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Crazy with the Hand Sanatizer

2009-02-11T10:36:00.002-06:00

If you're a parent, you know that at the beginning of the school year, you are required to purchase a massive amount of supplies for your kid's class. One of the items on Sarah's list was hand sanatizer. There are 18 kids in her class, so that's 18 bottles of the stuff AT LEAST - who knows how many the teacher brings, if any.

While there's really no proof that this goop actually kills germs (I've heard that only germacides really kill the germs), it's just goop with alcohol and smell in it. And the kids use it ALL DAY LONG. I have no idea how many times they may use soap and water - maybe on bathroom trips - but Sarah is nuts about using it.

I must say that I hate the stuff. Why? Because Sarah would rather use it than wash her hands. "No Mommy. I need hand sanatizer." She uses it so much at school that her knuckles are raw, itchy and rough. I thought she had scraped them playing they looked so bad, but it's the alcohol in the hand goop that's drying her hands out.

I gave her a small bottle of lotion to take to school to help and I've been putting Burt's Bees Hand salve on at night. But I'd rather she just use soap and water.

:-/

An official Brownie

2008-12-04T09:05:00.003-06:00

I'm so proud! This past Monday, Sarah was able to recite, from memory, the Girl Scout Promise. And not only that, but in front of a crowd of older Girl Scouts! She said it was exciting and scary. Heh.

With that, she earned her Girl Scout Pin. :D So proud!

She's also earned two Try It patches and a Juliette Low Patch (she's the founder of the Girl Scouts).

What a fun time!

Knock Knock Jokes

2008-09-05T09:25:00.002-05:00

Scene: On the way home from school. Sarah and Cloosty are in the back and Sarah decides to play knock knock jokes.

Sarah: Knock knock?
Cloosty: Who's there?
S: Orange banana head.**
C: Orange banana head who?
S: I'm in your ice cream, don't eat me!

Riotous cackling from the peanut gallery.

S: Knock knock?
C: Who's there?
S: Banana peel.
C: Banana peel who?
S: It's in your garbage can - peeeee youuuuuu! It's stinky!

Uproarious laughter from the peanut gallery.

C: Knock knock?
S: Who's there?
C: You're a stinky banana head!

(Obviously, he hasn't perfected the finer points of knock knock jokes)

Wild cackling ensues, no less.

**The "orange banana head" stems from the "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" knock knock joke.

1st day of 1st Grade

2008-08-07T08:50:00.004-05:00

Today is Sarah's fist day of first grade! My baby girl is so grown up!

And not only that, but she rode the BUS to school!

Normally, she wouldn't ride the bus because school is just 3 blocks away, but they've moved her school to the old Berry campus this year because they are doing rennovations to her regular school. And since we live more than 2 miles from Berry, we can get bus service - "I want to ride the bus!"

The bus stop is about a block and a half from our house so Pete took her to meet the bus for the first time. Cloosty and I were ready early, so we hopped in the car and took off. Our route takes us past Sarah's bus stop and what did I see but Sarah loaded down with her backpack full of school supplies, standing alone amid a gaggle of older kids. I slowed down to wave at her and she looked close to tears and refused to wave back. I immediately called Pete:

"Why aren't you waiting for the bus with her? You should have stayed! It's her first time on the bus - I know I'd be a little worried and scared!"

Yeah, I was a bit snappy about it. I know I worry a little too much about my kids, but holy moley, she looked like a frightened rabbit. Sheesh, she's only six!

Luckily, Pete had thought the same thing and was going around the block to go back to her. He waited with her (the bus was late) and told me that she was mostly worried that the bus wouldn't come but she was fine.

Whew!

I hope she has a great day - and I hope her teacher likes the baby gift we got her. A tan bear bear (Eliot's all time favorite) and a lion (just in case the baby is a Leo like me). :)

Pickles R Us

2008-08-07T08:29:00.005-05:00

Sarah is a very giving kid. She met her new teacher Monday, who happens to be very pregnant, and decided that she wanted to get Mrs. Stacy a baby gift.

"Mommy! We have to give her something!"

So she started digging through all the old baby toys we have stashed (and that we really need to get rid of) and had a display ready for me when I got home. I vetoed all of them - they weren't all that appropriate - and told her we'd go buy something.

