Friday, March 26, 2010

Papas, PJs, and Pancakes

As many of you know, today was Papas, PJs, and Pancakes Day. A few dads showed up early, but by the end of the flipping, the kitchen was completely full and coming down the hallway. Thanks for all of your help to make this happen. If I'm being honest, I think the hats made it all worth while... and the PJs. As you might notice, some of the dads must sleep in their work clothes... that has to get itchy.

After about an hour of a syrupy sugar high inside, nearly the whole school (dads included) were playing on the yard. While I did disrupt Randi's group discussion upstairs, getting on the roof to get a shot of our Cassidy family on the playground was too good to pass up.

In '09 Spring Break, Crys and I were looking forward to '10 Spring Break. It meant we'd have the building complete, Cassidy up and running, and have made it through 6ish months of school. Needless to say, we've far exceeded just being open. You all are an amazing group of parents and what we've all created together leaves me speechless. Take a second to think about it. You all were at ground zero with us when Crys just had an idea... crazy.

Thanks again for everything. Have a great Spring Break. See you soon.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Smidgens of Smiles

Part of my job in the morning, aside from choosing our musical selection of the day (which often times gets overridden by the boss), is to unlock the front gate. I guess my steps were out of order this morning because I was unlocking the gate without the music. I could feel the quiet chatter outside. It seemed as though we were K-Mart on Black Friday and I was about to be run over by people flooding the entrance. It was a mix between that and Willy Wonka unlocking the doors to the factory for the first time in years. All that excitement... and no one was there yet. It was only 8:20. I guess the point is that I felt like Willy Wonka this morning... less the cane... and the cool purple hat.

I keep noticing that our hallway monkeys keep falling out of their tree swing. It wouldn't be so bad, but they're hugging each other so when one falls it looks like the other is pushing them from the swing. I'm not sure that's the best message to be sending the kids, but I'll look into it and get back to you.

Cassius was especially whiney today in the office when he got his tennis ball stuck behind a tree. Now, I'm not the type of dad to just get it for him because I want him to build self-esteem when he figures out how to get it himself. I like to let him be challenged, although I'm not so sure he appreciates it on the same level as I want him to. It's tough when he's got the language of an infant.

I do have a smidgen of social commentary today... bear with me. It's so easy to be nice, so let's all rally together to make more people nicer. I saw WAY too many people walking around with their headsets and lattes, not even paying attention to each other. I must have let about 15 cars into my lane without one single wave "thank you"... no smiles, no nods, no nothing. I stopped for another 3 people crossing the road to let them by... again, nothing. I just don't get it. We're all of the same "people" and I think we should make an effort to warm up a little bit. Lighten up. Make eye contact. Smile. I promise you that you'll feel better, too. Okay, I'm done... with that.

Save the date: May 15th is our annual benefit. More to come later. Go put it in your calendar right now. If when you get to your calendar and there's something else on May 15th, please delete that event and write in the Cassidy Benefit.

If I don't get to this tomorrow, have a great Spring Break. See you in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Cassius Dam

About halfway through the day today, I decided to go run the dogs in the parking lot. The Strawberries were out and a few climbed up the net to see "the races" between Cassius and Kipi. Cassius won most of the time... mainly because Kipi lost interest real quick... and by default, because of his addiction to tennis balls, Cassius outlasted her and didn't stop. The kids made up cheers for when Cassius got the ball... I guess they don't fancy Kipi too much... sad really.

After the run we headed inside to get some water and call it a day. The Strawberries had been making a pretty wonderful river in the sandbox. It was intricate with turns and dips and carefully placed river banks. A few were pouring water at the start while the rest watched it trickle down to the end. I'm pretty sure Cassius was oblivious to the concentration and passion that was going on because he plopped down right in the middle of it... and even started drinking their river. What have I raised?

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

1/560th Corn Syrup

I don't know that I've ever seen my wife itching to dig in the dirt. I guess I should clarify that there was a request to go buy gardening gloves first, but whatever. Crys stayed outside digging with the PM Blueberries landscaping our stage flowers... well, our stage weeds. Go wifey, go.

