Showing posts with label Fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fun. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
Birthday Party
Last weekend we finally had Andrew's Birthday Party.
Andy was born on December 17th. It's a horrible time of year to have a birthday party. Everyone is fraught with holiday tension, schedules are crammed with holiday parties, and because of all this the party planning really needs to start before Thanksgiving. It never does.
Last year none of the boys had a birthday party, so this year I promised. It's just that we had to pick dates that were a little later than the actual birthdays. Because of Christmas, basketball games... things like that.
These days parties get ridiculous. They're all at movie theaters, laser tag, arcades. The simplest party invites 8 people for $300, and you still have to bring your own cake. It's great if you can afford it because you don't have to worry about the pizza.
But I decided not to go all out.
Steve came over and set up the playstation on the big screen in the den.
Andy had a guest list of 7 people.
We bought an ice cream cake at the market basket.
I ordered pizza to be delivered.
It snowed 8 inches and three kids cancelled.
But the four that showed up had a great time.
This is how I'm doing all of my kids' parties. The boys had a blast. They hung out and did what kids do and I didn't need to do much of anything except clean my house and worry about folks getting up and down the driveway.
Nate's birthday party is in 2 weeks. We're doing this. I'll figure out if 3rd graders are as great as the 1st graders. But so far Nate only wants 5 kids...
Andy was born on December 17th. It's a horrible time of year to have a birthday party. Everyone is fraught with holiday tension, schedules are crammed with holiday parties, and because of all this the party planning really needs to start before Thanksgiving. It never does.
Last year none of the boys had a birthday party, so this year I promised. It's just that we had to pick dates that were a little later than the actual birthdays. Because of Christmas, basketball games... things like that.
These days parties get ridiculous. They're all at movie theaters, laser tag, arcades. The simplest party invites 8 people for $300, and you still have to bring your own cake. It's great if you can afford it because you don't have to worry about the pizza.
But I decided not to go all out.
Steve came over and set up the playstation on the big screen in the den.
Andy had a guest list of 7 people.
We bought an ice cream cake at the market basket.
I ordered pizza to be delivered.
It snowed 8 inches and three kids cancelled.
But the four that showed up had a great time.
This is how I'm doing all of my kids' parties. The boys had a blast. They hung out and did what kids do and I didn't need to do much of anything except clean my house and worry about folks getting up and down the driveway.
Nate's birthday party is in 2 weeks. We're doing this. I'll figure out if 3rd graders are as great as the 1st graders. But so far Nate only wants 5 kids...
Friday, October 03, 2014
Like Cooking, but with Kids!
There are a ridiculous number of people in the world who believe that children should help in with the cooking.
Seriously, I remember being a kid and making Christmas cookies with my mom. I remember it well because there was this really odd shape of cookie cutter and I had no idea what it was, kind of a lumpy thing, and I liked using it to cut shapes out of the dough, and then I would eat the dough. My mother flipped out a bit, then chased us all from the kitchen so she could actually put some cookies in the oven, and so we would die from eating raw eggs. (by the way, the cookie cutter was a camel. I never understood what a camel had to do with Christmas, but that's because I was a heathen and camels didn't pull the sleigh.)
I've tried to get my kids interested in cooking. The books say you can... the many many cookbooks for children, most with large sections that say "GET MOMMY TO HELP YOU CUT THE CARROTS!" Made for children who are dumb enough to eat radishes just because they are peeled and placed on a plate in the shape of someone's hair. My kids are too smart for that, people. Put fruit on a pancake and guess what? It's still fruit. Only now it's ruined the pancake.
Anyway, I have my moments where I try to let the kids help. "You can get a four year old to tear the lettuce!" it says, larger-than-life smile implied in the tone of the font.
So a couple of years ago, in some strange moment of weakness, I purchased a monster cook book. It has things like mummy meatloaf and potato skins disguised as yeti claws. But it also has a few gross desserts. I let the boys each pick an item to make. Andy chose something called "Trifle With Death."
Before pouring in the lime jello, the vanilla pudding, or the marshmallows, the first step is to tear up a sponge cake. I figured if I four year old could tear lettuce, my three kids could tear up a sponge cake.
"Is this piece big enough?" Nick asked, holding up a crumb the size of a raisin.
"It says one inch pieces," I said.
blank looks.
"A little bigger, like this," I said, holding up a piece about the size of a large grape.
"Is this big enough?" Nick asked, holding up a crumb the size of a raisin.
"No," I said.
"Like this? Like this? IS this good?" as all three boys needed me to approve every single pinched morsel of squashed sponge cake that went into the dish.
It was slightly insane.
The boys ate half the marshmallows. They were really impressed with the jello. And the pudding, which was stirred for about three seconds before the boys gave up.
The concoction is now in the fridge until tomorrow, when we get to sprinkle the top with crushed oreos and gummy worms. And gummy eyeballs, if we can find them before then. I'm afraid, and already feeling slightly ill.
Seriously, I remember being a kid and making Christmas cookies with my mom. I remember it well because there was this really odd shape of cookie cutter and I had no idea what it was, kind of a lumpy thing, and I liked using it to cut shapes out of the dough, and then I would eat the dough. My mother flipped out a bit, then chased us all from the kitchen so she could actually put some cookies in the oven, and so we would die from eating raw eggs. (by the way, the cookie cutter was a camel. I never understood what a camel had to do with Christmas, but that's because I was a heathen and camels didn't pull the sleigh.)
