Lady M

Non Chemically PJs

2012-01-25T16:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a real bear trying to find non-chemical treated pajamas for the boys. These days, almost all children's pajamas are have flame retardant properties. I agree that I don't want anyone to catch on fire, but what are the long term side effects of wearing those chemicals next to growing children's skin for 11-12 hours a day? The alternative is very tight fitting sleepwear, where

MicroSherpa

2012-01-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

The boys got me this super-soft blanket for Christmas, to keep me/us warm when we watch videos together. If you click on the picture, you can get a close-up of the label. It's a reversible "microsherpa to micromink" blanket. I'm just imagining little tiny minks running around, waiting for their haircuts to contribute to the micromink side of the blanket.

A New Meaning to the Back of the Bus

2012-01-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

When I was getting off the plane yesterday, the flight attendants announced that there were two exits, one in the front and one in the rear, so it would got faster to leave by the nearest exit. That's a frequent occurrence for commuter flights in California, so I didn't think anything of it, when I headed out the back.What I didn't realize was that when you leave from the front, you get to go

Toto, We're Not in California Anymore

2012-01-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow: Sunrise at 8:51amSunset at 4:07pmHigh of 23 degrees FIn San Francisco, street vendors make a killing selling sweatshirts to tourists who think that all of California is warm and therefore wear short sleeves into the city, not knowing that it's chilly there almost all year around. Well, I've found the equivalent today when I landed in this Scandinavian capitol. Hats. Before I left,

Snuggle-puss

2012-01-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

Mommy, can we snuggle with our octopuses on the soft carpet? Yes, baby, yes we can.

Racism is Stupid

2012-01-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Love this. I can't confirm the original source (9gag.com, perhaps?), but will update to with credits if otherwise!

Telling Time

2012-01-17T23:59:00.000-08:00

We haven't worked on telling time on analog clocks in a while, but I'm guessing that the little dude could use some practice. Maybe not on this Lego watch that he built for himself though.

MiLKshakes

2012-01-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

The little dude was able to convince us there was a correlation between milkshakes and Martin Luther King Jr Day.

Brooms for Everyone!

2012-01-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

I finished sewing a Quidditch robe for Buster and he immediately went in search of his Harry Potter glasses. Next he retrieved his Jedi robe (so multi-purpose!) and was ready to ride.

SYTYCD Fans, Check This Out!

2012-01-12T23:59:00.000-08:00

It's Neil Haskell, finalist from season 3! He was one of the leads in Bring it On - the Musical.Thanks to SHN/Broadway in San Francisco for the tickets last month. We had a great time.

Monster Lemon

2012-01-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

January is orange season for us - we (or to be more accurate, mostly SwingDaddy) pick hundreds of sweet little Clementines from the tree in our front yard. Today however, Q-ster selected this giant lemon from the tree in our back yard. Pretty impressive! (That's SwingDaddy's hand, for scale.)

George and the Bank

2012-01-10T23:00:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago, my sister posted a link to this awesome overseas commercial (check it out!) where a rumpled woman wakes up in bed, clothes astray, clearly after one heck of a party, and notices that she's in a really luxurious room . . . wearing an enormous diamond ring and sees a wedding gown on the floor. Then George Clooney walks into the room in pajamas. The shock on her face is

Hug Hug Squish Squish

2012-01-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

Buster loves my big squishable octopus so much that we got him a miniature one for Christmas. He's been carrying it around for days, and it is one of his "sleeping friends," tucked in bed next to blankie at night.I took a few pictures of them together and he giggled endlessly as he looked at himself squashing the octopus. Hug hug, squish squish. Hug Hug Squish Squish

Harry!

2012-01-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

Q-ster struck the pose that he’s seen from the movie stills – Harry in the snowy courtyard with Hedwig on his arm.Happy New Year and all that!

Hedwig Joins the Clan

2011-12-27T23:59:00.001-08:00

SwingDaddy's mom and stepdad sent the Hedwig plush for Q-ster and my mom hand-knitted Gryffindor scarves for both boys. No photo in full Hogwarts regalia yet, but maybe tomorrow.

