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long weekend from school
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Birthday Presents

"I've been wanting this FOR YEARS!" proclaims the newly six-year-old boy as he tears open a package containing some stuff none of us have previously heard of. My heart slows, ears pinned back, brain rapidly searching memory banks for historical information on the sort of damage the subject product might do. A few vague thoughts flash but no concrete facts come to mind.

"No Glue, No Mess!" promises the package (in hot pink type that stands out even against the fun, multi-colored, very wordy, packaging) and I begin to relax. Interested, I read about the different things contained in the kit and smiled at some of the things we might build. Little, of course, is all over with popular information: what the stuff can be shaped into, what it can be molded around, what might be stuck in it. He is vocally planning to subject Glubby to a molding session when I noticed the following, at the bottom of the box:

Caution: Product may stain or adhere to fabrics and other surfaces. Avoid contact with eyes, hair, carpet, upholstery, wall, clothing, and varnished surfaces. To remove: scrape off excess and wash with detergent and hot water, repeat if necessary. Do not pre-treat stain or use chlorine, also dry cleaning will not remove stains.

No Mess!?! There is nothing in our house that is not eyes, hair, carpeted, upholstered, a wall, clothing, or varnished! I will need to make my child play with this stuff while naked, bald, and in a concrete cell! Naked, easy. Bald, no problem. Anyone got a concrete cell I can borrow?

Senior Year Soundrack

I'm taking part in the Senior Year Soundtrack, an effort to ease the boredom of Zube Girl, who's been restricted to bedrest due to a delicate pregnancy. From the challenge:

"There are certain songs that, as soon as I hear them, I’m instantly taken back to a very specific time and place. Driving with the windows down, age 16, never knowing what freedom and independence felt like until I was able to just get my damn self somewhere all own my own, thank you very much. Sitting with friends in a basement or a living room, sipping the beer we’d persuaded someone’s older brother to buy and trading gossip. Riding home in the middle of the night after a post-concert Vic & Bill’s run spent scarfing cheese fries and swapping hair and makeup tips with the drag queens from the club next door.

Somehow, while I was getting ready this morning, five or six of these songs played in a row on my iPod and I started wondering what songs did this same little time travel number on other people. My accidental playlist happened to place me squarely in the middle of my senior year in high school. 1994-95. So from this and a few conversations with Zube Girl sprang forth the idea for “Senior Year Soundtrack.” What are your senior year songs? Are they from high school or college? What are the stories behind them? And most of all…could you be persuaded to share them with the internet?"

So...could I be persuaded to share my senior year soundtrack? Having graduated in the '80s? When music was...well, I'm not sure what music was doing in the 80's. Despite this, I found a playlist I was willing to fess up to:

Aerosmith – Angel
Alphaville – Forever Young
Animotion – Obsession
Barenaked Ladies – The King of Bedside Manor
Billy Joel – This is the Time
Blotto – I Wanna Be a Lifeguard
Cowboy Junkies – Blue Moon Revisited
Cutting Crew – (I Just) Died In Your Arms
Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me
Duran Duran – Wild Boys
Genesis – Horizons
Heart – These Dreams
Howard Jones – Things Can Only Get Better
Kajagoogoo – Too Shy
Led Zepplin – Ozone Baby
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Jennifer She Said
OMD – If You Leave
Queen – You’re My Best Friend
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Me and My Friends
The Cure – Friday I’m In Love
The Style Council – You’re the Best Thing
Thompson Twins – Hold Me Now
U2 - With or Without You

So...what's your playlist?

School Birthday Haiku

three kids in class with

birthdays in February
one celebration

cupcakes, grapes, brownies
Jell-o jigglers, juice boxes
goody bags and games

half-hour frenzy
oh sugar, sugar, sugar!
all the children sing

home again, a call:
how could you bring EGGS to school?!?
without telling me!?!

no eggs in Jell-o
hypo-allergenic snack
and no eggs in juice

ms. egg allergy
we never found out her name
who the heck are you?

some other mother
(how could she!) baked cupcakes with
EGGS (gasp); so sorry

your kid, who's eight now?
knows she can't eat eggs and so...
she ate the Jell-o

Stentorian Soliloquy

Ross, declaring to himself in an empty room: I have a choice; to give up my wife, or give up my duck. I choose.........the duck.

Button Quest

Years ago, Fraukow gave me a long, green Loden wool coat from Austria that she wasn't using anymore. It was missing decorative buttons on the sleeve cuffs and has since lost one button at the bottom of the front placket but I love it and wear it all the time in winter - it's really warm and covers most of me. I don't mind the missing buttons, especially since I doubt anyone except me ever notices, but I've had an eye out over the years for replacements. I don't frequent sewing shops but I look every time I'm in one and I've never seen anything remotely close to the smooth, marbled green domes the coat came with.