I've tried to get my kids interested in cooking. The books say you can... the many many cookbooks for children, most with large sections that say "GET MOMMY TO HELP YOU CUT THE CARROTS!" Made for children who are dumb enough to eat radishes just because they are peeled and placed on a plate in the shape of someone's hair. My kids are too smart for that, people. Put fruit on a pancake and guess what? It's still fruit. Only now it's ruined the pancake.
Anyway, I have my moments where I try to let the kids help. "You can get a four year old to tear the lettuce!" it says, larger-than-life smile implied in the tone of the font.
So a couple of years ago, in some strange moment of weakness, I purchased a monster cook book. It has things like mummy meatloaf and potato skins disguised as yeti claws. But it also has a few gross desserts. I let the boys each pick an item to make. Andy chose something called "Trifle With Death."
Before pouring in the lime jello, the vanilla pudding, or the marshmallows, the first step is to tear up a sponge cake. I figured if I four year old could tear lettuce, my three kids could tear up a sponge cake.
"Is this piece big enough?" Nick asked, holding up a crumb the size of a raisin.
"It says one inch pieces," I said.
blank looks.
"A little bigger, like this," I said, holding up a piece about the size of a large grape.
"Is this big enough?" Nick asked, holding up a crumb the size of a raisin.
"No," I said.
"Like this? Like this? IS this good?" as all three boys needed me to approve every single pinched morsel of squashed sponge cake that went into the dish.
It was slightly insane.
The boys ate half the marshmallows. They were really impressed with the jello. And the pudding, which was stirred for about three seconds before the boys gave up.
The concoction is now in the fridge until tomorrow, when we get to sprinkle the top with crushed oreos and gummy worms. And gummy eyeballs, if we can find them before then. I'm afraid, and already feeling slightly ill.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Can't Judge a Movie By It's Poster
Friday night is movie night.
It always has been. I've kept the tradition even since Steve moved out, figuring it could be a fun night we all kind of crash out and have screen time together.
It's not exactly the same. I don't have Steve's skill at finding exactly the movie we want, so we need to know what we have before choosing. We still take turns, but we often forget whose turn it is as we don't have turns each weekend anymore.
Last time we had a movie night, it was Nate's turn, and it was Valentine's Day. It was more than 2 weeks ago, because of February vacation. He chose and old Godzilla film, and I had to grit my teeth as the dubbed film went on and on and the boys stared openmouthed at the screen, waiting for monsters.
Tonight was Andy's night.
I showed him what we had available on my Amazon account, and he chose My Dog Skip, because there is a picture of a tiny dog staring at a toilet, and I said "Maybe the dog learns how to use the toilet?" And Bingo, Andy made a choice.
Have you seen this movie? It came out in 2000. The little boy in the movie is almost 30 now. In fact, all the actors are incredibly young. It's a sweet movie with a sweet story. But the boys are a bit cynical. Almost as soon as it started they were talking about how the dog was probably going to get hit by a car. "That always happens in these movies."
As the movie went on, the boys laughed and talked about relationships between the characters in the film. The kids are pretty intuitive about some things. The next door neighbor comes home from the war and is different. "Who do you think might understand him?" I asked. Nate was the one who said the boy's father, who had lost his leg in the war. And it all seemed good.
Until the end.
OK, so, flashback and subject change (kind of.) When we were kids, my mother got the movie Turner and Hooch. Do you know this one? It had Tom Hanks in it, back before he was Big Tom Hanks and was just Medium Tom Hanks? Anyway, it was about Tom Hanks and a dog. One of them was Turner and the other was Hooch. I don't remember actually watching this movie, so I can't tell you who was who. And SPOILER ALERT! At the end of this movie, I'm pretty sure the dog dies. I think he gets shot. My mother watched this movie with us, and at the end of the movie, she was a gibbering mess. And so was my brother Jamie, who must have been around 8 years old. They cried and cried together, Mom and Jamie, all over this dog from this movie.
So.... My Dog Skip.
I'm about the spoil the movie for you. The dog dies.
But not when you think he's going to die. They make it so you think he's going to die, but then he doesn't. During the time when the little movie boy was crying and we all thought the dog was going to die, Nathan started sniveling. And then Andy started tearing up. And then the movie dog got better, and it looked like it was going to be OK, but then the dog got old and the narrator (Harry Connick Jr.) told us that he died at the old age of eleven.
And then the movie was over.
I went over to give Nate a hug, because he'd started crying. Only when I hugged him he started right out bawling. Nick made a comment and I replied, "It's OK that Nate's crying. It shows that he has feelings and that he's empathetic."
At this, Nate started crying harder.
He cried and cried. Andy was crying, too, at some point. But then he lost interest in crying and decided he was just sleepy. Nathan kept going. After ten minutes I was coated in snot and Nate was making odd wailing noises.
The thing is, I was serious about him being empathetic. Nate gets so wrapped up in his own story and is so easily frustrated that it's easy to forget that stories affect him this way.
One week, he wants Godzilla. The next he's sobbing about a dog. My baby boy. My baby bear.