The Night Before

2011-12-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

This was our fourth Christmas in this house and each year, I love how the mantle gives me enough space to put all the cards and photos that arrive in the mail. Bonus - this was the first time we had the stockings hanging for the whole month, because I could trust Buster not to pull on them, bringing the weighted mantle hooks crashing down upon his forehead. On Christmas Eve, he made a point

Happy Holidays

2011-12-25T01:46:00.001-08:00

From Lady M and Family

TKD2

2011-12-20T19:26:00.000-08:00

The micro dude decided that he was ready to join his big brother in taekwondo class today, and sure enough, he was.

This Makes Me Feel So Normal

2011-12-19T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Kardashian Christmas card photo.Sometimes I wonder if color-coordinating our clothes for the annual family photo is just too much . . . but clearly, it's not enough. We need to coordinate our hostile expressions!

More Angry Birds, More Butter

2011-12-18T23:59:00.000-08:00

Credit: Matti Matikainen / MV Photos / PolarisCheck it out - I guess the company behind Angry Birds is pretty big stuff in Finland, so here are the chief marketing officer and his wife, formally attired in an Angry Birds gown, attending a celebration of national independence at the Finnish Palace. And more on what is now know as the butter crisis: Swedish butter smugglers have been captured

Who Says Video Games Make Kids into Couch-Potatoes?

2011-12-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

Hmm, what's going on? I see something green way up there.Let's see that close up:Ah-ha! Someone is making use of the Angry Birds plush toys he got for his birthday. This is where I have to admit that it was such a fun idea that I didn't act like a responsible parent and say, "hey, don't throw the birds around the house like that, you might hit the lamp!" and instead joined in. By the way,

Holidays Galore

2011-12-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

The little dude, wearing his St. Lucia crown from last week's holiday lesson and holding his dreidel, from this week's holiday lesson. It's one of the side effects of living in a highly multi-cultural area!By the way, he was quite impressed that I already knew about St. Lucia - originally from a Swedish friend in college, but of course, my Scandinavian colleagues have been telling me about the

The Second Tooth

2011-12-12T23:59:00.000-08:00

Q-ster lost his second tooth tonight - now both lower center baby teeth are gone! You can't even tell in the photo, because as any good planner would do it, his permanent teeth are almost grown in, ready to go.

On Our Tree, Of Course

2011-12-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

Our newest ornament, a glass pentapus!We got our Christmas tree and decorated over the weekend. There's nothing quite like the sounds of Christmas (which for us, is the Darth Vader/Imperial Theme, since the boys have been given Star Wars ornaments that play music. Dum, da-da-dum, da-da-dum,da-da-dum.

Shoes of a Sith

2011-12-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

There was a problem with Q-ster's Commander Cody shoes, so I took them back to the store. Stride Rite immediately exchanged them for the one Star Wars shoe available in his size. Fortunately, these TIE fighter/Darth Vader shoes with green and red lights were well received at home.

Bigger and Better

2011-12-06T23:59:00.000-08:00

Look who's sitting in the big car seat now! And his brother is now in a booster. Ah, how fast they grow.

Donuts Galore

2011-12-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

An outing to Krispy Kreme. The dough get formed into donut shapes. The clever donut conveyer. Frying Frosting, the best part. Yum! An original glazed donut, hot off the rack is so good - it can practically be slurped instead of eaten.

Outtakes

2011-12-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it took more than a few days to get to this, but here we go. My children, impersonating squirmy, squirmy worms.

Paper Culture

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

Running short on time, so I will add the "definitely not our family Christmas card picture" later today. In the mean time, here's a code for Paper Culture's awesome cards.code: FF30 30% for today and tomorrow (Wednesday/Thursday)Valid until 11:59 PM PST on Thursday 12/1

Mommy Gorilla

2011-11-28T23:59:00.001-08:00

San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Wow.

Every Household Needs One

2011-11-27T23:59:00.001-08:00

What sort of contraption is this? A Family Dryer, of course!Intended for waterparks, but I can think of many uses . . .

