Finger foods

I can't believe Mom gave me a bowl of cheerios.

 

It's so much fun to eat these

Even more so when I've scattered them around the floor

Look there are some here, and here, and here too.

Book #46 The Magician King

When I started this project back in January, I was very much intrigued by The Magician King and it's predecessor The Magicians by Lev Grossman.  Grossman has created a new reality world that is a grown up version of both C.S. Lewis' Narnia and J.K. Rawling's Hogwarts. 

I read The Magicians and was rather annoyed.  The characters have discovered they have the ability to do magic and go to a special school for magic.  They all graduate and find their way to another world, Fillory, which they have all read about in a series as stories as children.  It's as if Narnia has become real, but isn't any tamer than real life is like most children's books.  This world was much darker than Lewis and quite irritating.  The characters seem to spend most of the time sleeping together, doing drugs or getting drunk.  When they make their way to Fillory, it is violent, grim, and magical.  The god of Fillory is dying and the author seems to take as many jabs at Lewis as possible.  I finished it in May and couldn't bring myself to read the next one.

For whatever reason, I decided to try the sequel.  It is more or less based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but much darker and again is "more real". The main characters have decided to grow up.  Quentin, the main character decides he wants to be a hero and takes responsibility for his actions.  While still somewhat bracing, I found this story much more interesting, the characters deeper and the plot compelling.

Grossman has a way of making the familiar fresh here.   Since this is a series, I will read the next book and look forward to whatever surprises he has ahead.  Hopefully I won't be disappointed.

Laundry Baskets - a Tradition

I was glancing back through the blog and had noticed a theme.

 

I have pictures of small children in laundry baskets when they are a certain age.

 

Starting with Clare and Gregory:

 

Gregory and Thomas (Clare's at school):

 

And now Thomas and Ree (while Clare and Gregory are at school):

 

It's nice to know there are some constants in life, such as how much children love things they can turn into boats.

 

Lean on me

Adventures in Coaching

I'm not sure what John did to tempt the poop fates, but whatever it was, I don't want to repeat his mistake.  It seems that John and Gregory had a small but important misunderstanding at soccer practice last night.

John noticed that Gregory was walking funny, and asked him if he needed to use the restroom.

Gregory mumbled some sort of reply and John sent him off to the bushes, while he continued his practice.

Gregory then proceeded to fill his shorts with poop.  And we are not talking about a little drop, it was a massive dump.

http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Youth-Soccer-Short-XX-Small/dp/B003E418N2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348665496&sr=8-3&keywords=soccer+shorts

John tried to salvage the situation, but there was nothing to do but head home with the stinky little boy.  Gregory was so bad, that John had him take off his shirt too and sit on that in the car to not get poop on anything else.  As soon as he got home, Gregory took a long hot shower. 

The rest of the players continued their practice with the help of a couple of other dads.

I called the mini soccer head to explain the situation and see what the protocol for the coach was.   After she understood the situation, she couldn't stop laughing.  She's never had that happen before in the many years she's been doing this.  Usually by the time the parents coach, children don't poop in their pants.

Talking to Gregory later this played out:
Me:  If you have to poop, tell Dad, and he will find a port-o-potty.  We don't poop on bushes.
Gregory:  Ok
Me:  Don't you think a port-o-potty would be a better option than pooping in your pants
Gregory: No, port-o-potties are stinky.
Me:  Yes, but you stink when you poop on yourself
Gregory:  --(blank look).

I think Gregory was quite embarrassed but didn't have the words to explain his feelings.  At least I hope so.  Pooping in your shorts in the bushes is never a good option.

Cute hat idea

These hats on Maria aren't perfect, but they were enough to spark an idea or two.

 

Clare and Thomas have been making some large tissue paper flowers.

They are large enough to fit on a head.

I was thinking that you could easily make these into flower fairy hats, using the right colors, and a shorter stem.

And if you have more hair than Maria, you can clip them in, and there they stay.

 

A cute cheap idea for party hats (think flower fairy, elves, etc) or ballet.

And could possibly be made with tulle for an Audrey Hepburn kind of look.

 

If we make a better one, I will have to post that too.

Another day....

another train track.

Thomas gets one almost everyday while his siblings are at school,

and after school, they help clean it up.

 

How sweet are his siblings. ;)

Multifaceted Maria

 

How could I not share of some of these cute expressions?

A day for Thomas

Today is the feast of St. Matthew, which we celebrate with Thomas, since it is his middle name.

 

 

We started out with Mass, and I think he ended up with the largest audience he's ever had.

