Found on our front porch...

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Originally uploaded by peteshaw

I thought this was cute. I especially liked the "put stuff here" in the corner.

No more old tomatoes

Yet another Sam-ism. Sam has been trying to put his foot down about
various things, usually not eating dinner and not going to bed.

We have been telling him to stop giving us ultimatums.

Tonight Sam announced proudly last night that he was giving us an "old
tomato", and that he wasn't eating his meatloaf.

How I feel by Anna Shaw

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Originally uploaded by peteshaw

Anna gave me this story she wrote last night. She was very mad at me because Mom planted seeds in Anna's garden and didn't let Anna plant any. My crime was that I told Anna she was over-reacting, and that she was taking a small problem and making it into something worse.

The reason I said that is because she dug out all of the gardening stuff Kathleen had used, and brought it up to her room to look for seeds. In the process she spilled several cups of topsoil on her bed. She also emptied the garbage can in the kitchen and left the contents on the kitchen floor. She also forgot that the downstairs bathroom was clogged and used it anyway, spilling toilet water all over the bathroom floor.

But clearly she disagreed with me, and this is how she explained to me how she felt. Anna is so awesome.

How I feel by Anna Shaw

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Originally uploaded by peteshaw

Here we see Anna and Dad, with a magical 'poof' coming from Anna, which I guess is exacting a magical spell contingent on her exacting her revenge on poor old Dad.

How I feel by Anna Shaw

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Originally uploaded by peteshaw

Now dad has been transformed into a frog...

How I feel by Anna Shaw

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Originally uploaded by peteshaw

And on this page Anna has dissected the Dad-frog and is going to eat him for dinner. I am unsure of the psychological ramifications of all this.

Get in line, Dana

Kathleen was waking Anna up this morning, and she first had to get
Dana out of her bed. Dana used to jump out of bed at first sight of a
grownup, but she has figured out that Anna's bed is okay, while the
couch and chair and other beds are not. This morning Kathleen said
"Here, Dana!" and instead of getting out of bed, Dana wagged her tail,
but just stretched out and curled in closer to Anna, who was sleeping
on the inside.

"I don't think Dana wants to get out of bed this morning, Anna." Kathleen said.

Anna, the perennial morning grump, said "Get in line, Dana!"

Trampoline snares first victim!

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Originally uploaded by peteshaw

Anna and PJ were on the trampoline. PJ dropped to his knees and was bouncing up, when Anna fell towards him. The back of PJ's head collided with the front of Anna's and frankly, the back of PJ's head won. The black eye looks worse than it is though, and Anna will be well healed shortly.

Twenty Questions

Sam and are driving to the Eye doctor for a follow up appointment to
my LASIK surgery this Saturday.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Sam"

"You wan't to play twenty Questions?"

"OK, sure."

"I'm thinking of something."

"Is it an animal?"

"No."

"Is it a vegetable?"

"No."

"Is it a mineral?"

"No. Ask me if its a place."

"Okay, is it a place?"

"No, but do you want to here a hint?"

"Okay, sure, give me a hint."

"They sleep all day and work all night."

What? Now I'm curious. "Ok, Sam I give up. What are you thinking of."

"Chinese!"

Note to self: Ask Sam what he thinks Chinese means. "Well, okay, I
guess you got me that one, my turn now."

Then a pause, then he says "Nacho"

"What?"

"I said Nacho!" he said, "When I say Nacho you miss three turns."

It was then I knew it was going to be a long drive.

Lasik, Mothers Day

On Friday I had i-LASIK surgery that has pretty much removed the glasses that have been affixed to my head for the last thirty years. Pretty awesome. The procedure was quick and pain-free although it freaked me out a little bit.

On Friday PJ's class had a special Mother's Day presentation. One part of the presentation was the whole class read "Love You Forever" by Robert N Munsch. Just before the presentation, Kathleen whispered to PJ, "PJ this is the book that makes Dad cry."

PJ whispered back, "I know, I told EVERYONE!"

***

PJ also filled a Mother's day paper with questions and answers.

My mom is special because: I love her.

I like it when my Mom: Catches Anna hurting me.

My mom is as pretty as: A flower.

I like to make my mom smile by: Doing well in School.

My mom is smart! She even knows: What 10^6 - 32 =

My mom can do many things. I think she is best at: Math

***

Sam asked me this morning. "Dad?"

"Yes Sam"

"You know what I want to get Mom for Mother's day?"

"What, Sam."

"Breakfast. Can you cook it for me? Becaue thats what I want to get her for Mother's day.

School Days are so hard

PJ woke up earlier than I did this morning, and the first thing that
he asked me was if there was school today. I told him there was and
he made an "awwww" noise and went back into his room.

A few minutes later, as I was packing up my gear for work I walked
through the kids playroom in the basement. He as sitting in the
corner of the couch curled up. PJ is such a skinny kid that he can
really curl himself into a small little package. I sat down on the
couch.

"What's wrong, buddy?" I asked him.

"I just don't like school days, they are so hard for me."

"Well, they are hard, but aren't they fun too?"

"No, I always have a headache and there is a lot of noise and stuff."

The funny thing is that PJ is a lot like me. He is introverted, and
likes video games and computers. He doesn't like being in big crowds.
I felt like I must have gone through the same thing as him, but at
the same time I couldn't do anything to help him. I had to go to
work, and he had to go to school, and all I wanted to do was hug him
and make it all better, but some times you just can't.