Sad about Pirates' trades

The Pirates traded a couple of players yesterday - Bruno St. Jacques & Pierre Parenteau - and I talked to the girls last night about it.

L. said that not only was she sad, so was her stuffed lion. Hmmm, they're recruiting more Pirates fans by the minute.

G. is having a heck of a time talking about the trade, well actually the name of the team (the Admirals) the players were traded to. It seems to be a tongue twister for her so it's a good thing we don't have to cheer on that team.

They agreed that they're going to miss yelling, "Bruuuuunnnnooooo" in the stands. And when I asked G. to demonstrate, she jolted Toddy out of his slumber with her enthusiasm.

And according to G., St. Jacques was, "almost as famous as Shane O'Brien." The girls still miss watching him play at the games (but they have seen some short clips of O'Brien doing what he does best for Anaheim).



And the girls couldn't let the moment of reflection pass without also checking in with Toddy (which they did separately and I didn't see until I downloaded the video clips today). He had a few meows of sympathy thanks to G. and let L. talk again about the former number 55.

Did you see the snow?

It was a really quick snow squall in Portland - about 20 minutes - but it gave me and the kids (who are with me at the office this morning) hope that it really is going to snow this winter in Maine.



We're all itching to get out on our cross country skis since last year's snowfall was such a bust for our ski club.

And just a heads-up that I've gone back through some of my previous columns to grab a few video clips and upload them to YouTube. It's a much easier way to view them.

MaineTodaydotcom on YouTube

Kids addicted to creating videos for YouTube

Yesterday I was chuckling over A Dog's Life blog and Nancy's feelings about her "youngest daughter ... NOT getting the new pooper scooping Barbie."

And as strange as this seems, our doorbell rang right after I read that entry with a package delivery from the girls' uncle in California that included a "Barbie Doll & Tanner Dog" -- a.k.a. "the pooper scooping Barbie!"

So as true YouTube fanatics, the girls had to record how their new favorite toy worked.



And yes Nancy, I agree with you, Tanner is eating his own poop. Even the girls had to admit it was a bit "yucky."

And speaking of animals, Toddy our blind cat is the star of another of the girls' video productions on YouTube dubbed, "Prince Toddy." He's looks like a bored Prince but hey, at least he's a tolerant one.




As much as my kids enjoy YouTube, I never let them surf that site alone. Beware of videos with Barbie in the title ... some are REALLY inappropriate for kids.

Neighborhood Christmas caroling

My girls and some of their Juliette Girl Scout friends came together last night to do some Christmas caroling in Gorham.

I was in charge of doing a quick review of lyrics in a caroling book I had given to the girls before we went out into the neighborhood. But I got so caught up with the book (thinking it was helpful), that we ended up forgetting to sing some really popular tunes that weren't included there - like Rudolph and Frosty.

Well, there's always next year.


A silly moment when the girls forgot the words to, "Santa Claus is coming to Town." I think it was a bit of stage - I mean sidewalk - fright when some people came to hear them sing. [And yeah, it was dark so this is more audio - than video - clip.]


Or the time one of the girls decided that she couldn't sing, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" without having the corresponding page in the caroling book.

I think I'll leave the caroling book home next year...

An early Christmas present for chickens

When you've moved the family's edible gingerbread house around the kitchen a thousand times and everyone's picked off and eaten their favorite candies, it's time to give it to the chickens.

And after we uploaded our short video clip to YouTube, we came across this gem (note the swinging cookie's shape)...

Shootout excitement with Pirates last night

L. skipped her 4-H club's Christmas craft day to go to a Pirates game last night with me and Grandpa. She simply couldn't miss the chance to go see her favorite team play.

Before the game I roamed the stands taking photos for Seen's Fan of the Night and found a couple of youth hockey teams. It turned out that they were there to play an exhibition game between the first and second periods of the Pirates' game. They were really cute and looked so tiny on the ice.

Youth hockey players on the ice between periods.

The Pirates and Falcons on the ice. It was a good thing the youth league players weren't standing next to Mitch Fritz from the Springfield team. He made even the 6-foot plus Pirates' players look short (he's 6'8").

See all our Seen Team photos from the game

The Pirates were in the lead through the entire game but in the last second of regulation play -- actually there wasn't even a second on the board it was a couple of tenths of a second -- Springfield knocked the puck into the Pirates goal. I'm pretty sure the clock read 00:03 when that puck went in. L. and I, along with the friends we were sitting with, were shocked. None of us had seen that close a call before.