 

Somehow he flipped out of the pew at the end of Mass and fell right on his forehead.

 

I didn't know some of those old ladies could move so fast.

People were checking him all over, trying to take Maria (who would have none of that), and generally blocking the school kids' path out of the church. 

 

I'm not sure what upset him more, his head, or having tons of strangers try to touch and help him.

 

He wasn't really hurt since the promise of a donut calmed him down, so off we went to Dunkin' Donuts to get a vanilla sprinkled treat.

 

Later he painted this lovely picture, which he titled his abstract painting.

Me:  Why is it abstract?

Thomas:  Because it have lots of bright colors!

 

We ended the day with a family walk to the grocery store to buy cookies and milk,

which the kids ate in their pajamas before brushing teeth and heading off to bed.

 

I'd guess that the kids like celebrating feast days, and I do too.



Book #45 - The Night Circus

I really enjoyed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  It is the type of book that I am naturally drawn toward, having fantasy and magic woven through the plot.  I'm not sure I would have discovered this one by myself.

The story centers on a competition between two magicians.  The circus is the platform, and the two players must somehow prove that each is better than the other.  Because of the competition the circus continuously gets better and better, more and more astonishing and whimsical.  But eventually the amount of magic going into it must consume someone.  To add another twist, the two adversaries fall in love with each other.

Visiting this world was very enjoyable, I just wish the Night Circus was a real place and I could wander around it, discovering all of it's wonders.

What babies do

I just like to climb up here as fast as I can.

Then I sit here and pretend I am going to get down.

It gives mom a heart attack every time I move.

And if she comes to get me I scream bloody murder.

Wordless Wednesday - homemade drum set

Book #44 - The Tiger's Wife

As a child (and currently too) I loved fairy tales, especially folklore.  It was always a treat to find a book with stories from another country, versions of fairy tales told somewhat differently.  I even enjoyed discovering the meanings behind the old tales.

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht is somewhat like that.  It is the story of a woman and her grandfather, and follows 2 plots.  The present day happenings and memories of the lady, and the tale of the grandfather as a little boy.  There are several tigers and many different characters who are well fleshed out.

You are never quite sure which 2 countries the book takes place in.  It is somewhere in the Balkans.  The events that occur in the past have become folklore.   The author also naunces the present to show how in the future it can also become something other than what it is.  There is an element of the mysterious, that there may be more to life than reality accounts for, but it is never either proven or disproven. 

I'm not sure if this was a very satisfying read, but I enjoyed it.  I wanted about another 50 pages to have more things wrapped up.  I wondered what happened to some of the characters, and if the mysterious character was real or simply a tale himself. 

Proud as Magellan

as she explores under the table.

I may even find brownie bits down here, and that's even better than sailing around the world.

Expander: take 2!

Clare got her second expander this week.  She had one put on in August, but it fell out.  This new one seems to fit better.  We can understand her even if it still causes her quite a bit of pain.

 

Her teacher has been so sweet, and she's had a milkshakes, smoothies, popsicles and tons of soft food.  My biggest concern with the pain is weight loss if she doesn't eat..  Clare's not a big girl to begin with, so I'm going to be keeping a close eye on her.

 

Plus... 

 

My poor, sweet, brave Clare wants to share her expander with the world.

Take a close look!

No, she meant really close!

 

10 months!

Maria: How quickly the months fly by...

 

I'll pose with you pony and be real cute

But I want you to know that I'm in charge.  I can crush you just like this

And I'll just as happily sit next to you as on you.

Clare:  This is how you should treat your pony, Maria.  Give it a kiss

 

Maria:  I may care or not care for the pony

but I love Clare!

 

Thomas' Baby

Thomas was playing mommy today with a baby doll.

 

We got some washclothes and he gave the baby a bath, dressed her, nursed her and got her ready for a nap.

Me:  Are you the daddy?

Thomas: No I'm the mommy.

 

Me:  What's your baby's name?

Thomas: Baby Peep, and she has the power to bite.

Bad baby!

She likes to nurse and eat sparkly baby food.

 

Thomas:  I put the baby down for a nap, now it's time to watch cartoons.

Me:  Before mommy can watch TV, what does she have to do?

Thomas: Clean.

So he helped me clean up.

 

And then Ree pulled the baby out of her shoebox bed, and off of her football pillow.



Soccer starts

Saturday was the first day of Gregory's season.

 

You can see him between the guy in the tan shirt and the guy in the red shirt and hat.

 

John is coaching this year and he doesn't have an assistant so we were both busy and I didn't get many pictures.  I'm not even sure what drill they're doing.