It always has been. I've kept the tradition even since Steve moved out, figuring it could be a fun night we all kind of crash out and have screen time together.
It's not exactly the same. I don't have Steve's skill at finding exactly the movie we want, so we need to know what we have before choosing. We still take turns, but we often forget whose turn it is as we don't have turns each weekend anymore.
Last time we had a movie night, it was Nate's turn, and it was Valentine's Day. It was more than 2 weeks ago, because of February vacation. He chose and old Godzilla film, and I had to grit my teeth as the dubbed film went on and on and the boys stared openmouthed at the screen, waiting for monsters.
Tonight was Andy's night.
I showed him what we had available on my Amazon account, and he chose My Dog Skip, because there is a picture of a tiny dog staring at a toilet, and I said "Maybe the dog learns how to use the toilet?" And Bingo, Andy made a choice.
Have you seen this movie? It came out in 2000. The little boy in the movie is almost 30 now. In fact, all the actors are incredibly young. It's a sweet movie with a sweet story. But the boys are a bit cynical. Almost as soon as it started they were talking about how the dog was probably going to get hit by a car. "That always happens in these movies."
As the movie went on, the boys laughed and talked about relationships between the characters in the film. The kids are pretty intuitive about some things. The next door neighbor comes home from the war and is different. "Who do you think might understand him?" I asked. Nate was the one who said the boy's father, who had lost his leg in the war. And it all seemed good.
Until the end.
OK, so, flashback and subject change (kind of.) When we were kids, my mother got the movie Turner and Hooch. Do you know this one? It had Tom Hanks in it, back before he was Big Tom Hanks and was just Medium Tom Hanks? Anyway, it was about Tom Hanks and a dog. One of them was Turner and the other was Hooch. I don't remember actually watching this movie, so I can't tell you who was who. And SPOILER ALERT! At the end of this movie, I'm pretty sure the dog dies. I think he gets shot. My mother watched this movie with us, and at the end of the movie, she was a gibbering mess. And so was my brother Jamie, who must have been around 8 years old. They cried and cried together, Mom and Jamie, all over this dog from this movie.
So.... My Dog Skip.
I'm about the spoil the movie for you. The dog dies.
But not when you think he's going to die. They make it so you think he's going to die, but then he doesn't. During the time when the little movie boy was crying and we all thought the dog was going to die, Nathan started sniveling. And then Andy started tearing up. And then the movie dog got better, and it looked like it was going to be OK, but then the dog got old and the narrator (Harry Connick Jr.) told us that he died at the old age of eleven.
And then the movie was over.
I went over to give Nate a hug, because he'd started crying. Only when I hugged him he started right out bawling. Nick made a comment and I replied, "It's OK that Nate's crying. It shows that he has feelings and that he's empathetic."
At this, Nate started crying harder.
He cried and cried. Andy was crying, too, at some point. But then he lost interest in crying and decided he was just sleepy. Nathan kept going. After ten minutes I was coated in snot and Nate was making odd wailing noises.
The thing is, I was serious about him being empathetic. Nate gets so wrapped up in his own story and is so easily frustrated that it's easy to forget that stories affect him this way.
One week, he wants Godzilla. The next he's sobbing about a dog. My baby boy. My baby bear.
Thursday, November 07, 2013
We've Got To Get Organized
Everyone has this kind of a conversation: you're talking to a friend you haven't see in awhile, either on the phone or in person. You realize you're having a good time. "We should do this more often!" you say. Or if you're on the phone you say (or type) We should get together for coffee / drinks / a movie.
You both agree.
Then you try to set a date.
"What are you doing Tuesday?"
"Tuesday's no good. I have a class. How about Wednesday?"
"Oh, no, I can't! I have a work thing. Friday?"
"We're out of town until Sunday. What about Wednesday next week?"
"I can't. Starting that month I'm working nights. The next weekend?"
"Hmm... I can fit you in on Saturday Afternoon?"
"Great! No - wait, shoot! That's the afternoon my cousin is in town! I told her I'd take her to see a show."
And so it goes. One thing, then another, until you just table the discussion and hope you run into each other before a space opens up in your schedule.
Now imagine you have four people to schedule. Yes, they are small and short, but they do karate and piano and violin. They have doctor's appointments and dentist appointments and they get warts and need to see dermatologists. They join groups after school which you fully support until you realize you have to coach. But that's OK, you'd have to be there anyway to take them to and from the meetings.
I was trying to schedule an appointment for Nick. It's the kind of thing that may become recurring, so I was trying to get it after school. With someone who takes our insurance. While I was at it, I may as well have requested this water be turned into wine and for this loaf of bread to take us through Thanksgiving, because nobody seemed to be able to help us out. They were empathetic, but there was nothing they could do.
And then I found a place that was willing to work with me. It was farther than the other places - about 8 miles. But they said yes!
Could I do Wednesdays? Well, I could. But Wednesdays we had Karate at 4:15 and then Piano at 6:30, 7 miles away in the other direction. Thursdays? Well, Nate and Andy have DI on Thursdays, and it's over at 4pm. We could do after 4pm if we skipped the weapons karate class and the advances karate class... And Nick might have DI on Thursdays, or it might be on Fridays. We don't know yet.
Finally we settled on a Saturday. It would be after the morning karate class. But there was a catch. I was out of town for the weekend. I'd be on my way back, but still, I couldn't drive him the 8 miles. I had to get Steve to do it.
