Surf's Up

April Fool's Day came early this afternoon when big fat snowflakes started falling from the sky. Peter found a way to beat the cold and he asked me to make a movie of him explaining his coping mechanism.



That was all Peter; the only direction I gave him was to tell him to make his bed before I started filming. He also made a colorful umbrella to keep the imaginary sun from burning his pale skin. It fell down right before we made the movie, so it didn't make it on screen.

Like he said in his promotional video, the better your imagination, the better the beach experience, though it appears he might be more of a method actor than I previously thought. At one point he hopped in the shower so his hair could be wet. I guess the powers of imagination can only take you so far.

 If anyone needs Peter, he'll be in his beach room, sipping his umbrella water, and enjoying the gentle sound of imaginary waves crashing in his brain.

Something Fishy

Phoebe has a longstanding hatred for tuna. At the mere suggestion of tuna sandwiches she begins to moan and wail and vehemently refuse to eat anything containing the despised fish. It doesn't matter if we dress it up with celery and hard-boiled eggs or mustard and pickles. She doesn't care if we serve it on homemade bread, crackers, or pitas. She hates the stuff.

I made a half-batch of bread today and decided that tuna salad would compliment it nicely. I spent nap time chopping celery and boiling eggs. Phoebe, curious about my preparations, asked what we were having for dinner. "Tuna," I replied, somewhat apprehensively.

"No!" she wailed, "I haaaaate tuna!"

As we were setting the table and gathering last minute additions for the meal (pickles for Cooper and Sophie, carrots for everyone), I had the thought to grab the sliced cheddar I had splurged on and offer to serve dinner in tuna melt form. The kids were all interested in this new-fangled way of eating.

Peter, who loves regular tuna, did not care for the tuna melt.

Cooper just sort of picked at his food, but that may have had more to do with all the celery and soynut butter he ate before dinner.

And Phoebe? She loved it. She kept making happy sounds as she picked up her sandwich to take a bite.

Hooray for inspiration.

And for cheese.

Quick, Before She Sees the Camera!

The Seventh

Cooper is now seven years old! In keeping with tradition, he picked out breakfast and dinner for the day. He chose Pop Tarts for breakfast and IHOP for dinner. In other words, I had very few of my normal birthday responsibilities. I made up for it by whipping up a spectacular chocolate cake from scratch. He also took Oreos to school to share with his classmates, which added to the awesomeness of the day.


Pop Tarts! 

Hooray for birthdays! And brothers! Also, red appears to be the official color of Cooper's seventh birthday.

After dinner at IHOP, we came home and the kids got out of their syrup-coated clothing and into pajamas. Cooper opened presents and thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention. And he really milked his birthday. For at least a week afterward he used being "the birthday boy" as a reason to get more treats and have more fun stuff than his siblings.

All of the packaging in this picture was for one gift, thanks to Peter and his sense of humor.

I totally forgot he had Superman pajamas when I bought this shirt. I only remembered that he already had a Batman shirt, so I figured I'd add a superhero to the t-shirt lineup that wasn't quite so dark and brooding.

Cooper has the honor of sharing his birth month with Dr. Seuss. That means that he gets at least one Dr. Seuss book every year for his birthday since almost the whole Seuss collection goes on sale at the beginning of March.

Thanks Nana Cris and Grandpa Marc for the awesome Snap Circuits. Both boys gasped when Cooper opened them. All three boys have enjoyed playing with them.

It wouldn't be a proper birthday at our house without Legos. These have been keeping him busy.

Here's that cake.

Happy birthday Cooper! And now, Cooper's list of favorites at age seven:

FAVORITE FOOD: cheese pizza

FAVORITE ANIMAL: cheetah

FAVORITE CANDY: chocolate

FAVORITE BOOK: I like fairy tale stories

FAVORITE COLOR: I like bluish-greenish. What color is that called? Turquoise.

FAVORITE SHOW: Ninjago

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Chronicles of Narnia, all of them.
FAVORITE SONG: I Am a Child of God
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Candyland

FAVORITE CARD GAME: Go Fish
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: The Lord of the Rings Lego video game
FAVORITE THING TO DO: Electronics, like movies and video games and TV shows.
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM BEING 6: Visiting the Statue of Liberty
FAVORITE PLACE: amusement parks
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Gym

FRIENDS: Joe, Max, Dylan, Sophia, Katie, Gavin, Kristian, 

Curious about Cooper's past birthdays? Thanks to the magic of the blog, you can walk down memory lane and visit his first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth birthdays.

Space Cadet

I had a moment of thoughtfulness yesterday which resulted in me staring off into space. Phoebe pointed it out to me.

Phoebe: Mom. Mom! What are you looking at?

Me: Oh, I was just staring off into space.

Phoebe: Oh. (Pause, then in a conversational tone) What does space look like?

