3.30.2012

Ready to race


It's Indy race weekend here in Birmingham. Chris and I both noticed some activity near our house Wednesday so even though it was past bedtime, Chris and Will jumped in the car to check it out. The team turned out to be quite friendly and let Will sit in the car. Not a car used just for appearances, but the actual race car that will be on the Barber track Sunday. How freakin' cool! 

"What a piece of junk!"

(I'm way behind on the posting, please allow me to catch up.)


We scored big (BIG!) at this year's AUMC PDO yard sale. Held the first weekend in March, the sale is the school's big fundraiser. We, the parents, spend all week sorting, pricing, talking and keeping an eye out for the things we want. It's a lot of work but for a great cause — our kids! Given that I've been helping since Will attended, this was at least my fifth year, maybe even sixth, to participate.

I came home with some nice goodies — a green purse, a huge square basket, odds and ends for the kitchen. But the find of the day went to Will — the Millennium Falcon Lego set #4504. It's rare. It's retired. At 985 pieces, it's the biggest lego set we've ever bought. Priced at $10, I doubled it because I knew what a steal it was and hey, all the money is for the kids.

Here's the best part — the box was open but all the pieces were there! Even the minifigs! Double wow! It took forever to build (mostly because we had to work when Joseph was not around) and is a little fragile so not really for play, but so, so cool.

*Psst ... headline comes from the movie. Not a comment on the set.

3.22.2012

Good day at the thrift store

Woo-hoo! Got some good stuff today at the thrift store. At least, my boys consider it good stuff. I'm just glad to only pay 69 cents each for Star Wars weaponry. Now, we have a green light saber to battle with the blue one we have (My tip for sane play dates — have two of everything!). And the gun, well, that might be the first one I've ever bought him.


I think some folks think we're anti-gun. Maybe because when Will was little, we didn't buy him guns. Not that that mattered. Little boys will make anything to a weapon (sticks, legos, Barbies) so I worked on these rules — we don't shoot at people or animals. Will is older now and at the age that running around the yard with buddies shooting each other is their favorite activity. Now my guidelines are yes, you can run around the yard shooting at each other IF all parties agree to the game. And if you get hurt in a light saber/sword fight, tough. We still don't let him randomly shoot at people/cars/animals. It's not polite and could be misunderstood leading to sticky situations. 

I found this discussion thread on the Berkeley Parents Network helpful.


I practically squealed with delight when I found the vintage gem "I am a Kitten" (1970). And then another squeal for the "Best Story Book Ever" (not sure what printing but at least 70s). Me and the boys are huge Scarry fans! Both books were enjoyed at bedtime and will be read again and again. 

Also brought home: a Thomas the Train book for an upcoming birthday, the Dr. Seuss book "Please Try to Remember the First of Octember!", "Amos & Boris" by William Steig, Walt Disney's "Stories from Other Lands" (1965),  and Walt Disney's "Pinocchio" (1968 printing). 

Not bad for $5.01. 

3.13.2012

Keeping a toddler busy

Joseph and I were stuck at the tire shop the other day. They were fixing my flat tire for free so I wasn't too concerned about how long it was taking. But Joseph was growing more and more "concerned" by the minute. I handed him my camera and BAM! he was quite happily distracted. 

Lots and lots of pictures of Baby Bunny.

Most, but not all, look like this.

This one is my favorite.

The traditional foot shot. 

One halfway decent picture of mommy ...

And then right back to Baby Bunny!

3.09.2012

Random Thoughts No. 20

I don't get much computer time these days. Chris is running off with the laptop more now that he has resumed his title of international auto journalist extraordinaire. Check out the work by him and the rest of the awesome folks at Autoblog if you want to know everything and anything about cars.

Now you would think having the computer out of the house would equal a cleaner house. Don't worry, I've found plenty of books to fill the void. I picked up "Shades of Gray" by Jasper Fforde at the library yesterday afternoon. I'll finish it this morning. If you miss Douglas Adams as much as I do and think the Monty Python guys deserve knighthood, you will like his writing style. Much thanks to Hannah for introducing me to Fforde's work by sharing the first Thursday Next book, "The Eyre Affair."

What I need to be re-reading is "The Hunger Games." The movie is almost here! Release date of March 23. I can't wait to see the novel on the big screen! We'll be out of town for a wedding that weekend, but maybe, just maybe, I can sneak off to a movie theater.

We're all about movies lately. Joseph is loving the Disney VHS movie collection given us some years back. Yes, be amazed that we have a working VHS player. We've watched "Peter Pan" and "The Aristocats " over and over and over. That Peter Pan guy is quite the cad. It might surprise you to hear this is a new concept to our house ... Will is a "one view and done" kid. There are a few things he watched over and over but not much. Joseph, on the other hand, can watch something again and again and again ... now, we're trying not to watch TV all day but rainy days and sick days happen.

Movies to recommend? Books you like? What's on your mind these days?

3.06.2012

About time for a haircut




Crazy I know, but this was Joseph's first "official" haircut and the kid's turning 3 in May! Prior to this, our friend/hair dresser extraordinaire Liz (Triple Platinum for local folks) had trimmed the hair out of his eyes once while we were there to get Will's hair cut. I think that was back in September. So yeah, his hair was a wee bit long in the back. It was time to get a big boy look. 

One reason we waited to get a hair cut is due to how much Joseph looks like his daddy. Their baby pictures are almost identical! Chris was diggin' the long hair on his youngest. Even though it's shorter, you can see that Joseph's hair still curls a bit over his left ear ... just like daddy's.

(And it's about time for me to be posting this ... Joseph got his shorter style at the beginning of February!)

Update 4/18/12: Apparently I blocked Joseph's first haircut from my memory. I found it while browsing the site for something else. Liz, though, she remembered; she kept saying she didn't think this was his first cut. Liz, you were right!