But I scheduled it anyway.
And then I asked Steve. And he said fine. No problem. He'd take him. The driving wasn't a big deal. But there was this birthday party for this kid we know and it was on that day.
I'm about to call and reschedule the appointment because of this birthday party. It makes sense on some level, I swear. Also, I've decided we do too much karate. It seems to be getting in the way of other things. Like cooking.
I feel a little bit Like This.
You both agree.
Then you try to set a date.
"What are you doing Tuesday?"
"Tuesday's no good. I have a class. How about Wednesday?"
"Oh, no, I can't! I have a work thing. Friday?"
"We're out of town until Sunday. What about Wednesday next week?"
"I can't. Starting that month I'm working nights. The next weekend?"
"Hmm... I can fit you in on Saturday Afternoon?"
"Great! No - wait, shoot! That's the afternoon my cousin is in town! I told her I'd take her to see a show."
And so it goes. One thing, then another, until you just table the discussion and hope you run into each other before a space opens up in your schedule.
Now imagine you have four people to schedule. Yes, they are small and short, but they do karate and piano and violin. They have doctor's appointments and dentist appointments and they get warts and need to see dermatologists. They join groups after school which you fully support until you realize you have to coach. But that's OK, you'd have to be there anyway to take them to and from the meetings.
I was trying to schedule an appointment for Nick. It's the kind of thing that may become recurring, so I was trying to get it after school. With someone who takes our insurance. While I was at it, I may as well have requested this water be turned into wine and for this loaf of bread to take us through Thanksgiving, because nobody seemed to be able to help us out. They were empathetic, but there was nothing they could do.
And then I found a place that was willing to work with me. It was farther than the other places - about 8 miles. But they said yes!
Could I do Wednesdays? Well, I could. But Wednesdays we had Karate at 4:15 and then Piano at 6:30, 7 miles away in the other direction. Thursdays? Well, Nate and Andy have DI on Thursdays, and it's over at 4pm. We could do after 4pm if we skipped the weapons karate class and the advances karate class... And Nick might have DI on Thursdays, or it might be on Fridays. We don't know yet.
Finally we settled on a Saturday. It would be after the morning karate class. But there was a catch. I was out of town for the weekend. I'd be on my way back, but still, I couldn't drive him the 8 miles. I had to get Steve to do it.
But I scheduled it anyway.
And then I asked Steve. And he said fine. No problem. He'd take him. The driving wasn't a big deal. But there was this birthday party for this kid we know and it was on that day.
I'm about to call and reschedule the appointment because of this birthday party. It makes sense on some level, I swear. Also, I've decided we do too much karate. It seems to be getting in the way of other things. Like cooking.
I feel a little bit Like This.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Name That Tune, 21st century
When I was really little, my dad sometimes drove us home from school. It was a long drive, from Manhattan into the suburbs of New Jersey, and to entertain us, sometimes he told us stories. Or sometimes we'd play this game...
It's a great game, actually, for pitch training and ear training in little kids. Name That Tune. When it's your turn, you hum a song, or sing a few notes of a song on "la." And everyone else tries to guess what you're singing.
Well, Nate and I discovered an updated version of the same thing.
I was listening to this CD I got for kicks at the library. It's one of those compilation discs of TV theme songs. When you first hear about it you think "hey! I NEED that! I LOVE those songs!" but then after 10 minutes you think that listening to each song once is enough, thank you. So getting the CD at the library is much better than spending the cash on a full time commitment.
BUT, I was cleaning the kitchen and Nate was clicking on the songs at random, and I was trying to guess which TV show they belonged to. It was awesome! Nate didn't even let me listen to any of the songs, as soon as I guessed one he'd move on.
Now, some were a little tricky. Nate doesn't know these TV shows, so if I got one wrong, he'd have to fill it in, and it would take me a moment to translate Mimi Vise (Miami Vice), Destiny (Dynasty), and Dells (Dallas).
So anyway, I was thinking that this game would be a lot of fun to play with other people, others that might actually also know the song that popped up, or that might actually remember that this particular tune is the theme from Knight Rider.
I'm bringing this game the NY, people. You have been warned. If you live in NY. If you don't, then you just heard me threaten my family members.
It's a great game, actually, for pitch training and ear training in little kids. Name That Tune. When it's your turn, you hum a song, or sing a few notes of a song on "la." And everyone else tries to guess what you're singing.
Well, Nate and I discovered an updated version of the same thing.
I was listening to this CD I got for kicks at the library. It's one of those compilation discs of TV theme songs. When you first hear about it you think "hey! I NEED that! I LOVE those songs!" but then after 10 minutes you think that listening to each song once is enough, thank you. So getting the CD at the library is much better than spending the cash on a full time commitment.
BUT, I was cleaning the kitchen and Nate was clicking on the songs at random, and I was trying to guess which TV show they belonged to. It was awesome! Nate didn't even let me listen to any of the songs, as soon as I guessed one he'd move on.
Now, some were a little tricky. Nate doesn't know these TV shows, so if I got one wrong, he'd have to fill it in, and it would take me a moment to translate Mimi Vise (Miami Vice), Destiny (Dynasty), and Dells (Dallas).
