Cats

No, we're not getting any pets.  I'm talking about Cats the musical.

If they ever bring it back on Broadway, they should call it Payback because that's what I'm getting a whooooole lot of around here these days.  You see, I saw Cats when I was a tween or a pre-teen or a teenager, or whatever, and HATED it (insert teenage eye rolling here).  I couldn't figure out why adults wanted to pay to go see a bunch of other adults crawling around onstage acting like felines.

Anyway, skip to 20 years later, and I checked out The Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, T.S. Eliot's book of poetry upon which the musical is based, from el libre.  And the sis was hooked.  Mr. Mistofolees and Jennyanydots quickly became favorites, so I showed her some clips of the London cast performance on YouTube.  From there, the whole thing snowballed, and we had the CD in our car and she was questioning the Jellicle-ness of the strays in our neighborhood.

Even though I don't get the whole Grizabella and spaceship thing at the end, seeing the musical through my children's eyes has given me a new appreciation for it.

Check out Sarah's "fast moves" and Will's interpretation of Rumtumtugger, the rockstar cat:

What We've Been Up To

Disclaimer: This post is not in any way meant to whine or complain about the weather.

We just got kind of used to the climate being like that on the surface of the sun, and so we adjusted our weekly activities accordingly.

But, we've had rain and gloriously cool and comfortable weather for the past week straight.  So, outdoor activities have been limited, leaving the Activities Director (me) scrambling to figure out how to fill 10 hours of daytime without breaking the bank.  I'll be honest, we've been watching too much T.V.  But, we've also done a lot of other things.  There were some winners and some flops, but here's the rundown:

Dress-up is always a winner.  Especially when you combine dragon tails AND wings.  Our kids are method actors: when they get in character, they stay in character.

 

FEROCIOUS! FEARSOME!

 We also "grew" some crystal trees.  I've been trying to gather the materials to do this for awhile, and then I saw kits, ready to go, at Dollar Tree.  Done and done.  The hardest part about these is keeping little hands away from the oh-so-tempting crystal branches.

We threw in a little snake-wrangling for good measure.

Sid the Science Kid gave us the idea to make our own applesauce, which Sarah and Will then refused to eat.  Thanks, Sid.

 We were so desperate that I resorted to baking with them. 

 I think baking is more fun when there's head-butting and jostling for position.  We made some mini cakes in the shape of the Cars movie characters, but we ate them before we could decorate. 


 Of course, the only time we were ready for some puddle-stomping, the sun came out and we had to make our own puddles.  In the pool.

Yesterday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chik-Fil-A, so of course we donned our makeshift cow accessories and set out to get some free grub.  We were especially disappointed about the rain on our parade yesterday, since our plans included Cheekwood and a pool party. 

 But, the kids were content and so many people were dressed up that Sarah asked if we were at a cow party.

 Will was a very grumpy and unwilling bull.

Shaking her tail

Sarah informed me she's not a Holstein, rather a rare breed of Rockstar Cow.

Will's Words of Wisdom

I've been stressed lately.  For, like, the past six months.  I despise the job hunt, and I am especially frustrated by the process of landing a teaching job.  But this is the goal.  This is what that two years of late nights, early mornings, lesson planning, and paper-writing were all about: to change careers and teach.

Now we're less than a month away from the start of school, and we have to face the possibility that I'll be sidelined career-wise for another season.

This quote sums up where my head's at:

"We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; 

we are wondering how painful the best will be."   - C.S. Lewis

Skip to bedtime last night, snuggling with my sweet boy.  He couldn't see the crease between my eyebrows or hear the thoughts pinging around my skull, but at just the right moment he lisped, "It's gonna be great! It's gonna be great! It's gonna be greeeat!"

Thank you, Tigger and Will.  

Potty Success!

In the battle of Will vs. the Potty, I declare Will the victor!

I know some of you might be getting tired of seeing pictures of this potty, but I got nothin' else.  Even I wouldn't make my 2-year-old actually wrestle the potty just to illustrate my point, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Seriously, though, I can't believe my little Moose is completely potty trained.  Except for the standing-up stuff, which is Mike's domain.  The first week was rocky, with a whole bunch of careening through grocery stores or wiping up puddles RIGHT BESIDE the potty.  But, really, after a little over a week of washing Will's clothes around the clock, he's got the hang of it.

Now that I've done the potty training thing with two kids, people ask me all the time what the secret is.  Well, they don't actually.  But they could if they wanted to.  I see all this stuff online and on T.V. about potty training in one day, or potty training one-year-olds, and I don't buy it.  Diapers are easier.  And if you're a mom, wiping your own child's bottom is just not that big a deal.

With both Sarah and Will, they were ready.  They told me, and I provided the potty.  In the grocery store parking lot.  At the park.   I really thought that, as stubborn, willful, and busy as Will is, he wouldn't go on the potty until 3 or 4, and that would have been okay.

