The C-man Awakens

T, C, and I went to see the new Star Wars movie this afternoon.  Several times over the past month, I've tried to get C to watch the original Star Wars movies (as preparatory background, of course), but he was consistently uninterested.  And I doubt he would have asked us to see The Force Awakens; we told him that we were taking him.  As a treat for him, of course. 

So he sat quietly through the ads, the previews, and the beginning of the movie, until...he loudly blurts out "The Millennium Falcon!" at the sight of the classic space craft.  He was on the edge of his seat for a while, making comments, and asking questions now and then.  After the theater and until we got home, it was a constant barrage of questions as he tried to wrap his head around what had happened.  I think I recall subjecting my parents to a similar barrage of questions after screening the original Star Wars.  In that case, I think most of the answers had to wait until I had seen it a few more times so I could explain what a Wookie was to them.  (Yes, Mom, it's all impossible...)  Many of C's questions were on issues that were unaddressed in the movie, though the answers to some were implied and others are likely to be addressed in future episodes.  Other questions involved trying to keep track of the complex lineages of the characters going back to the original movies and connecting them to the current characters. 

On the dry-erase wall in E's room tonight, his drawings had a distinctly Star Wars theme. He started with two very well-drawn light sabres.  Then a battalion of tie-fighters. He had me draw an X-wing fighter and then had the X-wing and tie-fighters shoot at one another.  He then added the BB droid, after drawing sections of the wall for T (nursing), M (gymnastics), E's owl, and a tribute to Harry Potter's quidditch skills.  He gave me the high honor of the "Jedi" section of the wall.

C has two major upcoming projects for school, one on hurricanes, the other is a President's Day assignment.  Each student was assigned a different president.  C got none other than Abraham Lincoln.  T keeps not so subtly hinting to him about who he should ask for help.  Yesterday, when T asked "I wonder who might know something about President Lincoln?", M helpfully chimed in, "Dad's reading a book about him."  C retorted that he's afraid I'll get an answer wrong and he'll get the blame for it.  Come on!  It's not like we're answering questions on Millard Fillmore!  Now that he's inspired by movies, maybe I can get him to watch Spielberg's Lincoln movie.  Or failing that, 6 Star Wars movies (ok, let's settle for the original trilogy.)  In the meantime, may the Force be with you.  Always.

Rock Salt

C and M both have loose teeth.  Both have adult teeth coming in above or behind the baby tooth.  Their old dentist extracted the baby teeth.  Their new dentist is letting the teeth come out naturally.  C and I went to the CLT Hornet's basketball game tonight.  C said he couldn't chew his burger because it was pushing his tooth back.  I told him that meant his tooth was ready to come out and that Mommy or I could pull it out for him.  NO WAY!  So he moved on to fries and a soft pretzel which were easier to chew than the burger.  About 15 minutes later, he blurts out:  "Where's my tooth?  Do you have it?"  Why would I have your tooth?  "It must have fell out and I don't know where it is!" Panicked searching of his cloths and seat.  And then--he remembers.  He reaches down into the food tray next to the pretzel and picks up a tooth.  "I was chewing the pretzel and felt something hard.  I thought it was a piece of salt so I put it in the tray."  Some chunk of rock salt!  Losing his tooth apparently made him queasy as he didn't feel well the rest of the night and we headed for home before the end of the third quarter.

E's birthday is tomorrow and she's very excited about it.  She's having her party at the Painted Piggy Spa.  The girls (don't let out the secret) get their Piggies painted.  She's also excited about going to walk around the Speedway tomorrow night to see the Xmas lights.  I'm guessing her sister and brother will be less excited after walking the first 100 yards feet.