It ain't easy buying a baby gift for 1) someone you don't know at all. I haven't met the teacher yet - Pete went with Sarah that day; 2) you don't know what they've gotten already; and 3) when you don't know the sex of the baby.

At first I thought we would go to Wally Mart, but I really didn't want deal with the craziness that is Wally Mart. So after work Tuesday, I took her to Babies R Us to pick out a stuffed animal.

We parked close to one of the expectant mother spaces and Sarah saw this:

Sarah: Mommy, why do they have a PICKLE sign?
Me: A pickle sign?
Sarah: See? There?

You have to admit, it does look like the Vlasic Pickle stork.

Snaggle Tooth

2008-07-02T08:20:00.002-05:00

Sarah finally lost one of her top front teeth yesterday. They have both been wiggly for months and months now, but either they just didn't want to give up the ghost or she wasn't fooling with them to get at least one of 'em loose enough. Two days ago she was begging me to pull the right one because it was pretty wiggly, but not quite enough to yank out of there.

However, when I picked her up from school, she showed me the gaping hole and held up her tooth in a zip-top bag - "Look, Mommy! It came out!" I knew it wasn't loose enough to pull, so I asked her how it came out:

Sarah: Well, there's this plastic tub and it hit my tooth and it just came out!
Me: What? A tub? What?
Sarah: Yeah, a tub.
Me: Okay, tell me what happened. Did you hit it on the tub?
Sarah: Yes.
Me: How? (Why am I having to ask 20 questions? She's just like her dad, I swear!) Were you leaning over the tub?
Sarah: I was getting something out of the tub and I bumped my tooth on it and just popped out!

Okay, whatever. So we put the tooth in the tooth box, slid it under her pillow and this morning there was a shiny gold dollar coin in place of the tooth. And here's what's bugging me - This is only her third tooth she's lost and she's already so nonchalant about getting money for the tooth... like "Oh yeah, here's my money Mom. Ho Hum."

???!!??

I was always super excited that the Tooth Fairy left me money. Sheesh. Kids these days, I tell ya. I wouldn't be surprised if the Tooth Fairy left her only a piece of lint next time. Nah, she wouldn't be that mean, would she? ;)

Chuck E. on the cross

2008-05-02T10:19:00.004-05:00

We don't go to church. Yep, we're heathens. And we don't preach to our kids. We don't even talk about that kind of stuff at home - not because we don't want to... just because we don't feel the need. But there is a little girl in Sarah's class who has been telling her all about Jesus and other Christian theology lately. Sarah sometimes comes home and tells me what this kid has said. For example, a few weeks ago Sarah said, "Mommy, did you know that God created me and that He is our Father?!" My response was, "No, Daddy and I made you and Daddy is your father." Pete and I then proceeded to explain that some people believe in certain things while we are Evolutionists. She learned about the Big Bang at Montessori school, so she groks it.

I could get up on the soap box about religion, but that's for another day. Instead, I'd just like to relay what happened this morning...

So...This morning I decided to wear the rosary I got from Notre Dame in Paris (thanks Whitlows!) because it goes well with the outfit I'm wearing. Sarah noticed it and here's what happened:

Sarah: Mommy, that's Jesus on the cross.
Me: Yep.
Sarah: Where did you get it?
Me: Paris.
Sarah: Why?
Me: Because I wanted it.
Sarah: Where did you get it?
Me: At a place called Notre Dame in Paris. It's a really famous church in France.
Sarah: Did you know that Jesus' daddy was God?
Me: Hmmm.
Sarah: And Jesus WAS God!
Me: Well, I think he was a man.
Sarah: And Jesus died for his life.
Me: Hmmm.(trying not to laugh) Where did you hear that?
Sarah: From (that kid). I don't listen to her, but she keeps talking about it.
Me: (frowning) Uh-huh.
Sarah: Christopher, look! It's Jesus!

Cloosty leans over to look at it...

Cloosty: That's not Chuck E. Cheeses!

Super Power Party

2008-04-29T09:03:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday, the McWane Science Center held a fund raising event called the Super Power Party. We were invited by one of my attorneys whose daughter is in Sarah's class.

I was told that there would be Super Heroes there and the kids were encouraged to dress as their favorite super hero, too. It just so happens that Sarah and Cloosty had costumes - Supergirl and Superman. I wore my new Batgirl t-shirt and Pete wore a Batman t-shirt.