Here are the essentials for me during PTBC (Potty Training Boot Camp):

• No Pull-ups 
• Nudity
• Hershey's Kisses
• Enthusiasm (songs, clapping, fist-pumps)
• Portable Potty

Sarah has an abnormally large sweet tooth.  It's more of a tusk, really, and I have no idea where she gets it from (cough).  So, my little manipulator was more than happy to receive her "potty chocolate" after she went potty, too.  Uh-uh.  The rule for her to earn her kiss was to write her name or a word of her choosing.  The more writing, the more rewarding.

This time around, the potty training was trickier because we had the distraction of big sister.  But, we added some new potty songs to our repertoire, like the classic "You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Potty!" or "It's My Potty, and I'll Go If I Want To".  Look for these in a Time Life Classics series soon.

My kids may not sleep until they're 18 months old, but, doggone it, they can POTTY.

The Party That Pinterest Crashed

Some of you might know that we had a little soiree over the weekend for our big birthday girl.  We definitely have our list of thank you notes to write, but I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mother Nature for holding off on all of the thunderstorms until AFTER the party was over, so we didn't have to have a bunch of bored preschoolers and their parents crammed into our tiny house.  I promise not to complain about the weather ever again.  Until winter.

Anyway, this was the most relaxed I've been at a party we've hosted, thanks to Pinterest and student teaching.  Pinterest gave me the ideas; student teaching put the fear of the Almighty in me of having even one nanosecond of time during which kids are not busy. 

I tried out a bunch of new things for decor and activities from my party and crafts pinboards.  Click on them if you want to go to my Pinterest boards, or you just want to see what they were supposed to look like.  I don't have a whole lot of pics to post of the party because I'm too lazy to get permission from other kids' parents to use their sweet little mugs. 

The hits:

• Glittered party hats
• the Water Blob
• Dinosaur Ice Excavation
• the Bubble Station
• Disco Ball

The misses:

• Glittered Paper Lanterns
•  Photo backdrop
• Glittered Letters -

Our theme was loosely based on glitter, sequins, and shine, and the color scheme was hot pink and silver.  Sarah threw in a punch of neon orange with her choice of cupcake.  We're in a real "use what you have" mode, so I covered a table with silver wrapping paper, cut up old CDs to make the disco ball, and polka-dotted white balloons with silver stickers for a little something extra. 

There was splashing in the pool, bouncing on the water blob, throwing water balloons, tattooing, excavating, glittering, and hopscotch. 

Mike remarked that it was the calmest preschooler party ever.  I think it's just the age. 

Here are the pics that we do have. 

Flames and 4-year-olds.  What could possibly go wrong?

We really need a photographer in the family.  And a mechanic. 

America! and Some New Vocab

When America and Sarah have birthdays in the same week, it's a big deal.  Of course, it depends on who you ask around here whose birthday celebration is more important. 

Our 4th of July festivities were pretty low-key.

We did a little swimming:

And mermaiding (I just made that word up.  All the 4-year-old mermaid-unicorn-superhero-princesses can thank me later.):

By the way, why are daddies automatically so much more fun at the pool?  My kids much prefer their own daddy, but they will go hang all over somebody else's too, if theirs is not around.  I, apparently, am the last resort for fun.

I digress.

I made this fun garland (original found here) out of red ticking stripe and scraps from an old pair of mom jeans while watching Ironman.  And, since the Olympics are just around the corner, I'm going to keep it up indefinitely. 

I gathered our arsenal for the evening's fireworks-watching enjoyment:

And set the peeps to work grillin'.

Daddy's grill.

Baby grills.

Mmm... Pizza with turkey and corn.  Try grilling up a gourmet pizza that can top this felt and plastic one, Uncle Tom.

Unfinished felt T-Bone

Is it wrong that I'd much rather make felt food than the real stuff?

Y'all, I've had these grills in the works since the Bush administration.  The plan was to get my little guys grilling for Memorial Day, buuuuuut...  Let's just say, I'd rather sew it, glue it, or hammer it.  I will admit that sometimes it just feels good to drill something.

Anyway, the littles got a kick out of grilling stuff alongside daddy.  Now they want fire.

FINALLY, it was time to head out to watch the downtown fireworks from a hill behind a parking garage at a local university.  I'm not kidding.  We've done it two years in a row now, and it works pretty well. 

Sarah towel-gating before the show.

Will-bill

You'll just have to use your imaginations about the time between dusk and when the fireworks started.  It's not hard.  Just think of any longish car trip with kids and replace, "Are we there yet?" with, "Are they going to start yet?"  Fortunately, I packed bubbles, glow sticks, flags, and cookies.

FYI, the whole breaking a glow stick into bubble solution to make glow-in-the-dark bubbles is a Pinterest hoax.  The solution glows for a little bit, but the glow stick guts make the bubbles un-blowable. 

"It's like glitter, Mommy."

I didn't get a picture of my favorite sight of the night: both kids fast-asleep in their beds, faces lit by the yellow light of the glow sticks still clutched in their chubby fists.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!  We hope your day is filled with flag-waving, fireworks, and fun!