One could gather a whole lot of info about R. from his ensemble and late afternoon activities yesterday.
Batman mask. Dinosaur t-shirt. Amoeba Music lapel pin. Intently reading How to Draw Dragons book outdoors. Painted toe-nails in July 4th colors.
I love this kid.
Two kids marched happily off to camp this morning, eager to try out archery, science experiments, hiking, the nature center, the lodge, the pool.... They go 2x/week, which will provide a healthy dose of sanity for all of us. I told B. that yesterday - the first day of summer break - was incredibly long, although not in a bad way ... it just reminds me how many hours there are to fill in a day when children are involved. We did lots of reading, tic-tac-toe, collaborative monster drawing, errands, and - I confess - a DVD and computer time.
I have KCRW streaming, I'm working fast and furiously to squish a normal work-week into a two-day work-week, and I'm getting the evil eye from the new inflatable shark, who's drifting hungrily in the pool. Welcome to summer!
My third grader is thoroughly obsessed with all things Harry Potter. She's on the seventh book, after beginning the series less than two months ago. The way she plows through these 500+ page books -- well, amazing. She eats breakfast with her nose buried in her book, begs for 15 extra minutes at bedtime to read, and lugs these chunks o' literature to school each day in her backpack.
We inquire about the plots, just to ensure she's actually understanding what she's reading, and the long, drawn-out explanations we get prove she's soaking up every teeny-tiny detail. Her first "crush" has also dovetailed with the books -- she loves - in a giggly, fascinated way - the actors that play the characters in the movies and has their mugs plastered all over her room.
My obsession in third grade? <groan...> Shawn Cassidy and his "Doo Run-Run" album. I am grateful that L. appears to have more refined and literary-inclined taste. (although, come to think of it, she does have a bit of a "thing" going for American Idol's David Cook and rooted hard for the rocker to win the show -- we all did!)
L's class put on a banner performance last night for their "spring fling" show. The title was My Fellow Immigrants, and the kids dressed in great costumes and charmed the audience with folk songs from several countries (some in the original languages!), slave spirituals, and Jewish dances, among others. They also told amazing stories of their own ancestors, and we heard about a grandfather who hid in a wagon in Russia to escape the Nazis, families who fled Ireland during the potato famine, and young men and women who came here from Mexico to work in the fields in the middle of the 20th century.
L. got to dress as a pilgrim, since she's a true Anglo-Saxon girl, and we can actually trace roots back to the second ship that arrived in the colonies after the Mayflower. She got to speak about the pilgrims, and she participated as a drummer during a Zulu folk song. What a fun night! More photos here.
As in past years, the sneaky leprechauns found their way into our house again and wow'ed us with their ability to cast a "spell" on Azul and Juniper and outfit them in brand new, bright green collars. The leprechauns also left the kids some green M&Ms, green gum, and Irish tattoos to wear to school, as well as several green shamrock coins, a pot of gold, and - incredibly - two felt shoes that they must have lost as they tried to escape the kids' leprechaun trap under the mail slot. 
The kids donned their all-green outfits and hurried to school, eager to share their story of the magical 
leprechauns.
About a month ago, L. had the brilliant idea of making fleece vests for her Webkinz dogs. I taught her how to sew buttons and helped her cut out some proto-types, and - voila! - a business was born.
She took several to school and had sell-out success with Webkinz-crazy third graders, and then looked to bigger and brighter horizons. We learned in late Februrary that our local children's museum was hosting a "marketplace" this weekend, during which kids could sell their wares, talents, gently used items, etc. So, L. has been sewing her fingers off in the last two weeks in preparation, and today was the big day. She sold her Webkinz vests for $1 each, and her Beanie Babies/Little-Kinz vests for $.50. And in the end, she made $12.50! She was quite the sales-woman, demonstrating to passerby how her buttons worked and offering a "free scarf" with each purchase. Her young customers were in awe of her products. I guess with a crafter mom and a marketer dad, she comes by all of this
quite naturally. (and R. got in on the fun with a booth of his own, selling some of his used books and games).
The gods were truly looking down upon me today, after kinda spitting in my eye yesterday, when L. came down with a violent stomach bug, and B was out of town, and the rain poured from the sky and made the house feel awfully confining.
We went to our favorite thrift store today after picking Mister up from preschool at noon (L stayed home to recuperate). Lo and behold, we unearthed an amazing kids' play tool set, pretty complete, all for $4. It even has a working drill and flashlight -- two things R. has been coveting. We lugged it all home, I sewed him up a toolbelt, and the two of them opened up "R's Lucky Tool Repair Shop." It amused them all afternoon on yet another dreary, soaked day, and bought me some time to finish up work. More photos here.
.. a heavy dose of candy accents that.
Gingerbread Day was last Saturday. Three hours of rolling, flouring, cutting, sprinkling, nibbling, icing, decorating. L & R did nearly all the week - no joke. I was on hand for overall supervising and handling the oven operations, but my two bakers took over like old pros, and we have 6 dozen amazing cookies in the freezer - waiting for the loads of company we expect this year - to show for it.
I think we'd really like a cut of all sales of Plasma Cars in our area. My kids are zinging-zipping billboards for the riding toys, as numerous people stop us to ask what they are, where they came from, and are they fun?
Incredibly fun, we tell them. Despite ruining shoes (which become the inadvertent brake pads), the cars have been the most enduring toy this year in our house. The sight of L & R flying down the street has prompted several neighbors to run out and get their own, so we now have a small but growing contingent of plasma'ers at the local park.
The kids managed to get me to try out a long, long hill at the park that they adore (sitting behind R, my legs wrapped around him) ... and honestly, it is more fun than any ride at Disneyland. We laugh uproariously each time we zoom down the hill, experiencing, perhaps, what the Luge competitors feel during the Olympics. I am addicted. We make people stop and stare. The kids have grand plans to get Gramma Jane on the back of one over Christmas.
We brought them to Palm Springs for Thanksiving and this is what took place at a park there. The poor kids had to wait patiently while the adults "got their ya-yas out. " The photo of B really kills me - the blurry effect is hilarious. Elliot was nice enough to also let me try his little dirt bike. (thanks to Uncle John and Auntie Amy for sharing their pics!)
This column appeared in the Los Angeles Times this week. I have read it several times since, and it cracks me up every time. Chris Erskine exactly nailed what it is like to live with a little four year old.
I too, have this little person marching around happy overjoyed to discover a long "lost" toy (in his toy box), to learn that he gets an extra muffin, to try out the "big boy" slide at the park, or to tell me about his dinosaur stickers from Brandon or the ice-cube experiments at school. And I, too, use lots of panicked-run-together phrases like WHO-LET-THE-CAT-INTO-THE-HAMSTER-ROOM!?! He does indeed believe that good guys always win (especially in his Superhero Village, shown in these photos. Yes, that's a "zip-line" that slides the bad guys straight into a huge bucket of water, and a hamster cage that doubles as a jail). 
It's true he doesn't have lots of control around here, and his big sister does indeed try to maneuver lots of his play and daily actions. We also have yogurt on the floor, as well as Life Cereal, following breakfasts, and he does indeed wink at - and flirt with - people, especially waitresses, and everyone thinks he is soooooooo cute. But he really is, and his spirit really is T-h-i-s B-i-g, this infectious and collective sense of goodness, of ebullience, of wide-eyed appreciation of "the little things."