At some point over the summer, it occurred to me that I enter and leave Manhattan via Penn Station - located in the heart of the NYC garment district - several times a week. If there are specialty button shops in the city, they're bound to be nearby, so I resolved to find replacement buttons to fix the coat this year. Here's where the fun starts. You can't match a custom button without having one along and I wasn't about to pull another one off so I figured I'd look for a shop the next time I wore the coat to town. But it hasn't been cold enough to require a full-length loden wool coat. It's barely been cold enough to need a coat at all. Then, FINALLY, it was a little cold (it was dark out when I got up but there might have been frost) and I wore the wool coat to town. I was fine at first but by 10:30am, I was cursing the weatherman and by noon I was carrying the coat. Still; had buttons, could match. I found a button shop and went in.

The first guy admired the buttons but said he had nothing close to their color and shape and suggested I try a shop about sixteen blocks away. I thanked him and headed out in the direction of his recommendation, hoping I'd run across a closer shop and, indeed, I did. The woman in shop #2 glared at me - apparently she doesn't like utilitarian buttons. Her stock is all decorative and small and she sent me off with instructions to check the same place as the first guy. By that point, I realized I wouldn't be able to get all the way to the other shop and still make my train, so I abandoned the effort. On my way over to Penn Station, I passed one more button place and stopped in quickly, only to find myself back on the street moments later with yet another instruction to go uptown.

Three strikes, three recommendations for the same competitor. They're either playing with me (like the waste disposal companies at home, which have seven distinct company listings in the phone book but all are answered by the same lady...) or that's the place to go. I stuck a note in my coat pocket with the address and headed home.

Weeks later, it was again cold enough to wear the coat and - even more surprising than the seasonal temperature - I finished early and had a bit of time to try the other shop. I sprinted uptown. Wow. Floor to ceiling buttons! Floor to very high ceiling buttons! Filling the whole shop! TONS of buttons. All colors, all sizes, all shapes! Except, of course, one to match exactly what I was looking for. Still, with so many choices, I had several that were close to choose from. I decided to stick with the color and compromise on the domed shape. I bought enough buttons to make a full replacement but will probably only put the flat ones on for the cuff buttons. I might or might not also stick a flat button at the bottom of the placket; I never button that button anyway, so I don't think it makes much difference.

Place your bets now for how long it will take me to install the new buttons! I got home and noticed the old buttons are not held on with standard thread...it's much thicker (but not as thick as yarn). So, a new quest begins - to find the right thread. Yes, I have realized that when I find the correct thread I should also get a matching needle. And yes, I am very tempted to wait until spring and make this all the problem of the tailor at my dry cleaner!

Happy Birthday Bug!

Eight years ago:

















Seven years ago:






















Six years ago:

Yes...they are watching the Sabres score!





















Five years ago:















Four years ago:






















Three years ago:

















Two years ago:

















One year ago:






















Today!

Pooped?

One of my blogging friends has a wonderful singing voice and I'm always delighted when she posts a song! She sang herself happy birthday last year and I got permission to save her recording and send it to another friend of the same name when her birthday rolled around (I don't sing very well but would sing anyway, so that worked out well for all ears nearby).

OMSH has posted another song and, if you have ever had a child, are thinking of getting one someday, or if you know someone who has one, you should listen.

Chocolate: A Theme for All Days

Getting through a day is ever so much nicer if you have an assortment of chocolate to sustain you. I am incredibly lucky right now to have been surprised with an exciting selection by my friends, so that I'm currently prepared with a little something for any occasion. Details below, so you can all be a little envious of my (rapidly disappearing) stash:

Bibliofilly brought Red Velvet Smidgens over when she came to watch the All-Star Game. She hoped it was ok that they are filled with a cherry creme - it's MORE than OK! They were delicious while watching hockey and are now perfect for minor celebrations (I changed the laundry, yay me!), soothing irritation (wedging one into my mouth at the end of a phone call when I might otherwise spout an expletive or three), or a quick pick-me-up (What? It's only 2pm? It feels like midnight already!).

A tin of the new dark chocolate covered peppermint Altoids arrived in the mail from Wisa Wisa. WOW! They are like crunchy Junior Mints...tasty and great for aggravation management - you can crunch your frustrations away (What made you think carving on a book cover would be a good idea? [crunch-crunch]). They also provide a bit of comic relief for those around me because I tend to sneeze a lot when I crunch up Altoids.




Finally, Fraukow (frequent sender of fantastic things), sent my V-day present early because she just couldn't wait and neither could I. Chocolate Tea with Rosebuds might sound a little weird but it is quite wonderful when brewed. The tea is fragrant and mild, with just a hint of chocolate as an afterthought. Perfect for a cold day, which we are suddenly having quite a few of. Also, she got it from Lana's The Little House, so it reminds me of the afternoon we took tea in the fairy-tale house and good memories are always nice to think of!