The McWane Center never fails to amaze and entertain! There were oodles of neato experiments, acitivites and demonstrations plus SUPER HEROES! Wow! We saw Batman, Flash, The Green Arrow, Harley Quinn (okay, she's not a hero), Spiderman, Spiderwoman, and Supergirl! Supergirl was a big hit and very popular with the little girls. I don't think I've ever seen so many little Supergirls running around!

One of the neato experiments was watching them make ice cream with liquid nitrogen! They eyeballed the measurements of the ingredients - sugar, vanilla and half&half - added the liquid nitrogen and Voila! Ice Cream! And it was pretty good!

Next we saw some live sea creatures - sea urchins, star fish, a LIVE horse shoe crab (never seen one alive before!) and some sea slugs. That was way cool!

Other experiments/activities: they blew up balloons... I mean the BLEW them up. I guess they filled the balloons with hydrogen because they were floating and then held a flame close then FWOOOM! A HUGE explosion! Super LOUD!

- Setting a dollar on fire. I only caught the end of that, but the money didn't burn.

- Super Hero Trivia. You know I was THERE and kicking some butt. Hehe.

- Batman Forensics. I missed that one.

On the third level was a buffet. I was a bit disappointed with this - not a big selection and pretty wimpy food at that. But they were playing episodes of the Justice League and the dessert buffet was tasty. :)

The kids,... we ALL had major fun! I'm seriously thinking about signing us up for a membership.

Tonsilectomy

2008-03-17T10:17:00.002-05:00

Sarah had her tonsils et al. removed this past Friday and boy did she do great! The doctor and nurses dubbed her the "Best Patient Ever" and said everything went very well.

After getting into her gown, she was given some "loopy" medicine and whisked away when that kicked in. She brought her blankie and Webkins, which they let her take into the operating room with her. All in all, it took about 15 minutes. She was crying when I went back there, but she was already eating a popcicle and drank some juice and asked me if they had operated yet. Heh. She calmed down and took a little nap.

The ride home was a little messy (note to self - give kids a barf bag BEFORE they barf), but we got all cleaned up and in the bed with cartoons on the boob tube. Daddy came home early to help out - hooray!

Her recovery so far has been super. She's been eating and drinking. Played a lot yesterday and hasn't complained of much pain except last night (ear hurting). The pain medicine makes her grumpy and, of course, spacy.

Special note to Angi - thanks :D You're the best!

Let's hope that this has taken care of the many cases of Strep and the snoring. Whew, can/could she snore! ;)

Birthday Girl!

2008-03-10T08:38:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Sarah!

She's six years old today! Wow, I can't believe it!

She had a great party at Pump It Up with a lot of school friends and close friends and friends she hasn't seen in a while. She wants to thank everyone for coming!

For dinner tonight, she has chosen Chuck E Cheeze's. And by tomorrow, she'll have eaten so much pizza that, as my mom would say, she'll turn into one. ;)

I can't think of anything else to say except "I love you Sarah!"

Happy birthday!

Another science lesson

2008-02-12T09:24:00.001-06:00

Don't you just love the scientific reasoning of 5-year olds? Here's one I thought was fabulous:

When it flurried one day not too long ago, Sarah explained to me that snow is made of sugar.

Me: Did you see the snow today?
Sarah: Yes! We got to go outside and catch some on our tongues! It tasted just like sugar!
Me: It did? Why is that?
Sarah: Because snow is made of sugar.
Me: Really? I didn't know that.
Sarah: Yes! When it snows, the clouds shake the houses and makes all the sugar in the houses float up into the air. Then the sugar fills the clouds, mixes with the rain and turns it into sugar water. Then it gets really cold and snows sugar. And no two snowflakes are alike because all the sugar comes from different houses.

And thus concludes our science lesson for today. ;)

Miss Diagnosis

2008-01-17T08:36:00.000-06:00

Sarah has the Croup. Not much you can do for that but breathe in steamy air and have a humidifyer to help at night. She stayed home Monday and went to see the doctor and got a steroid shot to help the tightness in her throat (she was buzzing around the house after that!).

She went back to school Tuesday. Yesterday, the school nurse called me at work:

Nurse: Sarah told her teacher that she has the Flu?
Me: Uhhh, no. She has the CROUP.
Nurse: Really? Because she said the Flu.
Me: Really. She went to the doctor on Monday. She has the CROUP.
Nurse: Okay. Because we're keeping track of cases of Flu.
Me: Don't worry. It's only the CROUP.
Murse: Okay. Thanks.

