And That's Nolan!

Nolan decided tonight that he needed to wear a Pull-Up on his head. He kept it on there for about an hour, running around the house and laughing like he was the funniest guy ever. I figure that with the lack of success that we are having with potty training, he might as well wear it on his head!!

Wish I Had Thought of That...

I really wish that I had been the one to invent Webkinz. Just about every playdate involves logging on to check accounts and see what friends have sent messages or gifts. I don't think I can name one kid that doesn't have a Webkinz--somebody really hit a niche with that idea. Wish I had thought of it first!

Field Trip to the Majestic

On Tuesday, we made a very chilly trek to the Majestic Theater in Dallas for a field trip with Carson's class. We went to see a puppet show with a variety of renditions of Aesop's Fables. The performers did all kinds of puppet shows and explained to the students how they made the puppets and what kind of techniques were used. It was like a show within a show! My favorite was The Fox and the Grapes done in shadow puppetry. Carson said he thought he liked that one best, too. Really, my favorite part was watching the kids as they walked into the Majestic and were overwhelmed by its architecture. They oohed and awed as they made their way to their seats. I remember feeling the same way the first time I walked into that theater.

Choo-Choo!!

We made the annual trip to the Plano Centre today to see the miniature train displays. This is something that Farrel usually takes the kids to do as a special "daddy-kid" day, but at the last minute, I decided to tag along. I'm so glad I did! I don't think that I could have imagined how much the kids enjoyed seeing the displays. Carson wants to start collecting toy trains and setting them up around the house. At this point, I am thinking the only available space for that would be the garage and I don't think I'm agreeing to park my car outside just yet. Laiken said again that she really wanted to grow up and create displays with miniature items as her career. (She repeatedly goes between that and being an astronaut.) I'm not sure what the demand is for "miniature experts," but, of course, we told her that would be a great career. And, Nolan, well, he would have stayed all day if we would have let him. After having to practically drag him out, this is what he looked like as we were trying to leave the parking lot:

A Little Entertainment from Nolan!

Nolan loves to sing so I thought I would share a video of him singing some of his favorites. During the Elmo song, you will notice that he says "Elmo is a dufus." The words, of course, really should be "Elmo loves his goldfish." Carson thought it would be funny if Nolan sang it with the word "dufus." By the time we realized that was what he was saying, Nolan had been convinced that he was singing it correctly. And so is the nature of the relationship between brothers.

Random Thoughts

My friend and I used to collect quotes in high school and write them down in books so that we could reread them when they applied to our lives. We would post them on the walls of our rooms and later, as I began to teach, I would write one on the board every morning just to give my high school students something to ponder while I took attendance and got class rolling. This week, two of my favorites came back to me:

• "Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where a backbone ought to be." -- Clementine Paddleford

and

• "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You, too? I thought I was the only one." -- C.S. Lewis

My best friend, my life-long pal, Kasey, and I were Seinfeld fans before the show was ever popular, when the ratings were so bad that no one could have predicted that it would be the phenomenon it ended up being. I remember sitting on the phone with her in high school while the shows were on and laughing at the episodes, each from our separate rooms and separate houses. We followed each season and have often referred to particular times in our lives as "something that would have happened on Seinfeld"--those kind of weird, surreal moments that are only funny because they just should never happen. One of the episodes that probably everyone has seen is about Festivus, the made-up holiday where everyone gets together and airs their grievances for the past year. Probably everyone should do this at least once if for no other reason than the insight about oneself it can provide.

Happy Day!

It's amazing how when you finally get in the mindset to expect positive, you get it back in so many ways! Today was so great. The weather was perfect. Nolan didn't fuss when I took him to preschool. Carson came home with good news about choosing to go above and beyond on his school work. Laiken played two songs on her recorder and got two brightly colored lanyards for her efforts. Nolan threw his arms around me and said, "Mommy, you my bes frien!" (aww...that one really got me...four months ago, he wouldn't even say "mommy," much less make an entire sentence.) We sold Carson's old bedroom furniture, so now we can officially start redecorating. I got to start my day with a fun breakfast at Cafe Brazil with my friends before we headed off to a great session of Love and Logic. And, I got to end my day laughing with Farrel as the new season of American Idol begins. So blessed!