With All Your Heart and Soul

The last few weeks have been hard. I feel like I've been running nonstop. Last night Bryan and I went over the calendar for the week and I almost cried. There was just too much to do and too little time in which to do it.

Today I was reading Glimpses Into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley and a quote from the chapter on optimism stood out to me.

Do whatever you have to do this week; do it with all your heart and soul; and do it cheerfully. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling.

I'm still very aware of all that is happening this week, but now I feel strengthened, buoyed up to accomplish what needs to be done and to do so with a happy demeanor. I think this would be considered a tender mercy.

Day at the Museum

On Saturday we finally braved NYC again. This time we rode the subway by ourselves and met our friends at the American Museum of Natural History. We prepared for the adventure by watching Night at the Museum. The kids were really excited to see all the cool stuff from the movie in person. Spoiler: the movie is not the same as the museum. They had fun anyway.

We saw lots of animals. Lots and lots and lots of animals. My favorite was the giant panda, followed closely by the two large tigers. Actually, all of the displays were really beautiful. Phoebe liked any exhibit that included a touch screen.

We brought the stroller, but ended up using it primarily for coat storage. That meant that Bryan and I took turns carrying Sophie the whole time we were there. She didn't mind.

One of the coolest parts of our visit was the Discovery Room. We had forty minutes to explore. There were masks and live animals and cool rocks and shells and bones and bugs. Peter and two of his friends were allowed to go to the exclusive upstairs area (for kids age eight and older, accompanied by an adult) and use microscopes. All of the kids enjoyed our time in that section.

In the same Discovery Room, the boys tried to assemble a dinosaur.

We spent some time with Teddy Roosevelt.

The last thing we did was find this Easter Island head. Other highlights from the movie included the giant blue whale (which was life-size and very cool) and a display about Native American tribes (the closest thing we could find to Sacajawea, Phoebe's favorite part of the movie). Cooper wanted to see the T-Rex, but we didn't make it that far. Next time, Cooper. And since the admission price is pay what you wish (we opted for a much lower fee than the suggested $22/person), I think I would like there to be a next time.

After the museum we played at a fun playground in Central Park.

Diana Ross wasn't actually there, but I did keep my eyes open, just in case any celebrities wandered in.

The best part was getting to spend time with our friends; we've already scheduled our return trip to the city. Hopefully the weather will be a little warmer next time.

Confusion

There is snow on the ground outside. It's new snow. It's snow that has been falling all day. It's snow that prompted an early release from school for the boys. It's snow that has blanketed our previously bare deck.

Today is technically the first day of spring, but I think the new season must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, because we certainly haven't seen it yet.

The Bibley

About a month and a half ago Peter came home from school with a new assignment. He was to choose a poem at least ten lines long, memorize it, and perform it. A few weeks later a rubric was sent home showing what was expected. The instructions said that parents should help.

I was so excited.

Peter was not.

He said repeatedly that it was "so dumb" and complained that he didn't want to do it. I pointed out the fun aspects and checked several books of funny poems out from the library. He ended up picking one by Shel Silverstein (The Bibely, from Don't Bump the Glump) and turned it in for teacher approval a few weeks ago.

On Monday I was looking at the calendar and realized that Peter's poem project was due on Friday. I had no idea if he'd worked on it at all. I asked him about it and he couldn't even remember which poem he'd chosen.

Ack.

After looking through the book, we both remembered the poem. It took another two days for him to actually start working on it. Peter has inherited my knack for memorization, so he committed it to memory in no time. I was busy making dinner yesterday when he came in to show me that he was ready.

The rubric had four different grading options, 4 being the best and 1 being the worst. Peter's first time through the poem was a solid 1, maybe a 2 if I was being generous. And that's what I told him. He told me he was sure it was a 4. I asked him to bring in the rubric and we would compare. After reading the criteria he relented that it wasn't a 4, but it was a strong 2. I told him to keep working on it.

He was willing to memorize it, but scoffed at any performance suggestion I made. I changed tactics and started asking questions: who was his character? who was he talking to? who was the Bibely? why was this poem so important? A few of the questions had an impact, but most slid right off his third-grade shell of self-assurance.

I finally looked at him and said, "Peter, I am a trained drama teacher! I went to college for this! You should listen to what I have to say." My credentials didn't impress him much.

I felt like a tiger mother while I was critiquing his work. At one point I thought, I bet most moms would be saying "good job honey" and other ego boosting phrases. Not me though, I needed to wear my director hat and tell him the poem was "okay, but not great." After working for a while, he did improve. Judging by his last performance yesterday afternoon, I would have given him a 3.

I don't think he's nervous, but I'm anxious for him. At least he has lots of public speaking experience thanks to talks in church and past Primary programs. I hope it goes well tomorrow.