So anyway, I was thinking that this game would be a lot of fun to play with other people, others that might actually also know the song that popped up, or that might actually remember that this particular tune is the theme from Knight Rider.
I'm bringing this game the NY, people. You have been warned. If you live in NY. If you don't, then you just heard me threaten my family members.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Raindrops Are Falling
FINE Then! Yes. You can go play in the rain.
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| Andy & Nate 2013 |
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| Andy 2013 |
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| Nick 2013 |
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Such Fun! Such Fun!
If you're looking for a laugh...
OK, maybe you aren't looking for a laugh. Maybe your life is fun enough already. You like things the way they are. You know what you like, you know what you don't like, and you don't need any suggestions from someone who has a sense of humor that... which is to say, someone who thinks it's funny when... I mean... well, me. From me. You don't want any suggestions from me.
But this is different!
OK, maybe it's not different. But I feel it's different.
See, my life has been kind of stressful of late. I have found myself vacillating between desperation and irritation, with occasional bursts of apathy. But then I found this TV show...
Of course, you say. A TV show. Kathleen watches SO MUCH TV, it's crazy. And yes, perhaps I do. And not all of it's good. Usually I watch with half an eye, just enough to hang onto the plot or catch onto a joke, something to distract me from reality as I cook or clean or fold laundry.
But this show... the second episode had me laughing out loud all alone in the kitchen. I haven't laughed that hard in... I don't know when I've laughed that hard. I don't know if it's because the show is really that funny or because I just needed a laugh that badly... I think it's the show.
The show is called Miranda. Mostly slapstick - nothing deep. It's from the UK a few years ago. I saw it on HULU. It's the funniest show I've seen in years, and I'm not joking. I love it. I challenge you. Watch 2 episodes. It will take a little over 40 minutes. If you don't laugh, I'll never mention it again.
But watch it. Watch it now!
OK, maybe you aren't looking for a laugh. Maybe your life is fun enough already. You like things the way they are. You know what you like, you know what you don't like, and you don't need any suggestions from someone who has a sense of humor that... which is to say, someone who thinks it's funny when... I mean... well, me. From me. You don't want any suggestions from me.
But this is different!
OK, maybe it's not different. But I feel it's different.
See, my life has been kind of stressful of late. I have found myself vacillating between desperation and irritation, with occasional bursts of apathy. But then I found this TV show...
Of course, you say. A TV show. Kathleen watches SO MUCH TV, it's crazy. And yes, perhaps I do. And not all of it's good. Usually I watch with half an eye, just enough to hang onto the plot or catch onto a joke, something to distract me from reality as I cook or clean or fold laundry.
But this show... the second episode had me laughing out loud all alone in the kitchen. I haven't laughed that hard in... I don't know when I've laughed that hard. I don't know if it's because the show is really that funny or because I just needed a laugh that badly... I think it's the show.
The show is called Miranda. Mostly slapstick - nothing deep. It's from the UK a few years ago. I saw it on HULU. It's the funniest show I've seen in years, and I'm not joking. I love it. I challenge you. Watch 2 episodes. It will take a little over 40 minutes. If you don't laugh, I'll never mention it again.
But watch it. Watch it now!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Last week, Steve rented a house down in Cape Cod, and on
Monday I drove the boys down to join him.
The house is the same house we stayed in a few years ago.
The kids were much, much younger then, and I remember being pretty nervous
about the steep stairways.
The house itself is just fantastic, with tons of bedrooms
all jumbled together. They’re all kind of stacked together, as though someone
created them separately and then picked them up, one block at a time, not
looking to see if the next room was a hallway or a bathroom or a bedroom. It’s
the perfect beach house.
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| Nick, Cape Cod, 2013 |
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| Cape Cod 2013 |
I was only there for a day, but managed to get a lot in. We went to the beach, we went for a walk to the windmill down the street, we went out for lobster - thank you, Lillian!. The next day we went out to breakfast at The Pancake Man!
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| Sand Sculpture Cape Cod 2013 |
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| The Pancake Man Cape Cod, 2013 |
Monday, July 29, 2013
If you're in New York...
I just came back from New York.
It was a quick trip - down Friday, back Monday. I'm wearing exhaustion on top of my fatigue. And unless you are one of a few people, you either cannot or have already experienced the Main Attraction, which is my crazy family. But I did want to share two things in particular that anyone, Anyone At All can experience should they so choose.
And they should choose. To experience these two things:
1 - Peter and the Starcatcher. Saw it. Loved it. I don't see a lot of theatre these days, so you can keep that in mind when I say it's different than anything I've seen in years. Decades. It's fun - I laughed. It's touching - I cried. The boys loved it, and it is perfectly suitable for adults. And I'm not at all biased by the talented guy I know in the show. Who is Amazing! And would be, even if I didn't know him. See what I'm saying? See how that works? Good. Now do yourself a favor and go see it. Soon.