There's also been something in the air about superloads of sugar in the kitchen. Maaaaaybe I started it with the donuts we bring in every once in a while, but lately I feel like we broke the sugar bank. Miss Carol was talking about the bread she baked for today. I think she modified the recipe a bit to make the sugar intake a little more love-handle friendly. I personally think the gods of temptation are working overtime on me. I gave up sweets for 4 months just to see if I could do it. Since January 1st... nothing... well, I had an honest slip this past Sunday at the car painting... but pretty good other than that. Anyway, with all of the donuts, cakes, cookies, treats, and bowls of high-fructose corn syrup mixed with peanut butter, wheat, and red dye, I've definitely been tested. What I am learning is that I never really liked sweets too much anyway... although I could bathe in coffee ice cream as an exception.

Happy St. Patrick's Day. The kids in green were very cute... nice job parents. For those of you parents who forgot to dress your kid in green, you might notice a few tiny bruises all over their arms in the days to come... just a heads up... don't worry about it, though... honestly, it's no big deal... plus, when they started to tear up, we knew the grown-ups were pinching too hard, so it worked out. I never knew so many things could be green. Makes me proud to be 1/560th Irish.

PS-Two little purple hand prints remain on our trash bin outside. Fess up little one, fess up.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

A Blank Integra

At our Messy Art Party today, what started off as this...

Became this.

I'm still in awe of how good this idea was. Thanks so much to Deena and Leslye for putting it together. You guys rock.


Some painted the parents... and me.

Some even painted themselves.

Some worked with mind boggling intention...

And a few stayed late to help clean.

This really couldn't have been a more perfect day, with great kids and a nice community of friends. Thank you all so much for coming.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Conversational Subtext

Tough tough day at work today. There was a game of golf that really really needed to be played. I told her no at first, but she kept insisting, so I obliged. I must have been swinging pretty well at the range, because the local golf pro chatted me up and gave me a free lesson. PGA Tour or bust.

The fountain is rearing its ugly head again. I've since pawned off my scrubbing and siphoning responsibilities to the teachers... let's just say it's a work in progress. I've given 3 lessons to scrunchy noses and suspicious eyes so far. The conversational subtext coming back at me is in ALL CAPS with exclamation points... and a little bit dumbfounded.

We're opening our benefit book to include family pages. If you're interested, contact me at jesse@cassidypreschool.com.

Think we're gonna go hit up our old stomping grounds in Encino for dinner tonight. Have a great weekend.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Tussin

Okay, okay... so, after being hounded by one of our teachers for being a tad complacent in my writing, I've been essentially bullied into returning to my blog. She's a shark.

Cassidy News, huh? Crystal and I made spaghetti for the staff on Monday. I was so tired from the cooking that I had to take Tuesday off. Cooking Note: Bay Leaves make spaghetti sauce taste just like Nana's. I even let it simmer for about 3 hours... felt like Lagasse.

Randi and I are creating a charity group to help kids and families in need. She's so full of great ideas. More to come. Name ideas?

I've gone into full-blast-mode lately with my car show in September. We'll be benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of the West Valley. If you know of anyone with an old Chevy, send 'em my way.

Helen just wrote a really cute entry on the parent blog about our first 100 days. Go check it out.

I'll be honest with you... there's been some talk of babies around our house lately. I never thought that 170-something kids would get that ball rolling. My mom keeps sending Crystal medical info about women who wait much longer than their 30's to give birth. Crystal's mom just buys us baby Steelers clothes. Either way, we're at least talking about it and I'm not covering my ears and singing anymore.

The Messy Art Party is this Sunday in the Cassidy parking lot. If you haven't bought tickets yet (shame on you), visit the Cassidy Party Book site and sign up. Should be a blast. All of our families for next year are invited, too.

Big thanks to our Benefit Committee for the work they've done so far. I know this is going to be a huge success. Thanks for your passion, your time, and your ideas. Leslye got to thinking so much about it that she pulled her back out... nothing a little Robitussin can't fix. Leslye, if that doesn't work, try WD-40.