Speaking of Princesses

A few days ago, I left the girls playing happily in the playroom while I went to the bathroom. Rookie mistake, I know. Shortly thereafter I heard Sophie start to yell and complain. When I came out I discovered why she had been so vocal.

Apparently she didn't want a makeover.

But then she investigated the situation

and decided she was okay with it.

She tried to escape at one point.

But she didn't get very far.

Her stylist was committed to her cause.

Upstairs Downstairs

On Sunday night I got a rare eight hours of sleep. I decided to use it well and spent a lot of time yesterday doing chores. Somewhere between scrubbing toilets and hauling baskets of laundry up and down the stairs, Phoebe suggested a game.

Phoebe: Mommy, let's play princesses.

Me: I'd love to Phoebe. You can be the princess that helps clean up.

Phoebe: No, how about I'll be the princess and you be the servant who does all the cleaning. You'll be the maid.

I didn't love that game.

Later that evening I was reminding the kids to tidy their zones before dinner. I walked into the playroom and told Phoebe she needed to start cleaning up. She dramatically threw herself onto an ottoman, sighed loudly, and replied, "No, princesses don't do chores."

The consequence? She was demoted from princess to step-sister until the room was done.

She wasn't pleased.

Over the Rainbow

We had an adventure on Saturday at the Crayola Experience in Pennsylvania.

We saw the world's largest crayon.

We made melted-crayon drip art.

We saw a fun show about how crayons are made.

We took lots of cute pictures.

We named our own crayon colors. Phoebe's was Purple Love, Peter's was Blazer Red, mine was Sunshine Song, Bryan's was Beware the Ides, and Cooper's was Max.

We watched as a machine filled a marker for each of us to take home.

Sophie did lots of strollering.

Phoebe did some dancing.

We drew with glow-in-the-dark markers.

The big kids burned off energy at a gigantic indoor playground.

Sophie wisely used that time to nap and observe.

Then we raced giant plastic crayon boats.

And we commemorated our trip by being turned into coloring pages.

Hooray for family adventures!

The Weather is Warming Up

This is what Cooper did when he got off the bus today. Can you tell that he's excited?

After I took the picture, we skipped to the van. Without our jackets on.

It was awesome.

The Apple and the Tree

We made a happy birthday movie for my nephew this week. We sang to him and sent our loudest and jolliest well wishes. Bryan emailed it off to my brother before I had a chance to see it, which was fine, I was just glad it would arrive before his birthday ended.

Tonight I heard back from my brother. He included a screen shot from our little film. With his permission, I'll quote him:

"If lost

please return to larger version of self."

Well what do you know, I guess she does look a little bit like me.

Bi-Pedal

This afternoon as I was explaining to Peter why he needed to be in timeout (personal space and arguing were involved) Phoebe came running over to me and said, "Sophie was standing and not holding onto anything and then she did this!" And then Phoebe showed me a few very tentative steps.

I looked at her, not quite believing what I was hearing. "Do you mean that Sophie just took her first steps while I was over here disciplining Peter?"

Phoebe yelled out excitedly, "Yes!"

I left Peter to his timeout and grabbed my camera on the way into Sophie's realm, otherwise known as the playroom. I helped her stand up and she took a few steps! I turned my camera on to capture Sophie's next few steps into the future.

I tried again, with slightly better results.

I guess you'll just have to trust me: we now have a toddler.

A Different Kind of Bear

Have you heard that the Cub Scout program is changing? The new program is rolling out at the beginning of June. That means that Peter had a choice: he could either wait until June to start working on his Bear, or he could hurry up and do a year of work in a few months' time. According to our local scout leaders, the new program is much more involved. They've encouraged the boys to do the old program if at all possible.

So Peter is working on his Bear. That means that our whole family is working on his Bear.

I'm starting to understand why the parents gets pins when the scout earns their patch.

For the Grandmas: Dance Baby Edition

Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow

Yesterday was our fifth snow day of the year. We celebrated by doing our normal Saturday chores on Thursday. Yay! Don't worry, it wasn't all drudgery. We also watched movies and read books and played with play-doh and drank hot chocolate. And some of us played in the snow.

Peter was the first one out. It took Cooper and Phoebe another ten minutes to put on all those layers and follow him into the cold. And it was indeed cold. So cold, in fact, that Bryan told them they had ten minutes to play before they needed to come inside.

That seemed to be just enough time. When they came back in they were cold enough that they wanted hot chocolate, but not so cold that their digits were in danger.

Sophie woke up from her nap while the big kids were outside. She was very interested in watching them through the front door, but that's as close as she got to the frozen fun they were having. That's as close as I got too. She and I stayed inside while Bryan bundled up and ventured out for a few minutes.

I do love snow days when we're all together and cozy at home, but I'm ready for the weather to take a turn toward Spring.