2 - Spadium. It's a spa. It's a Korean spa. I don't know much about Spas in general, so I wasn't sure what that meant, but Linda, who was the arrangement maker in this excursion, forwarded me this article. I read it, but still wasn't sure what to expect because, you know, people exaggerate. They go to spas a lot and get used to things a certain way, and then don't adapt well? But this spa actually WAS three flights of stairs down a creepy hallway. It was spooky. And then we had to take off every inch of clothing. And then these ladies in black lace bras and panties (and I mean lace lace, not just regular not-see-through material with lace on the edges) rubbed our bodies with sandpaper mitts for an HOUR. I mean, every inch of my body. My armpits. My neck. I recently went to my GYN for a lady visit, but this stranger who spoke almost no english got much, much better acquainted with my body. Then we went into the sauna, and I had Linda check to make sure my back wasn't bleeding. And then we went back onto the table for a massage and facial. Which apparently included a salt rub. Which hurts on freshly scrubbed skin. Also, the table was so slick with oil I thought I was going to fall off. The only non-slippy part of me was my face, which was firmly planted into the towel on the edge of the bed. Every once and awhile the underwear lady would splash me with a bucket of warm water.
Overall, this was a strange experience. I want to say I liked it, but my skin is a little sore. And rug-burnish in places I don't usually experience rug burn. Like my neck. It IS an experience, though. So you should try it if you're into spa stuff. I might go once more, just to make sure how I feel.
It was a quick trip - down Friday, back Monday. I'm wearing exhaustion on top of my fatigue. And unless you are one of a few people, you either cannot or have already experienced the Main Attraction, which is my crazy family. But I did want to share two things in particular that anyone, Anyone At All can experience should they so choose.
And they should choose. To experience these two things:
1 - Peter and the Starcatcher. Saw it. Loved it. I don't see a lot of theatre these days, so you can keep that in mind when I say it's different than anything I've seen in years. Decades. It's fun - I laughed. It's touching - I cried. The boys loved it, and it is perfectly suitable for adults. And I'm not at all biased by the talented guy I know in the show. Who is Amazing! And would be, even if I didn't know him. See what I'm saying? See how that works? Good. Now do yourself a favor and go see it. Soon.
2 - Spadium. It's a spa. It's a Korean spa. I don't know much about Spas in general, so I wasn't sure what that meant, but Linda, who was the arrangement maker in this excursion, forwarded me this article. I read it, but still wasn't sure what to expect because, you know, people exaggerate. They go to spas a lot and get used to things a certain way, and then don't adapt well? But this spa actually WAS three flights of stairs down a creepy hallway. It was spooky. And then we had to take off every inch of clothing. And then these ladies in black lace bras and panties (and I mean lace lace, not just regular not-see-through material with lace on the edges) rubbed our bodies with sandpaper mitts for an HOUR. I mean, every inch of my body. My armpits. My neck. I recently went to my GYN for a lady visit, but this stranger who spoke almost no english got much, much better acquainted with my body. Then we went into the sauna, and I had Linda check to make sure my back wasn't bleeding. And then we went back onto the table for a massage and facial. Which apparently included a salt rub. Which hurts on freshly scrubbed skin. Also, the table was so slick with oil I thought I was going to fall off. The only non-slippy part of me was my face, which was firmly planted into the towel on the edge of the bed. Every once and awhile the underwear lady would splash me with a bucket of warm water.
Overall, this was a strange experience. I want to say I liked it, but my skin is a little sore. And rug-burnish in places I don't usually experience rug burn. Like my neck. It IS an experience, though. So you should try it if you're into spa stuff. I might go once more, just to make sure how I feel.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Water Park
The kids bugged me to take them to Canobie Lake Park.
I didn't want to. It's not far. It's about fifteen minutes from our home, actually. Storyland is 3 hours north, and we've been there every single year since we can remember. But Storyland is geared toward tiny people. Canobie specializes in the types of rides that leave you brain damaged. Or that you actually have to be mental to go on.
Strap me into a tube and swing me 14 stories into the air while spinning me around backwards and twirling the whole thing upside down? Sure! Let me just grab lunch first.
I first went to Canobie Lake Park with my friends Julie and Betsy. I thought Julie was lying when she said there was an amusement park up in NH. I seem to remember getting there late, going into the maze, winning some prize at the arcade, and then riding this raft water ride eleven billion times. In street clothes. Oh, and Betsy went on her first roller coaster?
This time, Nate wanted to go on everything, but Andy was too short, and Nick was too nervous to go on the roller coasters by himself. I talked him into going on the Pirate Ship Swing thing with Nate, and he said that was enough.
Convinced I could be Cool Mom, I drove the race cars with the boys, and then took them on the Twist and Shout ride. Like a tilt-a-whirl. I laughed for a minute, and then got that nauseous feeling. Seriously, these days a carousel gets me dizzy. I am officially a grown up, and can no longer enjoy bouncy spinny brain scrambles.
But there was one thing there we all really enjoyed. It was 100 outside. So, so hot. The hottest day of the year. Trust me, no matter who you were, you wanted to be right there.
I didn't want to. It's not far. It's about fifteen minutes from our home, actually. Storyland is 3 hours north, and we've been there every single year since we can remember. But Storyland is geared toward tiny people. Canobie specializes in the types of rides that leave you brain damaged. Or that you actually have to be mental to go on.
Strap me into a tube and swing me 14 stories into the air while spinning me around backwards and twirling the whole thing upside down? Sure! Let me just grab lunch first.
I first went to Canobie Lake Park with my friends Julie and Betsy. I thought Julie was lying when she said there was an amusement park up in NH. I seem to remember getting there late, going into the maze, winning some prize at the arcade, and then riding this raft water ride eleven billion times. In street clothes. Oh, and Betsy went on her first roller coaster?