3 weeks ago were parent/teacher conferences.  M's homeroom teacher said she was doing great in her studies and was well behaved in class. M's Spanish teacher told me that I needed to talk to M because she was refusing to do the tests, repeating to the teacher after each question, "I can't understand what you are saying."  I told the teacher I would talk to her but doubted it would do much good because M decides what she wants to do and when she wants to do it.  The teacher gave me a dirty look to express her displeasure at my lack of cooperation.  Then M's homeroom teacher chimed in to admit that she had given up on trying to get M to move on the next activity at the same time as everyone else.  M just joins them when she is ready to (which is ok with the teacher because she does it quietly and doesn't disturb the others.)  At some point, she will have teachers who are not so accommodating.  When we told M that we could put her in a regular 1st grade class if she didn't like Spanish, but doing so would also require her to leave Ms. Beck's class (who she loves), we were denounced as mean and attempting to commit heresy.  So she stays for now.

Also just before Halloween, in fact, precisely one week before, I got a big pumpkin.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning and the kids wanted to carve it immediately.  Why not?  They got out a pattern.  I had refused to do those patterns in previous years because they looked really intricate.  Well, why not?  M and E helped get the goop out of the inside and taped the pattern on the outside.  Then I used the little carving elements that came with the kit and it actually came out very well.  The moon with the Grim Reaper's silhouette.  I put it in the garage to keep it in the cool and dark for the week.  Nice try.  By Tues, there was fuzzy mold around the top opening of the pumpkin; by Wed, there was about a half inch of mold around every opening and all around the inside; by Thurs, the pumpkin had collapsed.  I had to use a shovel to scoop it up and take it to the trash bin.  Lesson learned for next year--it's too warm in Oct for a carved pumpkin to last a week.  Carve it at the last minute.  This year's costumes:  C was a hammerhead creature from Pirates of the Caribbean, M was Evie (with Mel's wig!) from Disney's Descendents, and E was Jessie from Toy Story but also carried Toto in Dorothy's basket.  It was a create your own pop-culture mash costume for us this Halloween.  Enough candy to last until the next pumpkin carving!

Kingpin

Kingpin Colin is crowned due to his skill and fortitude at pin trading in the Magic Kingdom and environs.  His legion of traders (consisting of his sisters and cousins) confronted hapless cast members every 5 feet (approximately) throughout the 4 realms of Disney and forced them forthwith to produce their treasures.  Fortunately, the crystal ball app informed the legion of the value of various treasures so as to maximize their bounty.  Observers (other than me, who knows better than to voice such things...but can write them in a blog anyway) characterized T as "egging on" and "leading" the legion's frenzied assault on cast members.  Therefore, she is henceforth the Queenpin.  Much enjoyment was had by all (except those who were anxious to stand in line to see shows or ride rides or do something other than watching the legions examine pins).

The first realm of conquest was the Animal Kingdom.  The safari ride again was a highlight.  On this trip, we had an extended tour due to a giraffe in the path which blocked our van's exit from one section.  So we got extra minutes to observe.  Nearby we saw several jr elephants.  We all enjoyed the Kali River Rapids.  M and E got to go too and had great fun getting splashed soaking wet by a big wave that came over our heads.  This afternoon, and most others, we returned to Shades of Green in mid-afternoon to cool off in the pool.  Dinner was at Planet Hollywood and the highlight was the "Let It Go" sing-along.  (Here's hoping the video attaches and plays!)  Who says we're past that kid's stuff?

Realm two was the Magic Kingdom itself.  M and E started the day having their hair and make-up done at the Bibbitie-Bobbitie Boutique in Cinderella's castle.  They wore their new Disney outfits for the occasion (what self-respecting pre-schooler would get a facial without new clothes to match?!).  They spent the rest of the day with T visiting princesses, including a 2 1/2 hr wait to see Elsa and Anna.  "Totally worth it" according to Miss E, who literally hopped the last few feet for her pictures due to her excitement.  The girls quickly filled up their autograph books and had to get second ones.  (I was impressed that characters with big furry hands and paws could hold pens, let alone sign a book.)  The older crew used their fast passes to make quick work of the more popular rides, including Space Mountain and the new Seven Dwarf's Mine Train ride.  What a stroke of inspiration to combine a rousing rendition of "Hi-Ho" and a roller coaster ride!  (A related aside:  my favorite tee shirt slogan was:  "I conquered 'It's a Small World!')  We had lunch at the Crystal Palace with the Winnie the Pooh characters.  C and A enjoyed several laps at the car track. Dumbo proved to be longer than a 15 minute wait as someone had to go potty once the legion neared the front of the line...