Bonus Movie from Morning Skate

Grandmoo commented that she couldn't find Lars in either of the movies and it turns out that I didn't upload the clip he was in - oops! So, bonus movie:

Movies from Morning Skate

Two snippits of the morning skate today. In the team drill, the kids are learning explosive starts by lifting their feet over the sticks (rather than starting from a sort of shuffle along the ice). Ross is obvious; Lars is wearing a red jersey with his name and 20 on the back.

Famous Goalie Saves

The entire team was excited this morning to find they have a Real Goalie! Most kids want to skate out, so finding anyone to play in goal (or even to play defence) is a challenge and finding someone who's waited his entire short life to man the crease is unheard of. Several parents were awake enough to marvel at the miniature pads and to chuckle knowingly, figuring that Ross would get on the ice, find himself stranded like a toddler in a snowsuit, and give up the goalie idea ten minutes later.

Getting on the ice is usually a mob affair with all the kids rushing the single-file door in a clump so that nobody can actually fit through the door, so I was amazed when Ross lumbered up and they magically parted to allow their goalie to lead them onto the ice. Goalie leading the line is a hockey tradition but I wasn't expecting it from new Mites at their first practice!


As Ross hit the ice and glided off confidently toward the crease, jaws dropped as people saw how easily he maneuvers in the gear. The team started off with a few passing drills and a goal coach started working with Ross, who can't yet make a solid stick-save but can surprisingly do fantastic kick-saves and puck-dives (he's been imitating NHL Famous Goalie Saves for five years...). After a while, the drills were combined, with the team skating up to a goal attempt on Ross at the end of each turn. All in all, I'd say Ross took about 200 shots today and stopped an impressive number of them. He came off the ice at least as excited (if not more excited) about goaltending than he was to begin with.


After practice, Ross saw a third-grader from his school who plays goal for a travel team. On spotting Ross toting a goalie stick, the boy came over to investigate. Seconds later, Ross whipped out his new goalie helmet. The other boy got all excited - he has THE SAME GOALIE HELMET! As if there would be more than one choice in a product with a total sale potential of 16 pieces, worldwide... He ran to get his so Ross could see the custom paint job - stitches, done with white-out, in the style of Gerry Cheevers. As Ross was admiring the decoration, the other boy asked, "Were you really excited when you got your helmet?"

Eyes shining, Ross smiled and breathed, "Oh, yes!"

"Me, too," the older boy replied with a grin, "Me, too."

4,327 Good Parent Points

It's official - both boys were offered spots on the new Mites club team at the arena! Here's a clip of Lars from this morning's skills session (he's #14 in white):

[AMATEUR VIDEOGRAPHER: TIP HEAD LEFT OR FLIP MONITOR RIGHT]

Ross was tapped to play in goal, something he's been dreaming about since he was three. I thought (hoped?) that maybe he'd out grow it but he hasn't yet and so we went out to get his own set of goalie pads today. There's a kit to borrow at the arena but the stuff is all a little bit bigger than big on Ross and we figure if he's going to play the position, we'd rather he have the right protection. We did a full fitting tonight after dinner, to get all the straps set right and make sure we understood how the whole package goes together. We get SO much time to prepare...first practice is tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 7:30am. We win at least 4,327 Good Parent Points for agreeing to do this!

Here he is in the goaltender chest & arm protector. The thing is ballistic and it seems like he'll barely be able to bend in it yet, miraculously, he seems to bend just fine. The leg pads are actually not the smallest possible size, either, so somewhere in the world there are goalies even smaller! I taped his new goalie stick red, per instruction, for the "heat" in Heaton (the stick brand). Here's Ross in the whole get-up, wearing a practice jersey. Jury is still out on whether he'll be able to get up once he goes down. Place your bets now, then show up at the arena tomorrow morning by 7:35am (current guess about the latest possible time he will choose to try making a Famous Goalie Save) to be present to claim your prize!

I'll leave you now with this serene image of The Goalie At Home; an image that should be cherished because he will be instantly throttled if his goalie gear ever shows up in the living room again!

Field Trip

The second grade classes went on a trip to Duke Farms today, a 2,700 acre estate created by James Buchanen Duke in 1893. It has been preserved by the Doris Duke estate as an environmental model property with eleven greenhouse display gardens that the public may tour. Ross was impressed and excited by the glass houses and talked a lot about the beautiful flowers, statues, and temporaries that he saw inside. Temporaries? Temporaries. You know, when they make the shrub grow around a wire and it gets the shape of a brachiosaurous.

