Any relation to Donald?

The other day as we drove past the University of Miami, C saw a picture of Sebastian the Ibis on the side of a shuttle.

C:  What's that?
Me:  That's the mascot of the University of Miami football team.
C:  What are they called?
Me:  The Canes...well, the Hurricanes
C:  Oh, I thought it was the Ducks.

I guess, he does look a bit duck-ish.

Lego Ninjago storage case

I saw these on Pinterest the other day and thought oh, what a good idea!  I can make those for C and J when we go on road/airplane trips!

So I bought two of these at Michael's:

But then I got to thinking that perhaps giving each of them a box would not be a good idea.  Mainly because J would eat the entire box right away.  He's an eater..that one.  So I decided they would share a box.  I saved one box for future travel snack tray purposes and now had an extra box that I didn't feel like going to return.

Worry not.  I put it to good use.  You know all those little Lego Ninjagos that you're always stepping on?  The ones with the sharp little weapons that embed themselves in the soles of your feet?  Yes, those.  They now have a home.

Add some green card stock (use double sided clear tape), glue some Ninjago eyes on it....

TADA!  Ninjago storage or travel case.  Your feet will thank you later.

I've always had a thing for nice teeth

So...after having way too many people tell me that I should watch True Blood.  I finally gave in.  My friend M lent me her DVDs and I've been on a True Blood marathon for as long as I can remember (2-3 episodes per night, I'm on Season 3 right now).  This is dangerous because I have a highly obsessive, addictive personality.  Friends, Romans, Countrymen...do NOT introduce me to new shows...especially shows with excessive amounts of good looking men.  You have been warned.

The other day I saw a cute fellow and thought Hm...I like his teeth...they're nice and pointy.  They almost look fang-ish.

 
As if that weren't enough of a sign that it's time to cut back on the True Blood....

The other night when one of the many hot vampires on the show asks Sookie if she wants him to um...do bad things to her... I totally answered yes for her...out loud.  I mean, look at this... wouldn't you?

...and I don't usually like blondies, but this one's a total dreamboat.

And let's not forget about Sam and Jason...they are totally adorbs.

And theeeeen....just when I think I've got my hands full of hotties and cannot handle any more.... in comes Alcide.

Good Lord.

If there are any more fine men forthcoming in seasons 4 or 5, please give a girl a heads up. I may need an intervention.

Someone is feeling very creative lately

Artist: CR

Title: Cloak Dreams, 2012

Media: Sharpie Markers

Book Worms

I'm big on reading and I read to both of my boys since they were babies. Every night we'd look at books and read together before bedtime. I think that played a big part in why C knew all his letters (and what sounds they made) before he turned two. J knew them by 2 and a half.

As if this weren't enough, C did a commercial for Hooked on Phonics two years ago, so we were given a set of books by the company. C, and now J, have been using them since then. It makes me very proud to see that all this time I've invested in sitting with them and helping them learn has paid off. Here is a video of J reading, back in July (when he used to confuse his b's and d's) at age 3.



As far as C goes, he just started first grade. They gave him a reading test in school the other day and he scored in the 95th percentile nationally. I was told that his IRL (instructional reading level = 80% proficiency) was 2.6 and that he should be picking books that range from 2.4-3.4. In other words he reads at a mid second grade level and should be picking books that are 2nd and 3rd grade books.

I guess that explains why he's almost done reading this book:

 

...and why he picked this book out at the book fair this week.

(we're big on Halloween in my house)

If you ask him though, he claims that he does not like books.  Yesterday, he was doing his homework and he had to cut out pictures of things that he was passionate about:

Me:  What about books?  You're passionate about books.

C:    No, I don't like books.

Me:  Oh really?  Then why did you buy a book at the book fair yesterday.

C:  Cause it's a "book fair" (complete with air finger quotes).

LOL, I love my little book worms...even if they are in denial.

