1. Roll, run or tumble your way to the stage.
2. If your pants fall down and your bum is hanging out from running down the hill (Jack), pull your pants up! Blue comedy is too easy, you've gotta work for the laugh kid!
5. Hike your way back up the hill while basking in the applause (of your parents).
We went back to the zoo with the whole family yesterday. This time, this bear would not be left out. He was ready for his close up and hamming it up. It was pretty cute.
Jack has started preschool, and I was surprisingly sad that he was my only preschooler this year. Then I remembered that this is the year (age 3-4) when kids remember to draw a torso in their portraits. Isn't that strange? I have no idea why that feels like such a big deal - but right now Jack is still drawing people with arms and legs coming straight out of their head. It's bizarre and adorable. But at some point this year, the light bulb will go off, and he will draw people with torsos. First a torso, then BLINK, he's off to college, then med school... Not yet little man, not yet! For now, I treasure each picture he makes of me, each just a big ol' head with arms and legs coming out of my eyes and ears.
...where we were greeted by this wallaby who immediately gave us this "watch yourself" look. It worked! Jack stayed on the path with his hands to himself. The kangaroos were not nearly as social as the wallabies, they stayed far away from the path.
Some of our other great encounters:
This was their fantastic school bus exit:
10.0!!!!!! Bonus points for the bouncing ruffles!
They both loved their teachers and are excited about the school year. Excellent.
1. The Boredom Busters Jar
I was hooked when I saw the idea on several Mom blogs as a great way to make summer fun and enjoyable for all! Fill a jar with various kid activities so that when the "Mommy, I'm boooooored" comes along, kids can pick an idea from the jar. I'm sure that this works for some Moms. All it did for me was start "Mommy, I'm boooored" at breakfast and make it last all. day. long. All independent thought, all spontaneity, all free play (a.k.a. summer) was gone. They LOVED this stupid jar so much that I was forced to hide it and pretend it never, ever existed.
2. A Playroom
I can't really stress enough: a playroom is a mistake. Don't do it! If you do it, don't make it the room that is on display when you open your front door. Truth be told, there is nothing good about a playroom. It encourages excess and eventually just becomes a land fill. With the first child, it's cute and clean. By the third child, the kids draw straws on who has to venture through the treacherous piles to find Toy X and bring it back out to play with somewhere else. No organization helps: labels, boxes, shelves, book nooks - all just a waste of time. If I could do it over again, I would say: bedroom or trash can, your choice.
3. Orange Swimsuit
I posted about this on facebook, but I'll say it again. Halle Berry can pull of the orange suit. I'm not exactly sure what compelled me to go orange. I'm not tan and I'm not Halle Berry, and I looked like a gigantor candy corn.
4. Gardening
I must remember the following: I have 3 kids, I can't keep a cactus alive, I have a cat that poops and a dog that digs. Enough said.
5. Downstairs Laundry Room
I remember our downstairs laundry room being a selling point for me! I can't even remember why. Yada, yada, yada, three kids, family of five with closets, dressers, beds, bathrooms and linen closet - all upstairs. Kitchen towels - those are the only items that don't go upstairs. I suppose I thought that the time spent sorting, folding, etc. would be best spent downstairs? Let me say that with 3 kids, folded piles of laundry are asking for trouble, clean laundry must get to their destination asap. I need mad Mary Poppins snapping skills!