When I picked Sarah up I asked her about it:

Me: Did you tell your teacher you have the Flu?
Sarah: Uh huh. I have the Flu.
Me: No, you have the Croup.
Sarah: No I don't. I have the Flu.
Me: No, it's the Croup. You definitely don't have the Flu.
Sarah: Why?

So I explained the diference between the two. I don't think she believed me, though, because I heard her whisper "I have the Flu."

Polar Express Photos

2007-12-19T21:14:00.000-06:00

Finally got the Polar Express photos up.

Here's the best one.

Here are the rest.

The Polar Express

2007-12-17T09:09:00.000-06:00

Last night was our annual trip on the Polar Express!

If you're not familiar with this really fun activity, it takes place at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera. You board the train (we were on the Long Island Express car) which has been decorated with garland and lights, looking very festive. Like the children in the story, kids wear their pajamas for the trip. Once everyone has boarded, the train starts the journey to "The North Pole." Over the PA system, Jim Aycock (so glad he did it again this year) read the book The Polar Express and many people brought their personal copy to read along and for Santa to "autograph."

Once the story was over, Jim sang Christmas carols and you can sit and enjoy the relaxing movement of the train as it makes it way down the line - about a 15 or 20 minute trip. Meanwhile, two elves already on the train passed out bells, the "first gift of Christmas," for everyone.

And then we arrived!

Oh, you've never seen or heard so many children go bananas before in your life! The train pulled up to "The North Pole," a very decorated warehouse type building, where Santa, Mrs. Claus and a couple of elves stood outside waiting for us. Santa and his entourage boarded the train and the excitement could light up the entire state of Alabama for a week! This year, he happened to visit our car fist (wheee!). And if you thought the kids were bananas before, now it's like a feeding frenzy! I wouldn't be surprised if a few wet their pants, hehe.

Sarah looked at me when she saw that Santa was on board and said, "I think he got my letter!" Christopher kept jumping on his seat squealing "Santa! It's Santa, Mommy! Look Daddy! It's Santa!" I don't think he really gets the idea of Santa yet, but he knows who he is/recognizes him. When the jolly fat man reached our seat, he plopped Cloosty up on top of the seat while Sarah stood on the seat for a picture. Sarah was all grins while Cloosty scruntched up his face in a panicked wail. It was quite the picture! But once Sarah got a second hug from Santa and he moved on, Christopher was cool but looking a little lost. I think he wanted to give Santa a hug, too, but wasn't sure he should.

Soon, cookies and chocolate milk were given out and Santa et al. deaparted once they made their rounds. The train pulled forward a little and Christopher looked out the window at them. And totally out of the blue he said, "I love you Santa Claus."

!!!!!

That was so CUTE! And so impromptu! I wish I had had a video camera to film that exact moment! I wanted to cry.

We pulled away from "The North Pole," waving at Santa, etc. Another elf passed out little Santa bags filled with candy, a special gift from Santa she said. We sang more carols as we made our way "back to Alabama." Both kids snuggled up with me, soothed by the gentle rocking of the train. It was peaceful and lovely. This, I think, is my favorite part of Christmas - quiet moments like this with my family. Pete and I smiled at each other, knowing what each other is thinking and feeling the love.

Pictures to come. :)

New pictures

2007-09-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

Here are some new pictures! (4 of 'em)!

Is it broken?

2007-09-24T11:17:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago (okay, so I've been busy), a heavy, metal bathroom door of the gym at Sarah's school shut on the middle finger of her left hand between the first and second knuckles. She had a bag of ice and tears in her eyes when I picked her up and decided to lay it on thick after the after school care lady told me what happened. Oh, the tragedy!

It was pretty swollen and had a "boo boo" on it fron the door digging into the finger (a little skin scapred off, but no bleeding). She was pitiful. So I made her lie down on my bed with another ice pack, gave her some Tylenol and turned on the cartoons for her. Lots of pampering.

The next morning, the finger was still swollen, so I made a splint with a popcicle stick and first aid tape and taped it to the ring finger for some company. She said, "All the kids will make fun of me!" "No they won't," I said. "They'll think it's COOL!"