This time, Nate wanted to go on everything, but Andy was too short, and Nick was too nervous to go on the roller coasters by himself. I talked him into going on the Pirate Ship Swing thing with Nate, and he said that was enough.
Convinced I could be Cool Mom, I drove the race cars with the boys, and then took them on the Twist and Shout ride. Like a tilt-a-whirl. I laughed for a minute, and then got that nauseous feeling. Seriously, these days a carousel gets me dizzy. I am officially a grown up, and can no longer enjoy bouncy spinny brain scrambles.
But there was one thing there we all really enjoyed. It was 100 outside. So, so hot. The hottest day of the year. Trust me, no matter who you were, you wanted to be right there.
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| Canobie Lake Park, 2013 Castaway Island |
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Metamorphosis - May 1st
Everyone knows I love butterflies, right? And some Midge Flies.
Happy May Day, by the way!
Happy May Day, by the way!
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| Andy - Bronx Zoo - April 2013 |
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| Andy / Nate - Bronx Zoo - April 2013 |
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| Andy / Nick - Bronx Zoo - April 2013 |
Monday, April 29, 2013
It Never Gets Old
We went to the Bronx Zoo.
We've been a couple of other times, but this time it was a bit different because it was rainy and cold.
OK, I'm being dramatic here. It wasn't raining the whole time. It was just raining while we were walking there from the subway. But it was kind of overcast and cold. It was too early for the elephants and the Wild Asia Monorail wasn't open for the season yet.
But the boys had fun. And my sister came with us, so she got to enjoy the following things with us:
A Tiger who was very busy eating grass.
A Gorilla who was sitting right next to the glass and who would wag his head comically side to side, and then puke into his hand. And then eat it. And then repeat. Over and over and over and over.
Feeding time for the vultures, who have a wing span of six feet (my estimation) and who look exactly like the cartoon hunchback drawings of themselves, only scarier, with heads approximately halfway down their bodies. Also, they are fed rozen dead white rabbit, much to Nick's dismay.
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| Andy - Bronx Zoo - April 2013 |
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| Andy - Bronx Zoo - April 2013 |
OK, I'm being dramatic here. It wasn't raining the whole time. It was just raining while we were walking there from the subway. But it was kind of overcast and cold. It was too early for the elephants and the Wild Asia Monorail wasn't open for the season yet.
But the boys had fun. And my sister came with us, so she got to enjoy the following things with us:
A Tiger who was very busy eating grass.
A Gorilla who was sitting right next to the glass and who would wag his head comically side to side, and then puke into his hand. And then eat it. And then repeat. Over and over and over and over.
Feeding time for the vultures, who have a wing span of six feet (my estimation) and who look exactly like the cartoon hunchback drawings of themselves, only scarier, with heads approximately halfway down their bodies. Also, they are fed rozen dead white rabbit, much to Nick's dismay.
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| Bronx Zoo - April 2013 |
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Tournament
The boys had their first karate tournament the other day.
I have to admit, I was apprehensive. The boys are young, they don't really compete in things.
But they all did very well! The only drawback was that they were all separated by rank and age, so Andy was bowing out when Nate was doing his Kata.
Also, I forgot my camera, so I had to take all the pictures with my phone. For some reason my phone's camera is not so great. And the only picture of Nate I got was too blurry to even post.
But Andy for a medal for participating in his category. Nick and Nate got participation medals for kata, Nick got third place for sparring and Nate got second place for sparring.
I have to admit, I was apprehensive. The boys are young, they don't really compete in things.
But they all did very well! The only drawback was that they were all separated by rank and age, so Andy was bowing out when Nate was doing his Kata.
Also, I forgot my camera, so I had to take all the pictures with my phone. For some reason my phone's camera is not so great. And the only picture of Nate I got was too blurry to even post.
But Andy for a medal for participating in his category. Nick and Nate got participation medals for kata, Nick got third place for sparring and Nate got second place for sparring.
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| Karate Tournament April 2013 - Andy in center |
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| Nick - Karate tournament April 2013 |
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Bad Piggies
The boys still love Angry Birds. And now they have Angry Birds in space, which whirls you around planets in smaller and smaller circles until gravity pulls you into the atmosphere and you plummet to the ground. (And so we plummet, and we plummet.... )
More recently, the boys discovered a game calle Bad Piggies. Well, I actually discovered the free demo version and got that to entertain the boys. I let them play the ipad on certain occasions, such as when they practice piano 5 times in a week, or when they've been really really good but we need to wait for a brother to get out of a karate class, or when I need to go vote and there are 5 pages of ballots about zoning preferences with a tiny little detail about the schools in there somewhere.
One day, while synching my ipad, I noticed some weird photos being downloaded to my computer. This is odd because I have a first generation ipad. It does not have a camera. So I shouldn't have any new photos from the ipad. I clicked on it to take a closer look, and found a screen shot of a pig. A GREEN Pig.
It turns out that this game has a "photo" button which will take a screen shot and save it to my photos. Each time I'd go and try to sync my music, my books, my calendar, the ipad would try to transfer 36 screen shots of bad piggies trying to defend their stolen eggs with oddly constructed vehicles.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Happy Easter!