Helpful Arms

2011-11-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

Squids that hold shampoo bottles in their helpful tentacles. (Thanks, Mayberry.) An octopus coathook (or as seen in the November issue of InStyle, a hairdryer holder.) Giant Lego Octopus Bands, courtesy of LegoLand.And best of all, Scientific American now has an all-octopus, all-the-time blog! The most recent post features video of an octopus popping out of the water and scrambling across land.

No Naaaaaap

2011-11-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

I don't need a nap! I totally don't! I'm just a little floppy, that's all. And giggly!

New Skills

2011-11-22T22:54:00.001-08:00

Lucky boys, with all their grandparents' attention!

Star Wars Round-up

2011-11-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

Most of these come from Think Geek, but this first most excellent tool for enabling your children to whack each other in the head is from the Japanese cell phone accessory store. Lightsaber umbrellas! Lightsaber candlesticks, of course. Jedi bathrobes. Death Star Trash Compactor bookends! Really, this one is too much. Han-Solo-in-carbonite ice cube molds!

Better Late Than Never

2011-11-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin cuteness!

Prizes, Me Hearties!

2011-11-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

I brought some treats back for the boys from that East Coast trip, which is much easier when you can shop in Times Square than when struggling with the prices in Scandinavia. Some Cars 2 books for Buster. He was delighted. A pirate set for Q-ster, including a telescope, a map, and a ring. He loved the telescope, but declared that the map was insufficiently accurate. I told him to draw his own.

The Beautiful Life

2011-11-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Last month I was traveling on the East Coast (the trip that was postponed from the hurricane) and I had the pleasure of staying a night at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. It was built in 1912, but it has the feeling of something earlier, maybe Belle Epoque. I'd love to have a costume ball there and sweep down the grand hall in a gown with a train (to be pinned up for dancing, of

Sundown of an Earlier Sort

2011-11-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

Remember that picture of the http://www.empress-m.com/2011/06/almost-midnight-sun.html">clock tower by the fjord in June, with the sun still shining at 10pm? Same clock tower at 4pm yesterday - yep, sunset.A few key findings on the weather here in Scandinavia.1) I love my new coat (rated for 20 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit!)2) The gloves are very effective.3) Metal earrings are not a good idea.

Glove Tech

2011-11-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

Since I'm headed to cold parts of the world this month, it was time to get some real gloves, not the little decorative things I wear in California. I had no idea that gloves have become so technical. Check this out: Omni-heat thermally reflective material. Gloves for "extreme" activities or for "people who are cold handed." What above both? These might suit, given where I'm going. These have

When You Give A Boy A Cupcake

2011-11-10T23:59:00.000-08:00

There were a few dozen highly frosted cupcakes leftover from a reception at work this afternoon, so I brought a pair home for the boys. I was so pleased when I found some cardboard soup containers that were just the right size to keep them from getting squashed. Of course, getting them out was a little harder. Fortunately, we have SwingDaddy to help. Excited child #1. Child 2 is so excited that

Squirmy Worm

2011-11-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

We had a family photo shoot on Monday afternoon and the photographer mailed us a CD of the images today. He took the photos for our wedding and the images I used for our Christmas cards after each baby was born - I love his work.The CD included 655 digital images (the film ones will arrive later), of which approximately 640 include Buster impersonating a noodle. Squirm, flop, giggle. The

My Boys

2011-11-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

Part Two

2011-11-06T23:59:00.000-08:00

To follow up a few of last week’s posts:My parents toasted the seeds from their pumpkin and we noticed that I didn’t record the oven temperature either. To quote the Bloggess, “well done, me!” 250 degrees, by the way. And here are some pictures of Buster illustrating just how much he enjoys his footie pajamas.”They are soft! They keep me warm!”

My Baby's Back

2011-11-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

It's gotten cold at night (by California standards) so I pulled out the footie pajamas for Buster. Footie pajamas! I couldn't stop hugging him - seeing him all zipped up was like seeing him as a baby again. The micro dude, exactly three years ago.