I decided that it was broken. That evening she and I went to the drug store and bought one of those metal finger splints. She's been wearing it since even though her finger is much better.

Is it broken? Maybe. Why didn't I take her to the doctor? Well think about it. What's he going to do but xray it, tell me yea or nay and say, put a splint on it? There's nothing they can really do for a broken finger - it's not broken in half. I did call my mom (the nurse) to describe the injury and she agreed with me. It's not horribly deformed nor has she lost any function with it. She's done plenty of things without the splint, so I'm not worried. She's fine. And I think her finger will be a-okay, too.

Check in time

2007-08-10T09:05:00.000-05:00

Sarah's favorite things right now:

Color - pink and purple
TV Show - Scooby-Doo
Food - Hot Dogs, Macaroni & Cheese, Peanut Butter
Time of Day - All day!
Book - She can't decide, she likes so many.
Friend - Jamie
Place to go/play - The "Dragon" park
Outfit - a dress or a skirt & shirt and her new ruby slippers
Toy - Whatever Cloosty wants/has.

Frist day of Kindergarten

2007-08-09T09:35:00.001-05:00

Today is Sarah's first day of Kindergarten! Oh sure, she's been at school for a couple of years now, but this is public school - it's bigger and with a lot more kids.

Both Pete and I dropped her off, staying to help her get her breakfast and find the library afterwards. In order to "pay" for breakfast and lunch, she needs to punch in her PIN at the cash register. I'm pretty sure she'll be able to remember her 5 digit number soon enough. I've already committed it to memory. Funny, with all the stuff I haven't been able to remember lately, numbers have always been easy to recall... and I digress.

At the breakfast table, we met one of Sarah's friends from Montessori who's been at Shades Mountain for a year. Molly sat down and said, "I can't believe you're here!" All the children in the lunchroom seemed to be well behaved. Some were old hats and some were brand new like Sarah - you can always spot those due to the cautious and somewhat frightened or confused looks on their faces.

After eating we went to the library where they were rounding up the Kindergarteners. There we saw another of Sarah's Montessori friends, Jamie. She had the biggest grin on her face. Jamie gave me a hug and I asked her if she was excited. All she could do was nod emphatically - heh. Sarah's teacher pinned a name tag on her shirt and asked a few questions. Pete went out to his car to get Sarah's nap roll while I gave her hugs and kisses quickly before the principal shooed all the parents out. They really do know how to corrall the parents. I'm surpirsed they don't have a bull horn at ready to shout "Parents get out now!"

*sniffle* I know she's going to do great, be great and have fun! She'll be the queen of the class, make a lot of new friends and be super at everything she does. I just can't believe that she's growing up so quickly!

I can't wait to ask her what she did today. :D

Not very frugal

2007-08-07T08:50:00.001-05:00

Yesterday evening Sarah informed me that she wanted pizza for dinner. This is almost a weekly ritual for her, especially on the days when I don't cook because we're having left-overs. However, left-overs to Sarah means that she can have anything she wants, not what we had the night before.

Anyway, we were having the "I want pizza" discussion on the way home. It was left-over night and I thought she might say she wanted a hot dog or McDonald's (barforama - very rarely do we get fast food anymore), but she piped up with "Pizza!" Naturally Cloosty joined in with his "peetsa!" Man! I didn't feel like pizza - I'm tired of pizza. Just the smell turns my stomach these days.

Me: I don't want pizza.
Sarah: I do, Mommy!
Me: I don't want to get it.
Sarah: Call Daddy. He can bring it home!

I tried getting a hold of Pedro, but he was in a meeting. Crap.

Me: He's not answering.
Sarah: Leave him a medjage.
Me: You mean a messsssage?
Sarah: Yeah, leave him a meshage.
Me: He'll be home too late.
Sarah: We can stop and get it (meaning Little Caesar's $5 pizza).
Me: I don't want to get out of the car, get you guys out, go in, carry everything back in the car and go home.
Sarah: Then we can order one.
Me: That's expensive.
Sarah: I'll buy it. I have lots of money.
Me: I'm not going to let you waste your money on pizza.
Sarah: But I want to waste my money!

ROFL! I tried to explain to her what "wasting your money" means, but I don't think she quite got it. Needless to say that I ordered a pizza at three times what it would have cost to go to Little Caesar's. Hmmm, was it convenience of online ordering or laziness? I'm going to say that I wasn't feeling very good. I ate asparagus, squash and zuchinni for dinner while the kids chowed down on pizza. And I didn't let Sarah waste her money - I wasted mine instead. Not a very good example, am I?