Realm three was Epcot.  "Soarin'" was a highlight of the day as we got to fly over a variety of gorgeous California scenes.  M especially enjoyed the fragrance of oranges as we wafted over the groves.  Nice touch.  The older kids enjoyed racin' at Chevy's Test Track.  We enjoyed lunch with the Princesses at Norway.  We were visited by Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, and Ariel.  A big thunderstorm (fortunately our only weather event of the week) kept up holed up in Norway for a while and caused us to miss a visit to Mulan in China, much to M's disappointment.  We hoped the weather might have cleared out some of the crowds at the Magic Kingdom and opened up some popular rides that we missed the previous day so we went there in the late afternoon.  No such luck.  But we stuck around for M to look for her souvenir, ride the Mad Tea Cups (again), and the new Ariel ride.

Saturday and Sunday were pool days for most of us.  T and C went to Universal to indulge T's desire for "butterbeer."  Universal savvily put Hogwarts and Diagon Ally in two separate parks to double its collection from indulgent Potter fans.  Wands chose C and T at Olivander's.  C's wand can do "dangerous things in the wrong hands and great things in the right hands."  So he has been warned not to let Voldemort borrow his wand on the playground.  C enjoyed the Transformers, Minions, Shrek rides, and the Hogwarts Express, and visit with his idols, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy.  We ate dinner at the Polynesian resort.  We had a family-style meal of fire-roasted chicken, shrimp, and beef with chocolate cup cakes and bread pudding for dessert.  E managed to fall asleep in the stroller on the walk over and missed the whole event!  Sunday's highlight was lunch at T-Rex, a dino-themed restaurant at Downtown Disney.  We ate in the ice cave room.  Every 15 minutes or so all the dinosaurs would roar and move around and the ice would change colors.  Awesome ambiance for elementary school boys (just save your conversations for the rest of your time together...)

The final realm of conquest was Hollywood Disney.  We enjoyed the Star Tours ride, Toy Story Midway Mania, and the Frozen sing-along--complete with snow!  M and E got to meet Doc McStuffins and Princess Sophia.  C got to meet Phineas and Ferb and Lightening McQueen and Mater.  T, J, A, and H also enjoyed the Tower of Terror and the Rock-n-Roller Coaster.  We capped off the week with the Fantasmic Water show featuring many of the Disney characters.

C, M, and E had a great time with Oma and Opa, Aunt J and their cousins (and of course, all their Disney friends and princesses).  Given the long, hot days, miles of walking, long waits in line, everyone was extremely well-behaved.  E and M cooperated surprisingly well sharing time in the stroller.  M of course consistently objected to the long walks (which hurt her legs!), but took them at her usual leisurely pace and, with Oma and mommy's help, managed to survive. The consensus of the legion was that they are all ready to do it again next year.  After all, there will be a new line of pins to trade!
  

And then there was none

I bought a new 6 person tent and an air matress last fall.  I'd been promising the kids we could use it once school was out.  So the weekend after school, we set it up.  Everybody helped--some more than others.  Then we brought out the old air matresses, sleeping bags, pillows, dolls, and more dolls.  We got ready for bed.  I planned to stay with them in the tent for 15 min or so, then stay outside the tent for 15 min or so, then come back to sleep with them at bed time.

I expected the girls to leave and C to stick around since he had camped in a tent and liked it.  M kept complaining that she was hot--and it was hot--so she went inside to sleep in the air conditioning. And then there were two.  M and E often want to sleep with C in his "forts" but it rarely works since the girls are restless and C likes to go to sleep immediately.  Again tonight, M and E's chattering and moving quickly convinced him that he wouldn't be able to sleep soon and he was out.  And then there was one.  I was outside the tent when I saw a bulge in the mesh on the side of the tent and E's head appeared.  Soon the zipper was moving around the door of the tent...and then there were none.  As E and I went upstairs, we found C sleeping on the floor at the very top of the stairs.