 

I had to distribute shirts, distribute and collect paperwork, direct confused parents to their fields, and later do snack patrol, all while John worked with the boys.  Meanwhile we had to keep half on eye on the other kids too. 

 

Everyone did well, and had a fun time.  We had a bit of a mix up at the end and had to buy Gregory a drink on the way home (we ended up one short at the last moment)



Tough Choice

Soccer or football?

Daddy says I can like both!  Happy happy joy joy!

Especially when Gregory played so hard yesterday and the Redskins are doing so well today!

 

 

Book #43 - We the Animals

We the Animals, by Justin Torres, started out as a nostalgic if somewhat rough fictional memoir of a boy's childhood.  I kind of liked about 3/4's of it but was waiting to judge it, when it changed into something else altogether, with strange homosexual currents.  I guess the point was that boys grow up into something even if it breaks their mother's heart (a scene in the book, not my personal belief that someone realizing he/she has a homosexual orientation would break a mother's heart).

The book left me feeling disoriented and wondering what type of book the author had intended.  The last few chapters just don't seem to mesh with the rest of the book.

Quick Takes - 2nd week of school edition

1) Well we are almost done with the second week of school, and I still feel crazy.  You can probably tell by the dramatic lack of posting.  There's really not much going on as the following takes will show.

 

2)We've had lunch duty twice in the past 2 weeks.  Those three hour shifts (with Ree and Thomas) really take the momentum out of my plans.  I enjoy seeing the kids but it is long. I am especially grateful for the sweet 4th grade girl who decided to play with Thomas for her entire recess yesterday.

 

3)I keep thinking the number of things I have to attend will drop, and I will have the energy to clean my house, but then I remember that we have ballet and soccer both starting up.  It's going to be a busy fall.

 

4)John is coaching Gregory's team and we are now the proud owners of soccer cones, pinnies, and a first aid kit.  Hopefully we will get lots of use out of the cones and pinnies, but not the kit.

5)Someone small is also keeping us busy.  Ree is deep into stranger/separation anxiety.  I feel like I hold her all day long, or listen to her scream.

 

The worst part of her anxiety is when any nice person from the school talks to us.  They look at her, smile, and she starts screaming.  This is especially true for men, and men with dark complexions and hair in particular.  Perhaps she is afraid the gypsies are going to steal her away.

 

6)Ree has also discovered a desire to destroy anything electronic I might use, such as my phone, camera or the laptop.

 

The twinkle in her eyes in this picture comes from her efforts to pull keys off the keyboard. 

My guess is that my phone will only last another couple of months tops.

7)Thomas is also missing the big kids.  He wanders around the house without direction.  So he too wants my full attention to read books, play games, etc.  I'm encouraging him to do things he enjoys by himself, but it's a little rough

 

Well that's more or less my week in a nutshell.  Next week, we will be in the throes of fall schedule.  At least there shouldn't be too many more schedule changes, and once we adapt it should be all better managed.

Book #42 - Branch Rickey

It's election season!  Somehow I never expected a book about a baseball manager to play into that.  Branch Rickey by Jimmy Breslin is a short non-fiction work about Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers' manager who hired Jacky Robinson and integrated baseball.

While I think the subject is fascinating, I did not really enjoy Breslin's style or slant.  He writes his chapters like a series of magazine articles.  To someone with just a fleeting interest in baseball, I often felt lost.  It seemed a little convoluted as Breslin tried to pass on stories he thought the readers would find interesting or point out some slant about different characters' faiths or political identities.

I also struggle with the credit of Obama's presidency resting on Branch Rickey's shoulders.  Rickey did an awesome thing integrating baseball, but did that pave a golden road to Obama's election? Breslin seems to equate the election as the culmination of what Rickey was trying to achieve.  Maybe, maybe not. 

Perhaps I should stick to the non-fiction tomes that are dry but straight forward in the future.

Train ride!

Last week was crazy busy.  School started.  I had volunteer duties. Clare had ballet registration and auditions, and we also had soccer stuff to put together for Gregory's team.

 

By the end of the week I felt frazzled and not exactly sure which train had hit me.

 

I know that it wasn't the train Thomas, Ree and I rode last Thursday with the cousins.

It was Ree's first train ride 

She keeps looking around in all of these pictures, trying to figure out what's happening.

She loved it, but I think it was also a bit overwhelming.

 

A bit like my week.

Here's looking forward to when the new schedule becomes routine, and we all settle into it.

 

Then like Thomas on the train, I can sit back and enjoy the ride.