a week in the life of gage

Here we go, time to turn on the excuses and stop everyone from wondering where the heck I've been lately. But I bet I can impress you just a little bit tonight. Well, maybe. Settle in. I've got a lot of catching up to do.

I suppose it all began with the arrival of the first grandparent. Then there were the annual school fundraiser and a first grade field trip. Two days apart and both in need of parental volunteers. Good times.

Here's Gage running his little heart out for his school. (I could begin to explain how grossly underfunded California schools are and how fortunate we are that the parents in our public school system are able to fund the music, art & dance programs, pay for the teacher aides, computers and possibly even the toilet paper. But I'll save that for another night when I need some material.)


The next two grandparents arrived in town just in time for the final soccer match of the season. (If you've done the math correctly you'll now see that we are up to three grandparents. Impressed yet?) There was lots of celebrating, far too many chest bumps, a few hundred photographs taken and of course...a little soccer...




Then, we rolled right into birthday number six. Yup. Our baby boy turned six. I'm still in denial. For managing to muddle through the terrible year that was #5, he was awarded a full weekend of presents, parties and yes, more soccer.

First up? The new bike...



Now enter grandparent number four. Yes, we are now fully stocked. (Please understand as you four lovely relatives read this that I write this completely in jest and only to substantiate my underlying argument that I have been far too busy to blog for two weeks.)

As I was saying.
Presents...


Parties, and more soccer...





Oh yeah. There were water guns too. Big water guns...




Of course, as it always seems to be, all of this happened before Gage's actual birth day. So then there was the obligatory family restaurant meal. (Yes, that's me. Those sneaky grandparents occasionally get me in a shot or two.)



Exhausted yet? No time. No time at all. Halloween is right on our tails!
Remember the post I wrote back here about Gage's GI Joe and Zuzu's Little Red Riding Hood Costumes? Yeah, well I do. Now tell me if you see either of those beloved costumes here. Humph. Not so much.










What? You're having trouble figuring out Zuzu's costumes? No. Let me assist you. She was a ladybug at her school, (No choice there, they were all ladybugs. Even the boys.) she was a Florida Gator cheerleader at Gage's school, and she was a Snow Princess Kitty Cat Devil Fashion Girl to trick or treat. And yes, I just capitalized every word in that description because it turns out that it is a very important title.

As I close let me first apologize for the fifteen minutes of your time I have just stolen. And then let me give one more excuse as I plug my teeny tiny little business.

My new website is up. Woo-hoo!! Check me out at zuzu girl handmade. Trust me. It's worth another fifteen minutes of your time.

Hugs...

the dark ages

This morning I flipped on the TV for the kids so I could spend 10 minutes getting ready in peace. (HA!) For whatever reason, Lassie was on. I briefly explained the premise to the kids... that the dog was named Lassie and that she was a rescue dog. As I scooted away I mentioned that it was a show from when I was a little girl. Gage shouts back, "then why isn't it in black and white?" Nice.

happily ever after

Well, we finally did it. Disney on Ice. Never thought it would happen. Never really wanted it to. And then something unexplainable took over and I was online purchasing tickets. The things we do for our beloved children.

This was not just Disney on Ice. This was Disney Princesses on Ice. And it was adorable. They told six princess stories, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Little Mermaid, Mulan, Snow White & Beauty and the Beast. Most of the stories left out the scary factor with the exception of Ursula the Sea Witch who had quite a presence. They gave us the majority of the story, minus the ending one after the other. Then, as Zuzu is screaming "Where is Cinderella??!!", they all rejoined us on the ice for simultaneous happy endings. It was very sweet yet also so very ridiculous as, one after another, all of the beautiful girl gets kissed by their prince and awake from a deep sleep to skate off in his arms. Just a slight enhancement of the lack of creativity present in these fairy tales.

They then announced an intermission. That kind of sucked. We'd been there 90 minutes already, we all had to pee (but not bad enough to brave the crowds), it was lunch time, the only act left was Cinderella and Gage was done by Mulan. But I suppose they needed to sell some more $20 wands and $15 programs so we went with it.

Fortunately, the Cinderella story was actually quite beautiful. They opened with a troop of skating soldiers, most of them kids, as they waited for everyone to re-enter the room. Cinderella had three costume changes and both the step-sisters and the mice were quite entertaining. There was a lousy lesson in arithmetic as the fairy godmother announces the coach with four white horses...and then only three horses appear...but I'm quite sure neither of our children noticed.

All in all, I would recommend the show. But I have a few words of wisdom. Bring cash if you want to spoil your kids. There are loads of vendors trolling the aisles with trinkets (much easier than waiting in line for them outside) but they are terribly expensive and they only take cash. Fortunately Gage didn't want anything and we had just enough for a light up wand for Zuzu. Phew.