We tried again the next night (Sat).  This time I decided to go to bed early so I could stay with them in the tent the whole time.  Fortunately, it wasn't quite as hot as the previous night.  Again, C bailed quickly after M and E didn't settle down immediately.  I moved M on one side of me and E on the other to minimize their ability to pester each other. Then E had to go potty.  As we went inside, the sheet C had taken with him was laying by the door. I pushed it out of the way with my foot, only to discover that C was under it!  He had laid down on the floor and fallen asleep right inside the back door. I moved him out of the way of the door and E and I went back to the tent.  They eventually feel asleep and the temp cooled down quickly.  They both slept all through the night in the tent and came inside on their own in the morning. 

All I Want For Christmas is a Robot Dinosaur

Story in the "Recorded for Posterity" File.  Throughout last year C, had a long and frequently changing list of Xmas requests which he recorded about once a month on scraps of paper.  Then in early Dec., he saw a robot dinosaur which immediately went to the top of the list--and stayed there through Xmas.  And he reminded us about its status regularly.

When the prize was not under the tree on Xmas morning at Oma and Opa's house, we reassured him that Santa always left large gifts back in NC and that the dinosaur might be waiting there.  Nevertheless, we were informed of his displeasure several times in the intervening week.  We returned to NC and Santa had indeed come through and delivered desirable dinosaur to our domicile.  Thank you Santa!  The next day, I untangled the 57 wires and strings used to harness the dinosaur to its box (after all, no one wants a dinosaur breaking loose and rampaging through the Concord Target!), put in about a dozen batteries, tested it, waited for C to return home from playing with his friends down the street. 

C returned, took the remote, got the dinosaur to respond to his commands, and called M and E.  M wasn't impressed or frightened and wandered off, secure in the knowledge that she could still create more mayhem than the dinosaur.  E was very excited and thought it would make a wonderful pet.  She wanted to pat its head and give it hugs, but it kept dodging away from her.  Which she thought was funny.  C got frustrated and turned it off.  I asked him what was wrong.  "It won't bite my sisters."  It hasn't been turned on since.  Come to think of it, I'm not sure what other uses there would be for a robot dinosaur, but I admit I hadn't thought of that purpose before Xmas.  I guess it's been too long since I've been a 9 year old boy.

So, let's all reflect on the moral of the story:  "Be careful what you wish for because it won't bite your sisters!"  ...Or is it:  "There's always next Christmas..."

Follow the Bouncing Ball

Was C's winning plan for the science fair.  He chose to test the hypothesis that the higher the place from which a ball is dropped, the higher it will bounce.  We looked up some info on the internet that explained that a ball gains energy from gravity as it falls, so balls that fall a greater distance have more energy to bounce back.  But they never bounce back as high as the point from which they were dropped because they lose energy when they hit the ground.

While at Oma and Opa's house at Xmas, we dropped a ball from three heights and measured the bounce.  C recorded the observations and averaged the measurements from the three trials at each height.  Once we returned home, C and T made a very colorful and clear display board.  C worked on answering questions he might get from the judges.  C took it to school on the first day back from break.

Then he never told us that he had won recognition for his project.  We saw his name listed in the weekly newsletter from the school last night and had to ask him about it this morning!  Today he brought home a certificate.  He gets to go on to the Regional Science fair to be held at UNC Charlotte in early Feb.

Good job, Colin!