The World's Worst Food Blogger

2011-11-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

With Halloweens and the carving of pumpkins comes pumpkin seeds, and the opportunity to do something with them. The boys were pretty excited about toasting seeds, so I got prepared. Look, an indistinct picture of some damp seeds, just de-gooped, and some of the tools/ingredients that I intend to use, and some other random stuff. And here's a blurry picture of the seeds in a bowl. Which may or

Paper Culture Cards: Eco-Friendly and Full of Cute Sea Creatures!

2011-11-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite vendors from BlogHer '11 back in August: Paper Culture. I've been quite pleased with Tiny Prints, but I adore the greeting card and invitation designs at Paper Culture - the shapes, clean images, paper quality, cuteness. They have quite the green philosophy (100% post-consumer recycled paper, plant a tree for every order, only package in recycled paper, etc) but I'll

Ninjas and Wizards and Dark Arts, Oh My!

2011-10-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

Buster's preschool Halloween parade was this morning, and he went as Jay, the blue Ninja of Lightning, as he has planned for weeks now.This evening, I used lipliner to draw a lightning bolt "scar" to Q-ster's forehead to complete his Harry Potter costume, as he has planned for weeks now. His little brother, impressed with the look, promptly took a magic marker and applied special effects to his

In the Nick of Time

2011-10-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

I spent last week in meetings on the east coast and flew out of New York Saturday morning at some painfully early hour - so early that the TAA agents hadn't set up the security lines yet, and I had to wait around for them to get organized.It was lucky that I got out though - a huge snowstorm blew in afterwards, causing five hour flight delays at JFK and shutting down Newark completely. Instead,

Car and Driver

2011-10-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

At the pumpkin patch we visited a few weeks ago, there was a miniature drivable tractor, and Buster was immediately fascinated. A crotchety lady stormed up to shoo us away (“You have to pay!”) and we went looking for a sign telling us where to pay and how much. Clearly this place was set up to sell bouncy castle tickets and not anything else, because the cashier didn’t even know how much

Clone Trooper Mini-van

2011-10-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

The boys have been loving the mini-van. Sometimes, they'll amuse themselves just climbing in and out of all the doors, playing "clone trooper gunship" while SwingDaddy is working on things in the garage. This came in handy when we started dropping off Q-ster at the elementary school on the days when one of us has to take both boys to their separate schools with identical start times but a ten

Veggie, Veggie

2011-10-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

For a person who has adored plush anthropomorphic vegetables all her life, I could not be more thrilled to see the broccoli and carrots at IKEA this season. It was all I could do to just hug them and not take any home. Q-ster found a friendly snake. What's this? Surprise! Buster was pretty excited to ride a little red rocking horse. Upon closer inspection, it's a rocking . . reindeer! Fitting

Horticulture, Here We Come

2011-10-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

We met up with some pals from the ol' Mommy/Baby group at California's only horticultural theme park (really, hard to believe that there aren't more horticultural theme parks, but we're lucky enough to live near one.) It was great to ride the Strawberries together. Q-ster was insistent on riding the spinning Garlics (like the Disney teacups) and I was thankful to have SwingDaddy with us this

A Campus Race

2011-10-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

We went to SwingDaddy's college reunion over the weekend and since it was entirely outdoors, were lucky enough to enjoy spectacular weather, tank top/mini skirt type temperatures, at the end of October.We joined a "Family Amazing Race" where we navigated campus with a special map, taking us to locations were the kids had an activity to perform and the adults had a trivia question to answer. In

Cirque Week Dreams

2011-10-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

Someday, I really, really, really want to go to Cirque Week in Las Vegas. As a Cirque du Soleil fan, one gets to attend a whole series of shows, plus sessions where you see the costumes of Mystere, or ask questions about the 11 stage lifts, 24 digital projectors, 204 moving lights and other technical aspects of The Beatles LOVE show. The session I'd most want to hear is this one: Inside

Cephalopod Round-up

2011-10-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

Octopus temporary tattoos, as seen at Cool Mom Picks. Sharp Shirter's Captain Octopus t-shirt, linked from ljc. Squid kites, photographed by Mighty Girl Maggie Mason.