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| Easter Eggs 2013 |
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| Easter Eggs 2013 |
Oh, but they did.
It's OK, though. They did regular eggs dyed with food coloring, and all turned out well. They had fun. I let them decorate with crayons and stickers and glitter glue. We'll go back to the fancy eggs next year.
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| Easter Eggs 2013 |
Friday, March 15, 2013
Last Bit of Winter
These are actually a few photos from a trip we took a couple of weeks ago, at the beginning of March. It was to a lodge a little upstate, where there is plenty of hiking and in the winter people snowshoe and go cross country skiing.
We don't do those things, mostly because the boys start complaining three minutes into any walk we take. But we did go sledding.
The sledding hill was a little walk from the lodge. And getting to the top of the hill took a lot of work. Also, we could have kept going, but it got SO steep that I told Nate we had to stop.
I went down the hill twice. Which was brave of me. As it turns out, I don't like speeding down mountains, I much prefer sipping cocoa and doing puzzles.
We don't do those things, mostly because the boys start complaining three minutes into any walk we take. But we did go sledding.
The sledding hill was a little walk from the lodge. And getting to the top of the hill took a lot of work. Also, we could have kept going, but it got SO steep that I told Nate we had to stop.
I went down the hill twice. Which was brave of me. As it turns out, I don't like speeding down mountains, I much prefer sipping cocoa and doing puzzles.
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| walking to the sledding hill, Cardigan, March 2013 |
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| View from the top of the sledding hill. That dot on the right is Nate . Cardigan, March 2013 |
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| This was a small river we passed. I like how the snow tries to cover it up. Cardigan, March 2013 |
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Movie Queen
There was a time when I could waltz into the Academy Awards (or a room where the Academy Awards were on TV) and have seen every single film. Or almost every single film. Usually the ones nominated for Best Picture, and probably most of the Actor / Actress categories.
Of course, that was back when going to the movies was my go to activity for any given day.
These days, it is not.
Of all the movies talked about or nominated for Academy Awards this year, I have seen two. Three if you count Wreck-It-Ralph.
Actually, this isn't true. I just went back to double check the list, and it looks like I had already seen a couple before making my Must See list, and then I crossed two off the list since I made it. There are still, like, fourteen movies still on there.
Anyway, I've seen four of the nominated films. Including Wreck-It-Ralph. And Brave. It would have been six, but I din't watch Frankenweenie with the boys, or the Band Of Pirates movie, either.
Still, (and on to the point of this post) I was sitting and taling about movies with the boys and I could actually see the day coming when I could take them to see a few of these movies. Sure, they might think they were boring, but did I not sit through Amadeus as a child? Why could't I bring a nine year old to see Lincoln? OK, maybe not. But a few of them. Right? Maybe? In maybe just a couple of years?
Of course, that was back when going to the movies was my go to activity for any given day.
These days, it is not.
Of all the movies talked about or nominated for Academy Awards this year, I have seen two. Three if you count Wreck-It-Ralph.
Actually, this isn't true. I just went back to double check the list, and it looks like I had already seen a couple before making my Must See list, and then I crossed two off the list since I made it. There are still, like, fourteen movies still on there.
Anyway, I've seen four of the nominated films. Including Wreck-It-Ralph. And Brave. It would have been six, but I din't watch Frankenweenie with the boys, or the Band Of Pirates movie, either.
Still, (and on to the point of this post) I was sitting and taling about movies with the boys and I could actually see the day coming when I could take them to see a few of these movies. Sure, they might think they were boring, but did I not sit through Amadeus as a child? Why could't I bring a nine year old to see Lincoln? OK, maybe not. But a few of them. Right? Maybe? In maybe just a couple of years?
Saturday, February 02, 2013
What Day Is It?
Nick has his on waffles with chocolate syrup and lots of strawberries and blueberries. Andy prefers his in a bowl with lots of Cinnamon Life cereal sprinkled on top. I like a scoop of coffee in my coffee.
So many possibilities. It's Ice Cream For Breakfast Day.
I know, it's so odd, but once a year it's a great pick-me-up, and one of my life's missions is to get more people to do this. Spread the word!
Friday, February 01, 2013
Ice Cream For Breakfast
It's February, the longest month of the year.
But tomorrow will be February 2nd.
February 2nd is Groundhog day. Where the groundhog peeps out and if he sees his shadow, we have 6 more weeks of winter.
It's also Imbolc, a pagan holiday celebrating the first signs of spring.
But more important than both of those, it's also Ice Cream For Breakfast day. Really. It's a real thing. Don't believe me? Look at this site. And also this one. And this one.
If I didn't invent this most magical day, I sure and heck am going to help spread the word about it! Ice Cream! For Breakfast! Do it, and spread the word!
But tomorrow will be February 2nd.
February 2nd is Groundhog day. Where the groundhog peeps out and if he sees his shadow, we have 6 more weeks of winter.
It's also Imbolc, a pagan holiday celebrating the first signs of spring.
But more important than both of those, it's also Ice Cream For Breakfast day. Really. It's a real thing. Don't believe me? Look at this site. And also this one. And this one.
If I didn't invent this most magical day, I sure and heck am going to help spread the word about it! Ice Cream! For Breakfast! Do it, and spread the word!
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