How to Get a Girlfriend

M brought a book home with said title for her reading today.  How kindergarten reading material has improved since Dick and Jane!  The book is actually written and illustrated by 3 elementary school boys, so it is a real hoot.  It's full of all kinds of useful advice such as reminding boys of the need to brush their teeth, shower, and go to the potty before playing with the girl.  And resisting picking one's nose during wooing.  C grabbed the book immediately and read it to us--by far the most enthusiastic he has been about reading anything...ever.    He took the above suggestions in stride but was offended by the recommendation to "do a writing workshop so you can write her a letter of love."  It was unclear whether the offensive part was taking a writing workshop or writing a love letter.  But then came the page with the drawing of a boy and girl...kissing!  C denounced such a scene immediately and loudly in his 4th grade for-public-consumption outrage, declaring the idea to be DISGUSTING.  It was so bad, in fact, and it was so critical that we heard it, that it was worth repeating (loudly) three more time.  And then the clincher, C proclaims:  "I have a girlfriend too, but she hates me."  I'll have to check with T on how you would rate that relationship status on Facebook--probably "it's complicated."  Well, all of this is going to be DISGUSTING for a few more years and then it will remain complicated for a good while longer.  So in the meantime, I'll abide in the good advice of those precocious kids and continue to brush my teeth, shower, and go to the potty just to impress T.

Frozen on Ice

That would be the ice skating version of the movie Frozen for those who look askance a repetitive titles.  Disney on Ice has developed yet another way to cash in on the Frozen phenomenon--complete with $15 snow cones!  (In commemorative cups, of course.)  T got tickets for us to go in Greensboro.  We all had a great time.  E danced along most of the show.  M stood and watched (except when the snow cone was more compelling) the whole show.  And there is something endearing about thousands of kids (and a few parents too) singing "Let It Go" at the top of their lungs to accompany the choreography.  The next day M asked 4 times if we could see it again.  When I offered to let her watch the movie instead, she replied, "I don't like the movie anymore, I only like the ice skating." 

And speaking of Frozen, we enjoyed Thanksgiving in PA with snow!  The kids got to go sledding on Wed and Fri; C and Opa made snowmen.  Opa's was oddly tilted.  His friends would probably say it was tilting to the left, I think it had osteoperosis.  At one point, Oma noted that Opa probably hadn't washed his hands because "he thinks he's allergic to water."  M responded skeptically, "Mommy's allergic to everything and even she's not allergic to water."  Can't slip one past her!
 
There have been several recent discussions at the dinner table of several fourth graders and one kindergartner who are Santa skeptics.  At one of the discussions, C called for a vote and delivered a unanimous pro-Santa landslide.  C and M agreed that their skeptical classmates were at great risk of not getting Xmas presents.  Definitely not a risk worth taking.  And I've heard it's even worse--if you don't believe in Santa, you have to buy presents for everyone else.  Bummer!

We put the Xmas tree up on Thursday evening.  C wanted to do it every night of the week but then didn't want to help on Thurs.  Of course, once we finally got him to put up of some of "his" ornaments, he had a good time.  M and E had a blast hanging ornaments.  E had earlier helped me put up the stockings and window ornaments.  She's been asking me to pick her up so she can see the ornaments higher on the tree.  And gives me instructions on when and where I should move so she can see the next section of the tree.  She tells me whose ornament each one is and if she doesn't like where it is, who put it in the offending spot.  So beware of our crew at Xmas--not only is Santa watching you, but so his little enforcer.  

The Pizza Quota

School is off to a grand ole start for everyone except Dad--who is on research leave this semester.  T loves it so much she is doing double time--teaching at Wingate and starting doctoral classes at UNC Greensboro.

M had her first day of Kindergarten.  Everything went fine.  She was excited to ride the bus in the morning and C gave her tips and offered to sit with her.  She's in a new Spanish immersion program called "splash"  in which the class is in Spanish one day and English the next.  She seems to like doing Spanish and shares her new words and songs with us each day.  She is very proud of getting green character "letters" above the line every day.  She explains that yellow is "danger" and red is for bad behavior and that she wants green letters.  She expresses shock that there have been a few kids who have earned red letters and she doesn't understand why they don't try harder to make better choices.  Ms. N at Kids Plus has shared her pleasant surprise at how well M is doing in afterschool. (Ms. N got to know M well over the past few years as M would inevitably make a dramatic entrance when we arrived to pick up C.) In her words, "M hasn't beaten up her brother yet!"  M has two good friends from class who join her in afterschool and she enjoys playing with them.  M bought lunch at school for the first time last Friday because it was pizza day.  After school, she complained that they only gave her one piece of pizza and still wouldn't give her another after she asked for more.  It's right out of a Dickens' novel!  I failed to warn her about the no seconds rules for school lunches.

