Revenge of the Fifth

As are most 4 year olds, Austin is mercurial. After months of asking him about his birthday party, he was pretty consistent that he wanted a Star Wars party. And in mid-September, we believed him. I built a Death Star corn hole game. I bought packs of figures and broke them up to make favors. I made 20 light sabers out of pool noodles. We made Star Wars invitations and gave them to everyone in his class.

And then, as I was painting the Death Star, he says he wants a PacMan birthday party.

He's never even played PacMan.

We agreed that we'll save PacMan for next year. He's a good little dude.

This was our first party away from the house. There was a bit of a learning curve, and it was hard to get everything in place at the park, while staying at the park as the rules for reserving picnic areas require, and running back home to fetch more stuff, and watching the kids... Thank you Uncle Corey! Couldn't have done it without you! 

The park was great though. Perfect weather, and a most excellent hill to roll down.

Darth Vader showed up.

It's OK, Austin. It's your father.

When the kids weren't beating up Vader, they had some games to play and a bubble machine with which to practice their light saber skills. They wouldn't leave it alone, so we wound up taping it up in a tree. Thanks to the dad who helped me get the batteries sorted out! Like I said, this was our first party away from home, and I was proud I brought the bubble machine, bubble solution and batteries. Forgot to bring a screw driver!

I'm pretty proud of my Death Star too. I managed to make it sturdy enough to survive the onslaught of 15 or so Jedis, and now it dwells peacefully in the backyard.

I had no luck finding bean bags at any of the stores I tried. So I took a few smallish softish balls from our collection, and wrapped them in an old t-shirt I spray painted and cut up.

Godspeed, TK-421

All you need to make your own Death Star is a big box, a hula hoop and TREMENDOUS ARTISTIC TALENT

School!

Austin is officially a KINDERGARTNER! Kindof. His school says you need to be 5 before mid September to enter Kindergarten. And he just missed the cutoff. BUT they also offer Transitional Kindergarten, for kids turning 5 between the cutoff day and December. So that means there is an extra class comprised of older 4s, who get a practice year before they start for real. And this sounded great to us. He started last Wednesday, the 12th and goes for a half day until September, when they'll go for full days. So here's a mosaic of pictures all about his first week of school :)

 

Starting on the top left corner and working clockwise:

We are close enough to walk him to school, which is awesome. Sophie has gone with us every day, but her legs don't seem to work at 8 AM

All the Kinders are supposed to line up in the morning when the bell rings. Austin used to be afraid of the bell, so I was a little worried he still would be. But when he heard it that morning, he looked up at me and exclaimed, "It's not scary!"

Every morning, I draw a little picture to put in his lunch. Which he occasionally eats a little bit of.

Here he is emerging at the end of the school day. 

That evening, we took him to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate his first day of TK and Sophie's first week of preschool without her brother.

We gave them each a little present. Austin got a copy of "Where the Sidewalk Ends." He likes Hungry Mungry.

Meeting the principal! 

His school mascot is the owl, so on the first day of school, the lawn had a whole herd of those plastic owls you get to scare pigeons. Daddy and I wondered if any schools are the flamingos.

And in the center, I took a picture of the quarter someone has glued to the sidewalk on our journey to school. Poor Austin was extremely sad and confused about why someone would do this <3

Invader Zim

When last we left our heroes, Austin, the dashing big brother, and Sophie, the pugnacious little sister, had just left for school. What was Mommy to do with all her free time?

Meet Zim.

We have always been a 2-cat family. My husband had a cat and I had a cat when we moved to California. We each had a cat when we got married. And then, in December of 2013, my cat died. And unlike the last time we auditioned new cats, we had a 1 year old and a 3 year old. It didn't seem fair to spring that on an unsuspecting animal. So I waited.

But now, we have a 2.5 year old and a 5 year old. And I thought they seemed ready. I saw a kitten at the space for adoptable animals at the store where we get Zoecat's food and she pressed up against the glass when Sophie wiggled her fingers at her. I thought, that seems like a nice cat. So, two days later, I sent Daddy and the kids to Nana's for the day, cleaned up the train room, had a serious talk with Zoecat, and went to see about a new kitty.

She probably was a nice cat. She was already gone. But they were having an adoption fair that day, and they had a ton of sweet kitties. I spent some time with a few, and eventually, I settled on a little boy kitten named Gage. He was a feral kitten, who had been captured with his mother and two brothers. The mom was spayed and released, but the kittens were up for adoption. I chose him because he allowed himself to be picked up by the woman who had caught them, instead of being trapped like the others.

He is very popular.

Sometimes I don't think my life is real.

Not everyone is happy about this new development.

After a few days, I decided to name him "Zim." For a number of reasons :)

He is working out great. Zim is a perfect cat. Austin loves him and he's been really good with him. And yesterday, when Austin was having a really bad day, Zim came into his room and crawled into his lap while he was crying. It was about the most perfect moment ever.

Sophie is having a little bit more trouble. She chases him. She scares him. She pulls his tail. It's really hard for me to deal with and I feel really bad for the cat when I drop my guard for a moment and she traumatizes him. But then there are moments like this:

He is the perfect cat.

We're Back!

Not from anywhere in any literal sense. Last year, there came a point where I just couldn't write. When I had the time, I couldn't get my attention and thoughts to cooperate. Mostly I didn't have the time. My computer was running out of memory and all my pictures have been terminally trapped on my phone since Christmas.

It made me really sad, mostly because Sophie has grown so much in the past months and I just didn't have the energy to write about it. And someday she'll read this blog and see that I posted so much about Austin's first two years, and almost nothing of her's. And someday maybe she'll have two kids herself and suddenly understand how the time gets away from you, and how, when you have a second or two to yourself all you want to do is look at Facebook or lolcats, or maybe you just stare off into space, before you're dragged back under to break up a fight or tell someone not to climb something, and so you really never get into a narrative frame of mind. But I have taken pictures. So many pictures. And I have stories. And hopefully, now that they're both going to be in school for a few hours, three days a week, I'll actually have time to share them.

Oh yeah. They're in school. Together. Today was Sophie's first day of school.

That's how you bury the lede, friends ;)

More New Orleans Pictures

I'm sick, so I'm being run off to bed. But I wanted to get some of these up anyway. So... Insert own witty commentary here:

New Orleans is magical at Christmas time

Austin must think it's Mardi Gras

Laissez Les Bons Enfants Roullez

So we took the kids to New Orleans. Mere, my mother, is from there originally, and there are still many family members there. I hadn't been in many years, though we used to go for Mardi Gras when I was little. It was such a treat to go back! Sophie had met a few of the residents last year, but Austin had never met any of his Louisiana roots before. And going at Christmas was particularly great :)

In NOLA, Santa's skiff is pulled by alligators

The first thing in the morning after we arrived, we walked the kids through the French Quarter to meet the river. Austin told me it was "the bay."

We frolicked in Jackson Square, where the carriages wait for fares, and we pet all the mules' noses.

We ate out.

We waited for the streetcar.

And rode them.

And we made new friends at the aquarium

Tune in for part deux tomorrow!