Cassie has spelling homework 4 times per week. We get bored with the same old assignments so I gave her a special one, to write her spelling words in her very best handwriting. She came up with this… I’m pretty impressed and very proud so I had to share

I was going through Cassie’s backpack for tomorrow (taking out her lunchbox that she forgot, was getting ready to scold her for forgetting) when I came across the below. (I didn’t even mention the lunchbox… cuz… well… awwww… she gets a pass today)

It says:

February 12, 2010

Dear mom,

Happy valentines!!!!! I love you so much. You help me make my lunch. You are my hero always.

Love,
Cassie

Last month, Cassie’s class was supposed to design their own theme park and draw it out on a big piece of butcher paper. No princess parks here, no. Casie designed the Poison Park. That’s right folks, step right up and be half murdered and pay good money to do it!

This is a long video, I won’t be offended (much) if you don’t listen to it, but I cracked up every time Cassie told the class to “Shhhh!” and the fact that the kids were obsessed with the invisible bridge. LOL.

Many thanks for her teacher for taking the video. Cassie was VERY excited about it and wanted me to see it.

Jamie and Cassie are starting to be obsessed with language idioms. I blame a book we got in for review called The One and Only Sam and Tom shared a few with them.

This morning, we were in the drop off line behind a daycare van and this was the conversation from the backseat:

Jamie: “Caution – Children”

Me: “Yup, it’s a daycare bus”

Jamie: “Yeah, cuz kids can be kinda dangerous, ya know!”

Cassie: “You never know what kids will do, look out, mom!”

*snicker*
Yeah, I’m easily amused.

We spent Christmas with my mother in South Carolina. On Christmas Eve, just as the kids were getting ready to go to bed, we hear someone walk through the door… Santa was early! Oh no! But never fear, he just came to bring them one little thing each before getting back on his reindeer. He did come back though!

(thanks, Jamie, for being such a good sport)

Remember when I posted about how we had snow in Austin on December 4? Someone at the school got the absolute best photo of Jamie playing in it… look at that smile – complete and utter joy. Jamie is a tough cookie when it comes to smiles for the camera. This one left me grinning for days! What a lucky shot!

Cassie also wrote a story about it. Oh, excuse me, she PUBLISHED a story – that seems to be the big thing now… publishing it means writing it, editing it, rewriting it and illustrating it and making a cover sometimes too. Very serious stuff… but this is SO cute. I love that they let all the kids out to play in it. They still talk about how crazy it was!

(click for bigger pic)

The kids wrote letters to Santa and then decided to visit family out-of-state, so I called and left a message for him to call us back – and he DID! Cassie was so excited that she nearly peed her pants talking to him. She was SO NERVOUS too. I mean. Santa. Called. Her.

It was all very exciting and she got to tell him that we wouldn’t be at home that year and told him where. But she also had decided that the robot dog she wanted (that hasn’t been made since 2002 – just sayin’) – she didn’t want it anymore and instead wanted a cool robotic penguin named Penbo. Santa said he would certainly try. I hope be comes through!

But last week… OMG! We got letters postmarked from the North Pole! Santa wrote to Cassie and Rudolph wrote to Jamie. And he mentioned the phone call, so we know he knows now. A VERY good thing, indeed! Wanna see? (click to see a bigger picture)

(and yes, Jamie knows, but he is playing along and doing a stellar job – thank to UWriteSanta.com – they rocked!)

Cassie is having a couple of girlfriends over for a sleepover tonight (I don’t call her the party planner for nothing). She comes over and asks me for a bowl of goldfish for her party and I told her she had to pay for them. Around here, the cost of goldfish is a hug – maybe a kiss too. So she gives me a hug and I grab a bowl. I told her that Granny Grits wanted her to save the first hug for her when we got to South Carolina and I asked her if she was going to do it. And she said yes. I then told her that Granny was funny because she liked hugs. In fact, she liked hugs even more than *I* do. I so totally got the “Cassie Look” – it’s kind of like the one here. It always cracks me up because she kind of looks like “yeah, mom, whatever” and told me that no one liked hugs more than I do – Okay, so it’s true. There’s nothing like a big squeezy hug from one of my kids.

(although in this particular photo she’s trying to convince me that candy is a healthy snack – it was chocolate and I hear there’s health benefits to that so I kinda want to believe her to be honest).

Cassie just came in from school and had started her homework when the doorbell rang. I went to answer it and came back with a package.

Cassie: Who was that?

Me: The courier.

Cassie: What’d he give us? (probably thinking it was something fun cuz Fedex and UPS both came with goodies yesterday)

Me: Just some work stuff from a client

Cassie: Geez – MORE work stuff, mom?

Yes, Cassie… more, indeed. It never ends. But we are lucky. Not everyone has work these days. We’re lucky.

In Cassie’s class they published a book for Thanksgiving. They had first drafts, revisions, a cover, it was laminated, the works. I love her teacher and (more importantly) Cassie adores her. This was such a cute project for her and she learned about what it takes to publish a book and the right way to go about doing it. It was kind of impressive actually.

This is what her book says:
“I’m thankful for Leo because he always makes me happy. I’m thankful for food because I can never starve. I’m thankful for Julie because if I’m sad she licks me and makes me happy. I’m thankful for Mom because she is always making sure I am safe. I’m thankful for Dad because when I need something he comes to me. I’m thankful for water because I do always have something to drink. Have a good Thanksgiving.”

I’m trying to not be offended that the dogs got first billing (and that Jamie didn’t even get a mention, poor kid). *laugh* But you can tell she put a lot of effort and thought into it and it really was sweet. And the whole tone is *so* Cassie, ya know?

Here’s her handiwork (click to see a bigger one, of course!) – the cover, page 1 and page 2