Interpretation of Brito

Artist:  CR 
Title: Sunrise 
Media: Sharpie Markers 
Price: $20

On exhibit this whole week at the FridgeDoor Galleries.

Did someone say donuts?

ClaudiaCon Fun Fact #86: I am easily amused.

I love this clip more than I'd care to admit.

Duh duh duh duh donuts, duh duh duh duh donuts! donuts!

Ah-ah monkey and Bunny

Every year since 2001, I call this my crying day.  My heart aches for all the men, women and children that lost loved ones on this day.  I'm sad that in some way, our innocence was taken away.  The events of 9/11 forever changed the way we travel and the way we feel about what's possible or isn't possible in this world.  I'm so very sorry for anyone that was harshly affected by this day.  My heart goes out to them and think about them on a yearly basis.  I send out hugs and positive wishes that time will heal those wounds and replace it with happy thoughts of your brave loved ones.

Today, I'd like to think of happy things and cry for a different reason (and I'm such a wuss, that I often do, with the slightest provocation), so I'm sharing this story with you.

I saw this article on Facebook today and it caught my attention.  It's about a little boy that lost his beloved Ah-ah toy monkey and was reunited with it 3 years later (go ahead, watch the video, I challenge you not to cry).




It really struck a cord with me because I too lost a beloved toy when I was young.  I can't remember how old I was, but my parents had just bought me a toy bunny and it was from a toy line called Sunburst Pets.  I remember it had a dress and it had a collar and a sun on it's butt.  My parents took me to Chuck E. Cheese one day.  It was a big deal because I had never been, so this was my very first trip.  Apparently, back then, the closest one was kind of far, so we had made a special trip.  I brought bunny with me and played on all the video games and the skee-ball and had the best time.  When it was time to leave, I noticed I didn't have bunny with me anymore.  We looked everywhere.  Asked everyone.  No bunny.  He was lost.  Taken.  And I had the whole long ride home to dwell on how I shouldn't have put bunny down.  I cried and begged and pleaded for my parents to buy me another bunny but they refused. As hard as it was for them, they were teaching me a valuable life lesson.  Be careful with items that you cherish as they are not always replaceable.

Now, this story does not end here.  Like the video, with the advent of eBay, I'm sure that the Ah-ah story is not the first of it's kind.  A few years ago, eBay even ran an ad campaign about a guy who lost his toy boat and found it again years later.  In fact, I even wrote about it 6 years ago in my old blog.  That campaign inspired me to search for bunny.  I searched on eBay time and again, but never found bunny. 

My husband however, did.  He found a similar bunny (also a Sunburst pet, with a collar and a sun on it's butt), purchased it and gave it to me in an Easter basket this year.  I'm not sure that it is the same bunny, but the thoughtfulness of it all touched my heart.  It actually doesn't even matter that it's not the same one because the new old bunny is sitting at home safe and sound, reminding me that I am loved.

Now, whenever my children ask me if they can take a toy anywhere.  I say yes, but the toy stays in the car!

Going off the rails on a crazy train

Stop the train!  I want to get off!

There are too many firsts going on in my house lately and it's making me sad and melancholy and crazy.

First Day of big school for J - My baby is no longer a baby, he's going to big boy school.  Tear.

First time sleeping in a big bed for J - I had to finally take apart J's crib because the poor boy barely fit in there anymore.  I was using the fact that I hadn't sold the crib as an excuse for not taking it apart, but then an opportunity for a free twin bed came along and I couldn't pass it up.  Time to pack up the crib!  Taking that apart = sadness.  No more babies for me.

First big tooth falling out for C - If a gap toothed mouth isn't a sure sign that your baby is growing up, then I don't know what is.

Make it stop!

The Ultimate Thriller

On Saturday night I went with the hubs to see The Ultimate Thriller which is a tribute show for one of my favorite singers, Michael Jackson.  I went, not really knowing what to expect since I'd never really heard of this E'Casanova impersonator (hello, what kind of cave have I been living in?).  I was just hoping to listen to some of my favorites and watch a nice show.