Bah.

Snaggle Tooth

2007-07-18T15:25:00.000-05:00

Sarah has lost her first tooth! It was super wiggly on Friday and I managed to coax it from its perch that night. She was very excited that the tooth fairy was going to come!

I put the tooth in the tooth box and we put it under her pillow that night. In the morning she was happy to see that the Tooth Fairy left her a gold John Adams dollar coin! Wow!

*sniff* This event has made me realize that she's growing up. I'm a little sad and very happy for her at the same time.

Update

2007-07-05T13:08:00.001-05:00

Yeah, yeah - been a long time since I rock-n-rolled ad naseum. ;)

So, Sarah's been having some bloody noses lately with all this dry weather. She woke us up at 4:00 this morning with one. That was fun. She keeps asking me why she has them and all I can say is that I had them when I was a kid, too, and there ya go.

I think she's grown about 3 inches lately - and her feet and enormous! She's continuously hungry and has outgrown all her pants and dresses (length-wise). Had to get some new shoes, too.

Oh, big news - she has her first loose tooth! She is SO excited! Crazy ;) She's been telling everyone she meets. I'll have to dig out the Tooth Fairy box so she can put it under her pillow when the time comes. She's asked me how old I was when I lost my first tooth. I think I was six, but I can't really remember. She's proud that she is younger than I was. She's so silly.

Camping

2007-05-08T14:26:00.000-05:00

Pete took Sarah camping at Oak Mountain this past Saturday - her very first camping trip. I was a little worried that she might not be able to sleep in a strange place, but it was for not. She's just like her daddy - she can sleep anywhere.

Here's what they did:

- Got a fire going, cooked and ate some salmon Pete prepared before they left home
- Walked around looking for bugs and other creatures
- Read a lot of stories
- Sarah sacked out
- Went swimming the next morning
- Played with a "neighbor's" golden retreiver
- Saw a 4-foot long gray rat snake
- Cooked eggs (breakfast) & hotdogs (lunch)
- Got ice cream sandwiches after a long walk
- Came home

Pete said they both had a great time and can't wait until Cloosty is old enough to join them on the next trip. :)

5 years old!

2007-03-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

If you didn't hear her shouting from the hills that she's 5 years old now, you must have been in a very deep hole. ;)

She is so very proud to be 5! And I can't believe that she's already at this milestone. My baby isn't a baby anymore. :(

Nosiree, she'd tell you. She's 5 years old now - she's a grown up, not a baby. And she wants to be treated like a grown up. When she told me that I gladly agreed to comply, but she had to stop acting like a baby if it were to happen. Since then it's been smoooooth sailing. It's amazing!
I don't have to tell her to do something 5 million times - only 3 million times, heh. She's been able to control most of her outbursts and hysterical episodes (although she did have a meltdown at one point during her party, but it isn't really a party until someone cries, right?), and she's been very polite by asking if she can please be excused from the dinner table. She has also informed us that since she is 5, she can stay up later. I told her she could stay up 5 minutes later. Hee!

Sweetie, I love you very much and I'm very proud of you. You have come a long way and have shown us some amazing things. I know you will continue to do so as you grow. I can't wait to see and experience them and your silliness, laughter, compassion, intelligence, logic and caring nature.

3!

Pictures are here (thanks Phillip!)

Piggies!

2007-02-27T15:49:00.000-06:00

As part of our parent participation for Sarah's class, we bought 2 guinea pigs! They are both girls, about 8-12 weeks old and so cute! The kids named them Butter and Scotch.

In addition, I made their cage out of a sheet of coroplast and those stackable wire cubes. I got the idea and design from the Cavycages web site. Totally cool , cheaper and better for the piggies' feet. These cages are easier to clean, too. I paid about $25 for the sheet of coroplast and roughly $14 for the cubes... oh, and around $3 for the zip ties. It was super simple to make.

So, that should take care of our parent participation which includes one of two choices:

1) Volunteer at least 10 hours (or 15 hours for 2 kids) at the school doing various jobs, or
2) Forking out about $100 for classroom needs - supplies, etc. The piggies count for that. :)

Hooray for piggies!