Opening Myself Up For An "I Told You So"

Something my mother often said (that her mother often said...) while I was growing up: "Always wear clean underwear! You never knew when you'll wind up at the hospital and you'd be embarrassed to show up wearing something dirty."

I have generally obeyed this edict except for once, on December 30th, 2000, when I made an exception. The underwear I took out on that day was clean, but had a small hole in the fabric at the front. There was a state-of-emergency snowstorm going on, we still had a houseful of guests leftover from the holidays and I felt like I was getting the flu, so I ignored the hole figuring I'd be stuck in the house and nobody would care. Well! Some of you will already know that I didn't wind up stuck in the house (although we were stuck in the driveway for a while); I wound up showing my holey underwear to half the state in the maternity ward because I wasn't getting the flu - I was in labor. You can bet that I won't be caught out with an extra hole in my underwear again...and I suggest you go give your own a check, too.

Sharkboys and Sunsets

Ross got his first grown-up teeth in the summer of 2005, before I started blogging. The new teeth grew in behind his baby teeth - they were halfway installed before the baby teeth even got loose. We called him "Sharkboy" and took pictures to preserve the weirdness. Who knows? Someday, we might need proof.

Lars recently discovered his own First Loose Tooth! Upon discovery, he called everyone he knew, leaving mystery messages on answering machines around the USA (he's really unintelligible with his finger in his mouth to wiggle a tooth). Chris and I both inspected Lars for signs of extra teeth coming in ahead of schedule but didn't find any. A few days later, though, the wiggle update was dire; the previously loose tooth had firmed right back up and was no longer able to be wiggled! Then, today, we discovered that Lars is also a Sharkboy. The baby tooth is a bit wiggly again, but it probably won't come out before that new tooth is pretty well settled in!

P.S. His black eye is progressing nicely, don't you think? By tomorrow, it should have much nicer green tones and should look even more like a polluted sunset. It doesn't bother Lars a bit, but I think he regrets that it's not a hockey-related bruise.

Nuts: Genetically Predetermined?

My mother adores cashews, particularly roasted salted ones that are only available in snack-size containers costing twice as much as an average family of four would ordinarily spend on milk for a week. She claims to be ecumenical about her cashew consumption when presented with a dish of mixed nuts but I have my doubts about her ratio...I'm pretty sure 1 cashew:1 anyothernut is not exactly evenhanded.

I can't cast stones, though, as my own cashew preference is strongly stated. One teen-aged summer, my best friend and I walked a few miles to an upscale department store and spent the contents of our Pappagallo purses on cashews from the candy-counter to sustain us for the walk home. I don't remember anything else about the shopping - I think it might have taken us so long to get there that we had to turn right around. I enjoy the memory of those cashews much better than any lipgloss we might otherwise have purchased.

So, I was really not surprised when Lars plopped into my lap recently and carefully selected three cashews from my little dish of mixed nuts. He relished the cashews, one by one, then reached in for a few more. As he was choosing his fifth nut, I picked a macadamia and dropped it into his waiting palm beside the cashews. He regarded me warily, as if the macadamia nut might be toxic. "Mama," he said, "I like this kind (indicating a cashew), the curly ones what are fat on this end and skinny over here." I urged him to try the other kind, using my best 'if you don't, you'll find yourself without any more cashews' intonation. Lars wisely popped the macadamia into his mouth without argument. As he chewed, his eyes lit up and he looked a little shocked. "Those are good!" he declared, then proceeded to give each of the other kinds of nut a try. Pecans, macadamias, and almonds won approval. Hazelnuts were determined to be too crunchy and he didn't like the Brazil nuts much at all. I can't say much against that, though, except I was hoping he'd like them so I wouldn't have to feel guilty for not eating them...

Weekend Update

Lars skated just fine on Saturday and, aside from an amusing tendency to look at his own reflection as often as possible and say, "Wow, my eye looks awful!" he seems unaffected by the injury.

My hockey team skated to a win last night, 1-0 and a loss this morning, 1-3. I got the assist today, feeding the puck to my linemate for her first ever goal! Much fun. We've got another game tonight, our annual outdoor contest at a local country club. The weather has been so warm lately that some thought we might not be able to play on the outdoor rink but nature has caught up to the calendar and the forecast tonight predicts it will be 24°...plenty cold to keep ice. The home team always hosts us for beer and pizza in their clubhouse after, which is nice to look forward to if you get cold on the bench. I'm not sure there will be much getting cold tonight, though - it seems like not many of my team can make the game, so those of us who do play will probably be on the ice a lot. Good for keeping warm and I'll surely sleep well tonight after so much skating!

Goalie Kit

Ross got to skate in a goalie kit this week! Chris captured a bit of a movie with his cell phone:



Who'd have thought we'd be carrying video cameras around in our pockets, just in case of a video-worthy moment?