And most of all, pick your date and time carefully. The show is over two hours long. I can't imagine bringing kids to a 7pm show. We made the mistake of going to a Sunday morning show, at a venue that shares a parking lot with the Oakland Raiders Football Stadium. On game day. Yeah, not good.

This is what your typical Disney on Ice ticket holders looks like...



And your typical Oakland Raider fans...



Made for a very interesting combination in the parking lot. And far more traffic than anyone should endure. Ever.

Here are just a few of our favorite moments from the show for your viewing pleasure...

love note

Today was stressful. Not sure why it was more stressful that usual. Maybe it had something to do with the typhoon that hit at 4am and pounded us for twelve straight hours. Maybe.

Anyway, on the way home I had a mom moment in the car. You know, one of those moments where everyone is whining and complaining and asking you for something all at once and you just lose it and scream, "What about me? Does anyone care what I want?" Of course they don't. But I said it. I couldn't help it.

Everyone was pretty quiet for the next few minutes. Then Gage told me that he had something to tell me but he wanted to write it down when we got home because he was too shy to tell me in person.

So we went home. By the time I had all the wet raincoats, rain boots, umbrellas, backpacks, lunchboxes & karate gear unloaded from the car I stepped inside and he handed me this.

In Gage speak it reads, "I will only get presents when it is my birthday or christmas or hanukah."

My sweet boy. My sweet, sweet boy.

oink?

Yesterday for breakfast, Zuzu tried bacon for the very fist time. She devoured an entire strip.

Eight hours later we went through our nightly ritual over dinner. Each night we answer the same three questions. These were her responses:

The best part of my day was Cooper's party.
The worst part of my day was Willem coming over.
(Zuzu still hasn't grasped the definition of the word "worst" as she adored having Willem over)
What I am thankful for is all of us eating dinner.
(pause)
And I love bacon.

P.S. Twenty-four hours later we are once again sitting at dinner. Since beginning this post she has eaten at least 7 pieces of salami. We clearly have issues.

super fly guy

It's official. Gage is reading. And not just memorizing books we read over and over, or looking at the pictures to determine what is going on in the story...really reading. So many people have told me that it just clicks on. One day they are reading by memorizing and the next day they are looking at new words, in new books and the bulb just goes on. And it's true. That's exactly how it works.

But you know what's more amazing than the fact that he is reading? The fact that he LOVES it. Like face in book while walking to school, loves it. Like doesn't want to do much else, loves it. And I love that.

He checked out the book pictured above, Super Fly Guy, from the school library on Monday and has read it over and over and over again. The author has done something really special here (must be because he's a Florida Gator that he's so smart) by creating a clever character that evolves throughout a series of beginning reader chapter books. Did you find the key phrase in that sentence? Yup, chapter books. Do you know how proud a first grader is to finally be reading a "chapter book" even though the 30 page large print story hardly warrants chapters? Wow, now that is grown up.

Gage got two of his very own Fly Guy books at the book store today. Hooray for Fly Guy & There was an Old Lady that Swallowed a Fly Guy. But he does have a birthday coming up so if you're a Grandparent (or a random stranger that feels like giving Gage a gift for his 6th birthday) there's an idea for you...

birthday girl

It's October 3rd again. My Grandma's birthday. This was my post on her birthday last year. Isn't she simply lovely?

Tonight I am sitting here, alone, eating frozen pizza (she loved pizza) and thinking of how much I wish she were still with us. I think I miss her more every year. That's not supposed to happen. Maybe it has something to do with the growing reality of my own mortality. But maybe I just miss her.

For the few of you that aren't related to me and reading this blog, I'm the little blonde girl in the three shots. The third photo is four generations of moms. Mine, hers and hers.

So, on October 3rd, 2009 I once again remember & celebrate. Here's to all the wonderful women in my life. I love you and miss you!

devil dog

project runway?

It was hard not to laugh at Zuzu and one of her best little friends as they modeled three fabulous wigs for us during a play date this week. Of course, they both already donned pink princess costumes, princess heels & spoke confidently into their plastic mobile phones. While holding my roaring laughter to a mere chuckle, I couldn't help but to think of all those poor little girls that participate in beauty pageants and this age, and look somewhat like Zuzu here, with more makeup of course. And I couldn't help but to wonder how their parents find this endearing when it's just plain outrageous. Cute but absolutely outrageous.

Oh, and did you ever wonder what Zuzu's favorite part of our grand three day trip cross country to Disney World was? You'll never guess...