What Does the Fortuneteller Say to Go?

2011-10-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

My sister found this clever fortuneteller (or cootie catcher, depending on how you remember these little foldable pieces of childhood) at Sycamore Street Press, and it has a particular answer that seems to fit my work life these days! And speaking of that country, the King and Queen have been visiting the United States this last week, particularly Minnesota, to where many emigrated long ago.

The First Lost Tooth

2011-10-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

The little dude has been wiggling his lower front tooth for days now, and tonight, it came out! He was sooooo excited. We can see his two lower center adult teeth growing in, and the other lower baby is already loose.

Pumpkins on the Run

2011-10-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

Buster is learning the pumpkin poem that was my favorite from Q-ster's whole preschool repertoire.Five little pumpkins sitting on a gateThe first one said, Oh my it's getting late!The second one said, There are witches in the airThe third one said, Oh we don't care!The fourth one said, Let's run and run and runThe fifth one said, I'm ready for some fun!The poem concludes with the wind blowing

Fans of Myers-Briggs

2011-10-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

(Click chart to enlarge. I saw a link to it on Facebook, but haven't found the source to credit yet.)I've found the Myers-Briggs personality type indicators quite interesting, and this satirical interpretation makes me laugh! Which one are you?

Indy at Bedtime

2011-10-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

Buster, rockin’ the Indiana Jones accessories tonight with his pajamas.

The Circle of Baggage

2011-10-11T23:23:00.000-07:00

At a certain age, I think that one can’t be quite so shabby. Where once it might have carried a sort of bohemian chic, now I run the risk of looking like a homeless person. It’s been high time to replace a lot of my favorite items, and I’ve tackled them one by one.Wallet: My ten year old wallet was disintegrating quite dramatically. Every time I took out a credit card, little flakes of leather

HP x 2

2011-10-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

Q-ster has stated his intentions to be Harry Potter for Halloween for some time now, and I promised to find him some Harry Potter glasses. I brought a pair home on Friday, and he put them on immediately and started casting spells. Shortly after, I saw Buster wearing his sunglasses and waving a Lincoln log. I asked him, “Do you want Harry Potter glasses too?” He said no, the sunglasses were

Spontaneity

2011-10-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

We had an impromptu outing today, a first trip to play mini-golf with the boys, and it was delightful. Just was delightful was 1) enjoying the California weather and 2) realizing that they're getting to an age that sometimes we can pop out and do a new activity without weeks of mental preparation and strategic packing. No one even whacked anyone else in the head with a golf club! (Etiquette

Let's Try Something Else

2011-10-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Big metal cuffs and bracelets are all over the magazines and stores this season. Edgy look, but I tried one on at Ann Taylor (a plain one, without the studs shown on this piece), and the mass of cold metal instantly sucked all the heat out of my body. Brrrr. Not a style that's going to work for me.Especially since my last purchase was a "polarthin" jacket that's rated for 20 below - my

Please Indulge Me

2011-10-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

while I drone on about my pweshus children's art. Q-ster's depiction of Count Dooku (left), in a lightsaber duel with Obi-wan and Mace Windu. General Grievous (complete with four arms) facing off Plo Koon and another alien Jedi whose name I can't remember. Separatist ship under attack.Q-ster made those drawings at the beginning of September, and while he was hard at work at the kitchen table, his

Parseltongue Required

2011-10-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

We went up to the California Academy of Sciences about a month ago, and this creature was among the Reptile exhibits, labeled as "Hollywood's version" of a giant snake. You'll notice that they peeled the "skin" off the lower half of the body, so that one could admire the construction.I was thrilled to see the snake robot, because one of my high school friends was the lead designer it, built for

They're Everywhere You Look

2011-10-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

I took the boys to the school playground on Saturday, and Q-ster showed us all his favorite haunts. If you get a bit of momentum, you can spin on this device pretty quickly. Buster had other ideas. Can you tell what he's doing? Ninja . . . GO!(For those of you without Lego-obsessed children, the Ninjagos come with little spinners. One is supposed to turn them like tops while saying, "

Maybe in a Few Years

2011-10-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

Look, I totally respect that drugs and alcohol are a serious problem, and schools feel the need to encourage healthy behavior, but as far as I can tell, the first graders have no idea what they are.Here's the pledge request:And here's his pledge: (I will not eat drugs.)I didn't even make him fix the apostrophe. I think we're going to wait until he's at least seven before sommelier lessons.