So the game went into overtime and neither team scored so they started a shootout. If you've never seen a shootout, it's edge-of-your-seat suspense. After the first players for each team made it past the opposing team's goalie, the next few rounds went scoreless. But then during the final round, Konopka made the final shot that won the game for the Pirates and the crowd went wild. L. and her friend were jumping and screaming right along with everyone else.

After L. yelled her fill in celebration, we left the stands to take a silly picture with a geocaching Travel Bug we're currently hosting...

This Travel Bug is from New Jersey and has been traveling for a little over a year but doesn't have any photos in its album. We decided to change that.

Go Pirates!

Gingerbread houses & math games in the car

We're in full holiday mode at our house now after making gingerbread houses and driving around looking for Christmas lights this week.

We took part in a family workshop at the Baxter Library in Gorham to make gingerbread houses. And although it looked as though our house had been through a snow storm thanks to our less than careful work with the frosting adhesive, we did include a hot rod parked next to the house. The girls were pleased to have built a hot rod "just like Grandpa's" and even included a Hershey Kiss date for him. Typical Almeida family humor...

See our Seen Team photos at the gingerbread house workshop

Then last night I took the girls and a couple of their friends out to look at Christmas lights. It's a family tradition to make hot cocoa and pack a bucket of popcorn and candy for a car ride around town looking for light displays.

G. took photos from a few favorite displays. This one was in Standish.

Another favorite display in Windham

A couple of years back I made a math game out of our Christmas lights car adventure to help G. with her math skills. It was so much fun that we now make a tally sheet every year for our trip.

In the 20 miles we drove through various neighborhoods last night, here's what we found.

108 - candy canes
95 - Reindeer
88 - Christmas trees (shrubs didn't count)
50 - Santas
43 - Frostys
36 - Stars
7 - Polar bears
6 - Mangers

There was much discussion about their statistical data on the most popular light display items and which were not.

When I told G. that math really wasn't so bad she replied, "Yeah but this is fun math. Not like the other stuff I have to do."

G. had the camera's video going on the trip as well and took some video clips of a couple of the bigger light displays we saw along the way that she liked.

Photo tips from the children

The kids and I were driving through Falmouth yesterday and spotted a deer grazing on someone's front yard shrubbery.

Another car had stopped to watch the deer so we pulled over too. Because nothing seemed to spook the deer for the few minutes we were there (other cars pulled over or slowed down to watch too), I decided to take a couple of pictures. The girls, in their best backseat driver-type way, said I needed to get out of the car for a better picture.

(G. she thinks just because she won a blue ribbon for her 4-H photography project, she's free to offer me advice now.)

But as it turned out, I did get a better picture when I got within 20 feet of the animal before she decided to take notice of me and run off.

"Good job Mommy," said L. when I returned to the car.

"Yeah, that's a really cool photo," G. told me after reviewing the digital images I had taken.

I'm so glad the kids were with me yesterday. I didn't realize how little I knew about taking pictures before they came along.

First snow of season

There may have only been a few inches of snow that fell yesterday morning but that was all the kids needed to do some sledding in the backyard.

Can you tell they are a little happy about snow season starting?

Bubble-nosed reindeer

L. had a brainstorm last night for our family Christmas card this year (the other photo with the Toddy saga was for Grandpa's card).

"We should all be bubble-nosed reindeer Mommy."

"What is that?" I asked.

"We can blow a bubble gum bubble and then stick it on our nose. It would be so funny for our family Christmas card picture."

After trying really hard not to laugh, I told her I would suggest it to Fino.

"Oh you have to tell him to do it Mommy, it would be so funny!"

Later I asked Fino...

"Are you serious?! She really suggested that?"

Yup, and I have a photo of her demonstrating the idea.

Weird sightings on the road

The kids and I were in traffic at an intersection in Windham the other day when we spotted at least 20 seagulls flying around the traffic lights in front of us. And as we pulled up to the light we saw several other gulls on the road weaving and dodging among the moving vehicles.

The reason: a pizza box.

The pink circle is the pizza box and although in this quick shot I took you can only see two seagulls, there were at least six on the road just a few seconds earlier.

Those gulls were really hot on the contents of that stray pizza box and did not appear to be concerned about the possibility of being hit by a car.

As I sat waiting for the light and watching the spectacle, I realized that there were a lot of seagulls in Windham and that surprised me. It really is a good distance away from the ocean.

The light eventually changed and as I made my turn, L. yelled from the backseat.

"Mommy, Mommy the pizza box flew open! And guess what?!?"

"What?" I asked and had to wait almost a minute for her and G. to stop giggling.

"There wasn't even any pizza in there. The box was empty!"