C seems to be enjoying 4th grade so far.  He gets to his homework every day when he arrives home and hasn't fussed about having to do reading.  So far.  He's playing on a soccer team this fall and is having a good time.  He was invited to join the choir which practices after school on Mondays and seems very excited about that.  T took it as an opportunity to sing scales with him.

E told me in the car the other day, "I like going to preschool!" She's proud of having an Elsa and Anna backpack and lunchbox to take to preschool.  Just like Mena's.  Because packing two backpacks and lunchboxes that look exactly the same and getting them to the right person in the morning isn't confusing or anything...  At least they match their Elsa and Anna dolls, shirts, dresses, pajamas, socks, shoes, coats, (how did they miss pants?), Halloween costumes, plates, cups, silverware, place mats, sheets, pillow covers, blankets, bed spreads, and beach towels.  They can't wait for Xmas when there will be even more Frozen merchandise. In more important news, in the past month, E FINALLY has been using the potty consistently and using her big girl panties day and night.

They'll miss the pool as we spent a lot of time there again this summer.  The all made major progress in swimming.  C has no problem in the deep end, swimming around with his friends.  M and E love to swim underwater and to swim from the ladder to Dad standing about 10 yards away.  We won't need to be in the shallow section very much next summer.

The Cherokee Pincer of Wet

C and I had a camping weekend in Cherokee with Pack 24.  We got wet.  It rained on Friday and Saturday morning.  It has rained on all of our camping trips with Pack 24 and the tent had worked in the rain on previous outings.  This time I put a towel on the floor by the door because there was already some water on the floor when C went to bed at 9:30.  By the time I went to bed @ 10:15, the towel was already soaked.  There's a bad sign!  Our pillows and the bottoms of our sleeping bags got increasingly wet as they would touch the tent walls and wick the water through.  So we got caught in a pincer of wet.  By morning, our sleeping bags were soaked, our jammies were mostly wet, and there was a puddle of water on the tent floor.  But other than that we were dry!  Fortunately, I had left the backpack with the packed clothing in the car so our clothes would be dry regardless of the condition of the tent.

We helped make breakfast.  The plan was to go to the Indian Village but given the weather, we went to the Cherokee Museum instead.  We had packed lunch and went to a park pavilion in Cherokee to eat.  The pavilion was on an island in the middle of the river and the high river provided something to watch (in addition to the rain).  By the end of lunch, the rain had stopped, so we tried the Indian Village.  It was closed due to a walkway partially washing out.  Onward to the Visitors Center of Smokey Mtn National Park, where we heard a Ranger's presentation on the local aquatic indicator species and then toured the farm museum.  That evening we went to a bonfire where the Cherokee told some of their stories and did a dance.  Given the state of our sleeping bags, camping was out of the question so C and I found a 1950s drive-in motel, complete with brilliantly white wicker furniture and ill-fitting mini-golf style carpet.  But it was clean, the bed was comfortable, and the shower had hot water.  So it was a weekend of finding plan B, going with the flow, and it all working out.

Though the life jacket in the picture below fits with this weekend's activities, it is actually from Pack 24's canoe trip on the Catawba River in May.  We actually had sunny, hot weather for that trip!

Last night, part of the beam of M's bed (an antique from Aunt Helen and Uncle Elmer) split, dropping the right side of the mattress to the floor.  C was sleeping in the bed when it broke (still scared from the ghost stories at the Cherokee bonfire so he was staying with his sisters) but he slept through it!  T reported that M and E had been jumping on the bed earlier in the day which apparently weakened it to its perilous condition.  I had always used the "I broke my collar bone" story as the sage (but inevitably ignored) warning about jumping on the bed, but here's a new one for the catalog of warnings:  don't jump on the bed because you might break it.  The beam split pretty cleanly and the along the whole length of the beam so it may be fixable.  For now, M's mattress rests on the floor.  We'll see if that gets her to fall asleep any faster.  Nothing else has....