HP8

2011-09-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

The little dude wrote "Harry Potter book 8" yesterday after school, just 'cause he wanted to.P.S. The audit, panel, and video shoots went well!

My First Reality Show

2011-09-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

I got to try my hand at reality show hosting earlier this month and had a blast. My business unit held a dual-location conference that included "So You Think You Can Invent." Half the contestants and judges were in California and the other half were on the other side of the Atlantic, all green screened together. The European host and I handed the action back and forth.I made half-sheet prompt

More Harry

2011-09-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Q-ster's Lego representation of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. And note what's in the background - book 6. Since I took the picture, he's finished it up and working his way through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We're not sure what we're going to give him to read when he turns seven. The Silmarillion?

The Ninja Strikes

2011-09-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

With full service smiles!

Octopus of the North

2011-09-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I lost a whole week there, going back to Scandinavia and having a horrible internet connection in the hotel. More tales to tell, but until then, a few friendly octopi. This grapefruit-sized pair was almost $50 (each), so I didn’t even bother to convert the price of the cantaloupe-sized relative on the shelf above from kroner to dollars. Signage from a shop that looked adorable, but was

Clearly, The Important Room

2011-09-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

Buster accompanied us to Q-ster's piano lesson a few weeks ago, and he immediately occupied himself with a toy racetrack that the teacher cleverly leaves available for younger siblings. He pushed the cars around for a while and then discovered the neighboring dollhouse. The most entertaining part? The bathroom.He put each little figure on the toilet in turn. "He goes potty!" he whispered

Early Morning

2011-09-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Big brother reading to little brother. Awesome.

Lawn Games

2011-09-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

"Hockey," as played on the grass with two lacrosse sticks and a plastic baseball. "Golf," as played with a baseball bat, baseball, and soccer cone as tee. Stomp rockets, with much glee.

Still Summer

2011-09-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

Museum Day

2011-09-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

It’s Not an Adventure until Someone Falls into a Fountain

2011-09-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

A story that I’ve been meaning to write up since it happened in May.As is my tradition when SwingDaddy goes for a long bike ride, I took the boys on an adventure. We headed over to the University, where we peeked in on a taekwondo tournament briefly and then strolled around the campus, ending at the Claw, a fountain at the center of campus. I’ve always loved the campus fountains, and many

A School of One's Own

2011-09-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

After a lifetime of waiting for his big brother outside classroom doors, Buster got his first day of preschool. Total pro.

CalvinChess

2011-09-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

Q-ster has been fascinated by Wizard's Chess, ever since he read about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley playing with the animated pieces. He and Buster have been playing "Wizard's Chess" all day with Chinese chess pieces and Calvinball rules. I played him tonight and at one point, he jumped his pieces, saying "I double activate this move," and when questioned, he very seriously told me that he had

Plush Weaponry, In Deeper Than I Expected

2011-09-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

Buster has been a good companion to his big brother, being Anakin to his Obi-wan, Captain Jack to his Will Turner. Lately, he’s really gotten into Lego Ninjago, especially the blue ninja – Jay, Ninja of Lighting – and spins himself endlessly, whipping his blankie around exclaiming, “The Golden Nunchucks of Lightning!”Here’s an image of Jay (on the left, accompanied by Kai, red ninja of Fire).

Well Done, Mr. Potter

2011-09-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

The little dude plowed through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with great delight back in May, but when he lost interest in Chamber of Secrets(book 2), we didn’t really encourage him to keep going. He’s only six, and there are plenty of years ahead for reading. Then he got another kick start to reading fantasy with Lloyd Alexander’s Book of Three this week, and suddenly, he’s back on

Ready

2011-09-01T23:59:00.000-07:00