I wanted to get a picture of him in this cute white shirt before it became stain filled. (I don't have any girls...picture day is the most dressed up I can hope for!) I was much less obsessive about how JR looked this year, although I did give his hair a squirt of hairspray as he walked out the door this morning. And I did ask him not to play in the sandbox at school until after pictures. When he got home he assured me that pictures were taken before recess and before he got green marker all over his shirt and hands. And no, it's still not warm enough for shorts and short sleeves in the morning. (I made him put his jacket on before he got on the bus.)

Baby Talk: Ice Cream Dreams

Reed: It was 31 cent scoop night at Baskin-Robbins today.
Kyle: Mommy said we could all go get a cone. I couldn't wait! I love ice cream!
R: But when we got to B-R, the parking lot was full and there were people everywhere. The firetrucks were even there for ice cream! Needless to say, the line was out the door.
K: Daddy said he wasn't standing in a line out the door for ice cream, so we got to go to Dairy Queen instead!
R: Woo-Hoo! I'd rather have a Blizzard anyway. I love DQ!
K: So here we are enjoying Baskin Robbins 31 cent scoop night at DQ with a Blizzard. And Mommy wanted me to tell everybody the pictures aren't so good because she took them with her phone.

R: Look how patiently I'm waiting for my Blizzard. And Mommy hollers out we're bad in restaurants. Do you see anybody being bad?


K: And look at my big teeth. I can't wait to sink them into the M&M's I know Daddy will choose for his Blizzard.


R: We don't have a picture of JR waiting patiently because he got to go help Daddy order.
K: But as you can see he was pretty excited about the Blizzard situation.


R: Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!


K: If you don't get that ice cream in my lips faster I'm going to scream out!

Both: We can't wait to get to Texas. Now that the Grandmothers have seen how happy Blizzards make us, we're sure we can talk them in to getting us one every day!

Shalom Y'all!

I was talking to my mom the other day and all of a sudden she said, "Oh Jan! I'm so upset! I just got the worst news." (Now normally most people would panic at a statement like that, but since I get my own flair for the dramatics from my mom, I wasn't too worried.)

My Mom: I just found out I'm not a Jew!"
Me: Really? Why not? (Thinking maybe she'd talked about genealogy with one of her cousins.)
My mom (the now non Jew): Well, I was watching this show last night, and they said that you can only be a Jew if your mom is a Jew. Your daddy can be a Jewish Rabbi, but if your mom's not a Jew, then either are you. You can also convert to Judaism, but those are the only two ways.
Me: Oh, I'm so sad for you. You love telling everybody you're a Jew.
My mom: I know! I was so upset I went and woke up your daddy to tell him. (I'm sure he was thrilled to be woken up for that little tidbit.)
Me: Well, you've been telling everybody you're a German Jew for so long, I'd just go ahead and keep telling it. It makes a good story. (And we're all about the good stories.)

So my mom, still wallowing in her new found non-Jewness, will be thrilled to hear that I got a postcard today from the Jews for Jesus! (Which is the picture I posted.) I was actually pretty excited because it starts off:
"Shalom Jan Ingersoll" (I don't think I've ever been 'Shalomed' before!)
So see, Mom, it's okay. I'm on the Jews for Jesus mailing list. And, in my book, you're still the best German Jew Presbyterian around!

Keep 'Em Busy!

I used to think the moms that talked about summer camps were crazy. They seemed in such a panic to make sure their kids were all signed up for camps and activities. I thought it was just some kind of status thing...until I spent summer (and spring break) not having anything lined up for JR. I won't ever make that mistake again. JR and I both need summer activities for him to keep us both sane. I spent the weekend trying to organize his summer schedule (yes, it really does take planning and scheduling), and as of this afternoon he's all signed up and paid up. Woo-Hoo! Here's what JR's summer looks like:

• Last Day of school-May 21
• Last week of May-open (hoping he's old enough to take a golf clinic)
• 1st three weeks of June- tennis lessons (T, TH), skateboarding lessons (M,W,F) I know, I can't believe there's such a thing as skateboarding lessons!
• June 20th- leave for Houston
• June 21-July 18th-Texas. While in Houston he'll attend Vacation Bible School for a week.
• Week of July 19th-return to Durango-my family visits
• Last week of July-day camp at the ski mountain all week
• 1st week of August-family vacay (We're going to Yellowstone.)
• 2nd week of August-kayaking day camp. I think they teach them in the indoor pool, and then if they get good enough, they let them kayak down a calm part of the river. (He's most excited about this, with skateboarding a close second.)
• 3rd week of August-visit from Jason's family, wrapping up the weekend with an antelope hunt in New Mexico.
• School starts Monday, August 24th

That should keep him busy, and keep us both happy!