Puppy Kisses

Abigtongueformail
Originally uploaded by super rachel zana.

Gotta love the tongue.

Gotta love the drool.

It's a slobber filled world.

Bad Bart Laughs

Laughformail
Originally uploaded by super rachel zana.

Mr. Slobber's hat is always falling off to the side, and it always reminds me of that Little People peg person in the yellow shirt with the red hat. There were two versions of that particular toy: Good Bart, whose hat was on straight and perpetually smiled, and Bad Bart, whose hat had slipped to the side, his mouth downturned into an eternal nasty frown. I read somewhere he was the only grumpy Little People Toy every manufactured, the one grouch in a sea of good happy people. He must have felt out of place. I'm glad they tempered their toys with at least a small dose of emotional reality.

My Favorite Guy

Prciousguy
Originally uploaded by super rachel zana.

Concentration

flowerpetalformail
Originally uploaded by super rachel zana.

Splurging

justincase
Originally uploaded by super rachel zana.

We were at Target yesterday and Ms. Crazy Preschooler was dying to purchase an umbrella of her very own. She's been quite interested in umbrellas for some time, particularly after we got soaked during a rainstorm at the recent dairy festival parade. So I gave in. I bought the six dollar umbrella that now goes everywhere with us: in the swimming pool, down to the basement, up to the attic, on our walks regardless of weather conditions. She plans on bringing it to the next parade, just in case.

Harriet the Spy in Training

Ms. Crazy preschooler received an address book with a black case that snaps shut from her Great Grandmother in the mail. She was thrilled. I understood why immediately. What fun! To write important things down in such a grown up book with real professional lines is tantalizing. She sticks a pencil inside and carries it around describing things in a nonlegible but meaningful three-year-old scrawl. Yesterday after supper we ventured out on a walk and she begged to take the notebook with in the two seat stroller so that she could "record newsworthy details". Ever the advocate of emergent literacy, I hastily agreed that I thought it would be great to bring along. So as we walked along, she made a list of interesting things we saw: purple wildflowers, blooming irises, kids running through sprinklers, barking dogs, toddlers riding little bicycles, two convertible cars driving on the street, a bumble bee, and a squirrel running up a tree. The walk was a success for the most part. I exercised. She recorded, and Mr. Slobber only managed to chew on a few pages of the notebook when no one was watching.

As Observed Today

Unique Aspects of My community:

1. Someone rides a bike bus. I saw it today at parked at the park. There was a two person bicycle attached to an extra wheel and seat for a peddling child (age 5-9) and behind THAT there was a 2 seat bike trailer for preschoolers. I guess the whole family must go riding on one contraption.

2. When the Civic Band plays "On Wisconsin" in concert at the outdoor band shell, all the native Wisconsinites Tap their toes and jiggle their legs to the beat. Small children dance in the grass. Small dogs pant appropriately on beats two and four. These citizens are dedicated.

3. During Dairy Festival you can race goldfish in plastic raingutters gutters for merely 50 cents.

4. At very random and unpredictable times an ice cream truck, a real honest to goodness ice cream truck, will toodle on by, sweet music blaring from a speaker on the roof. The ice cream truck appears at the oddest places and is driven by a shaggy bearded man who appears to not bathe frequently, but people who have actually purchased frozen treats on a whim have told me he's safe.