The new ice skating fashion

The kids crack me up with their various ice skating outfit choices. For instance, last week G. wore one of her favorite long fleece skirts. She sews them herself and pretty much wears one every day. It's our compromise to going tight-less (she's not a fan of wearing tights for more than her hour-long ballet class or ice skating because she finds them too itchy). I want her to stay warm and she wants to be comfortable so the fleece skirts meet somewhere in the middle.

Playing train and tag are favorites with the girls during open skate.

G. happily reported after her hour on the ice that the long skirt was easy to skate in. I'm skeptical but it's just not that important a thing to argue with her about. And hey, it's motivating her to become a better seamstress, a life skill that will come in handy throughout her life, so I've zipped my lips closed on the subject.

Today, L. showed a little variety in her skating outfit choices at the Portland Ice Arena. She and a couple of her friends shared their holiday spirit by wearing red and white capes at the arena's Christmas party.

Seen Team gallery from the Portland Ice Arena's Christmas party.

Speaking of Seen Team, we also took some photos at the
4-H Winterfest at Pineland Farms on Sunday.

Now I think I need to catch up on a little sleep after a busy couple of days...

An acorn experiment

It was mighty windy and cold in Bridgton yesterday but the kids had a great time serving as bug detectives.

The girls are Juliette (independent) Girl Scouts this year and attended an outdoor workshop at Camp Pondicherry. We went out on a nature hike to look for insects and found lots of interesting stuff despite the cold temperatures.

One of the items we found in abundance were round, leaf-like balls. The girls couldn't resist cracking open the fragile balls to see what was inside, which was basically nothing. The leader, nor any of the other adults, knew exactly what we had found so if you do, post a comment. We'd really like to know!

The ball felt like a leaf and was paper-thin - L. cracked several by mistake when she squeezed too hard.

The group returned to the indoor classroom after our hike with a bunch of acorns the instructor had asked them to collect as well as a slug, worm and ant found by some of the other girls. The workshop leader asked the group to put their acorns in a glass of water and to discard the ones that sank to the bottom. The ones that floated were then cracked open to see if there was a weevil (insect) inside. Only 1 in the 18 acorns collected actually contained a weevil but the girls thoroughly enjoyed cracking open the nuts.

Neither L. or G. had acorns with a weevil but they vowed to search our rural backyard for acorns in hopes of finding one for themselves.

If you're interested in conducting your own experiment, which both my kids enthusiastically recommend everyone should try, check out these informative, easy-to-follow directions.

Looking for acorn weevils

Let us know what you find...

Everyone in family emails North Pole

The girls have sent of their emails to Santa about what they're hoping for this year. Why email?

"Santa sends us a letter right back when we email him!"

I like emailing Santa too. The girls can only request three items (the email form has only three blocks to write in) and Santa emails them right back about their requests. Sort of an 'order confirmed' note, which I explain to the girls means that they can't change their minds about the gifts they want. Very helpful with kids like L. who can never make up her mind about anything.

After G. finished reading Santa's return letter she noticed a special section just for pets. Apparently Rudolph not only leads Santa's sleigh on stormy nights, he also organizes the elves to make gifts for all the special animals of the world.

G. helped Toddy at the keyboard to type in his requests and he too received a letter right back. Here's a little excerpt of it (of course the letter is hanging on the bulletin board in our kitchen as well).

It's always wonderful to get an email from you, Toddy! ÷ink baaa meow hiss roar sque„l!! So Toddy, have you been a good boy this year? (Of course, you won't mind if Santa and I do a little checking, will you? woof chirp? baaaa! neiiiiiighhh). Chirp, purr gurgle roar woof baaaa kitty treats SNARF!!! ÷ink moo woof soft pillow SNARF!! Squeak good cat squawk woof baaaa a new blanket SNARF!! ARROOooooooo!! Purr blub tweet ribbit øøwarble?? Did you have a hard time typing with your paws? Keyboards weren't really designed for us critters were they?! Tikki-tikki squawk woof!! Of course, don't forget to get your owner to email Santa too so Santa knows what they want for Christmas. Otherwise, you might have to share that kitty treats with them!! ARROOoooooo! ~sproing~ sque„l ˆink!! Woof purr gurgle, Rudolph says "Merry Christmas Toddy"!

Thanks Santa and Rudolph, we're all set for Christmas now.

Kid Tracks Column: Crayons + nature = family fun

There were plenty of fall foliage colors to enjoy during our hike last month around Sawyer Mountain in Limington but it turned out that the colors in a box of crayons we had taken along proved to be even more interesting.