Well...let's just say, the ticket should have a disclaimer on it that says "prepare to have your mind blown" because oh my God. 

The seats were General Admission and I had the wisdom and good fortune of sitting behind the lady with the largest hair ever in the whole place.  As my hubs would say, Good going Claudia. 

The show started and EC came out dressed like Bad era MJ.  He had the hair, he had the face, he had the moves, he had the voice.  It was scary and creepy and amazing all at once.  My brain and my eyes were having a constant battle as I sat there slack-jawed trying to take it all in. 

Eyes:  Oh my god, that's Michael Jackson!
Brain: Um, no it's not.
Eyes: Yes it is!
Brain:  He passed away
Eyes:  But LOOK at him!  He looks JUST like him!
Brain:  Don't be silly, you KNOW it couldn't possibly be him.
Ears:  He sounds a lot like him too.
Brain:  Ears!  You stay out of this.
Eyes:  And he dances just like him!
Brain:  I give up with you two.

Pardon me, I don't usually curse, but the first half of the show was a total and complete mind fuck.  Every other song had me crying because the surrealism of the situation was almost overwhelming.  I had goosebumps on my arms, a lump in my throat and tears on my cheeks.  It felt like I was finally getting the chance to see what it might have been like to see MJ live in concert (albeit with a lot less people and hysteria). 

After a short intermission, the show continued and I moved up to get a better look.  I was able to enjoy the second half of the show better because 1) I could actually see and 2) because the tears and the battle in my brain had subsided (Brain won). 

My favorite songs are Smooth Criminal and Thriller, so clearly I enjoyed those the most.  For Thriller, I was actually sitting with three of my former zombies (from Thrill The World).  I had run into them during  intermission and as luck would have it, they also moved up to get a better look and we all ended up sitting together in the same row...during Thriller.  How fitting is that?  Amazeballs.

Thank you MJ and E'Casanova (pictured below), for a wonderful night that I will not soon forget.  Hats off to you; you are amazingly talented.

(click on the photo for an article on E'Casanova)

Measuring Up

What better thing to do on Labor Day than a little home decorating labor? 

I've always loved the giant ruler from Pottery Barn, but I have not always loved the giant price.  So what's a girl to do when she's got PB Kids taste on a Walmart budget?  Well, make her own that's what!

We bought some plywood at Home Depot, stained it, measured and drew the lines, painted the numbers and added a clear coat to seal it all in.

After all that labor, here is our final product:

Other than the crappy photos, they're pretty cute right?  Go ahead...make your own!

Or if you prefer, I can make one for you.

Almost made it to Labor Day

C lost his front tooth today!

The thing had been wiggly for what seemed like months!  It was hanging on for dear life.  He pulled on it, hubs pulled on it, even I pulled on it (and God knows those things make me squeamish).  The sucker wouldn't budge. 

C was sitting at the table eating pudding and the tooth fell right out.  Pudding?  Pudding?  Really?

Anyway, it almost follows the losing-teeth-on-holidays trend we had going.  He lost his first tooth on Christmas Eve when J kicked him in the mouth.  His second tooth came out on St. Patrick's Day during a brawl in a bar (I kid, I kid, hubs pulled it out...at home).  And now this third tooth, almost made it to Labor Day.

He's got another wiggly in there (the other top tooth).  I'm thinking it's getting ready for a Halloween departure.

Fresh start

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the darkness that was my old blog, so here's my shiny new blog.  Yes, I know I could totally just do some rearranging of the old one, change a title here, change the background color there, move this over here and that over there, BUT that takes time and patience and energy and know-how.  Look at how many times I've posted this year...does it look very probable that I'll do any of what I mentioned above?   
Yeah, I didn't think so either, so voila new blog, clean slate, fresh start.  Bam!