I was prompted to bring crayons and paper in my backpack after reading an article in a magazine about the art of crayon rubbing. I remembered making my own leaf rubbings as a child and although my own girls had tried the activity as preschoolers, it wasn't something we had done recently.

So as we started our climb up Sawyer Mountain, the kids scoured the trail looking for nice leaves to collect to make impressions of once we reached the summit. My 8-year-old, who takes collecting stuff very seriously, found more than her share of "perfect" leaves. As the collection grew and became tiresome to carry, she came up with a more creative way of managing her bounty. She tucked them into her knit hat.

"It's a leaf crown!" she said.

As my husband and I smiled while shaking our heads about our offspring, we came across a 19th century cemetery on the trail.

I remember a former co-worker telling me about his travels around the Northeast taking photos of cemetery tombstones. I thought the hobby a bit morbid and odd but he said the stones were fascinating pieces of history and could sometimes be quite amusing. Having edited obituaries for the better part of a year at the newspaper, I had to agree that people do choose to say - in print - the darndest thing about their loved ones.

My suggestion to stop at the cemetery was met with a comment from my 10-year-old about it, "being a little creepy." But I prevailed with my let's-just-take-a-quick-look suggestion. 

The large obelisk facing the trail caught my attention immediately. Bless Ivory Estes' family members for including exactly how old she was when she died, "78 yrs. 2 mos. 1 day." This was a no-math-required kind of place and my 10-year-old liked that a lot.

Then my 8-year-old spotted a mispelling on one of the epitaphs and was concerned, then amused, by the discovery. "Broter," was next to, "Sister" and "Mother" so it was likely only six letters could fit on the smaller stones and the "H" was the chosen letter to omit.

I doubt there is a kid alive who doesn't relish the moment they discover an adult's mistake (actual or perceived, it doesn't seem to matter). She was no exception and asked if she could make a rubbing of the stone. I agreed and she immediately set out her supplies to do it.

After reading the rest of the stones in the cemetery and making a few more crayon impressions, we agreed the detour was really interesting but it was time to get back on the trail. In typical Almeida fashion, we had started later in the afternoon than originally planned and if we wanted to make it to the top of the mountain, we needed to get moving again. 

Once we reached the summit a little while later, we found a nice spot to spread out our blanket for a snack break and enjoy the view of the surrounding mountains.

After their snack the kids, who can't sit around doing "nothing" for long (enjoying the view is not a top-ten activity in their book), dug out the crayons, paper and leaves they had collected to do their art work. They quickly discovered however that there weren't any smooth surfaces to make their leaf rubbings. There were a lot of flat rocks but most had small grooves that made it difficult to get a good impression of the leaves. But they adapted and ended up making some colorful works of art with a full compliment of crayon colors.

As we headed back down the mountain, my 8-year-old spotted a variation of her name carved out in a rock just off the trail. 

" 'Lulu' is going to be my new nickname," she declared as soon as she made a quick crayon rubbing with her dad of the inscription. "It's famous!"

She is a special child.

We made it back to the trail head just as the light started to fade. The hike was about three miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of about 500 feet and took us, with our various stops, about three hours total. For older children who have the endurance for a steady uphill climb, this trail offers them a sense of hiking a "big" mountain with the self-esteem boost that comes from a manageable challenge. And being only 40 minutes from Portland, it's a nice option for busy families looking for an afternoon hiking adventure close to home. Plus, there's plenty of fun to be had if you pack some crayons and paper with the rest of your hiking gear too.

If you decide to try crayon rubbing on this trail or any other, be sure to take a photo and share your work of art with us. 

NEED TO KNOW

Trail name: Sawyer Mountain Nearest Town: Limington
Region: Western Lakes & Mountains
Difficulty: Intermediate
Elevation Gain: 500 feet
Directions: The trailhead is located at a sharp turn in Route 117, 2.5 miles south of the junction of Routes 25 and 117, or 2.4 miles north of the junction of Routes 11 and 117. There is a small parking area where trail maps are available in a map box.
Learn more about the Sawyer Mountain Land Trust
Learn more about Tombstone rubbings

HOW TO MAKE A CRAYON RUBBING
Materials you need: a sheet of light weight paper wax crayons in a variety of colors (fat crayons are ideal) with the crayon's label removed masking tape (the kind that peels off easily) leaves, bark, a coin, or anything else that has a grooved or rough surface Put your leaf or other object on a smooth surface and tape a corner down (to ensure the object doesn't move). Then place your paper on top. Use the side of your crayon to rub gently over the paper until you can see an impression of the object underneath.

Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram December 2006