On Friday I spent most of the day in a panic thinking Mikey’s blister was a cold sore.  I was confident he had a case of herpes like some scraggly Parisian street urchin from the 18th century.  Luckily, I was wrong–just a water blister from a hot fever and mild dehydration.  He is doing so much better today–better than I have seen him in weeks.  That blister is almost gone, too, thanks to his specially made vitamin E (+ a few other things I can’t recall) lotion we received from the homeopath.

On Saturday I met up with a reader and received my first sewing instruction.  It wasn’t so much an instruction as it was hand holding while I made Mikey’s saint costume for his next oral presentation.  Of course, I screwed up right from the get go by getting the wrong yardage.  The pattern gave me yardage for 45″ and 60″.  The bolt of fabric I had was 54″ and I mistakenly though it would be okay if I got the yardage for 60″.  Nope.  The pattern, when laid out, did not fit.  So, his costume kinda sorta doesn’t have sleeves.  Kinda sorta meaning it absolutely does not have sleeves.  That’s okay, Mikey is presenting on St. Boniface, a Western European saint born in the year 675.  Back then,  I assume sleeves were optional, unlike filth and pestilence.

Oh, and this should make the sewers reading this collapse in laughter at my expense:  I made Mikey’s costume from linen.  Sewing with linen, as those with sewing brains know, is akin to sewing live snakes.  I knew the fabric would be slippery, but it wasn’t until I later sewed Mikey’s cotton sash that I fully appreciated the difference between the fabrics.  The cotton was so easy to work with I debated putting a chair leg on my sewing machine pedal and running errands while the sash completed itself.

All I have left to do is add some ribbons and tassels (I think those are called notions?) and work on a couple of props.  I will humiliate myself publicly and display my handiwork sometime in November.

On Sunday we celebrated my mother in law’s 60th birthday with a trip to the San Diego Zoo.  I fulfilled my exercise quota for the year 2010, so I am feeling good.  We walked up and down these ridiculously big hills (mountains!  they were mountains!) for five hours until I thought my legs would come apart at the joints.  Since I only exercise when I am being chased or running to take Nicholas to the urgent care, it was a big day for me.  Due to the extensive hills and large crowds I was not allowed to touch any strollers.

Today I am running errands.  I need to go to the store for paper towels and the thrift store for a book and a sword.  I’ll leave you to guess which errand is for Mikey’s saint costume.

Thank you, Lisa, for bringing to my attention this piece of cinematic brilliance.

My friend and business partner, Miss Tristan B, is at it again. She recently started a new flickr group called Souvenir Foto in hopes of breaking Photo Block {when you have a camera but never use it} and curbing her tendency for procrastination. She rightly figured everyone else had the same problem so she opened it to all who want to play. Each week we get an assignment meant to inspire (re: force) us to pick up our cameras.

I, for one, signed right up because without an assignment or deadline, I’m pretty much worthless. The Mister bought me a new camera for Christmas (Nikon D60) and do you think I have taken advantage of the free photo classes that came with the camera? Of course not! That will soon change. I finally called about the classes and it looks like one is starting in July. Until then, come join me at Souvenir Foto. This week’s assignment was to capture sunshine. I’m pleased with the way the pictures (2 of over 100) turned out, and even more pleased that I did something with my Sunday afternoon that I would not have normally.

I’m terrible about capturing light on film, so I went for a figurative approach to spare myself the humiliation. Mango Popsicle = yellow = sunshine, right? Right.

The Mister started a new job last Monday. The pay is awful, but it is a job! We are still unsure of the commission, which is funny to us that such an enormous detail remains unclear. But, that is the difference between working for the largest pharmaceutical company in the world versus a company with 7 employees. The Mister went from corporate giant to mom and pop start up. I am confident everything will work, so we are not terribly worried. We are lucky people, and the harder we work, the luckier we get.

We tried to take advantage of The Mister’s extended vacation, so one day last month we decided to visit the La Brea Tar Pits. At that point we were still unsure of The Mister’s chances at gainful employment, so we had the bright idea to visit on the first Tuesday of the month since admission is free. Unfortunately, L.A. Unified School District had the same idea.

When we saw a line of parked school buses three blocks long, we knew we were in trouble. Sure enough, entering the complex was like jumping into a swarm of locusts. You didn’t so much as walk as move with the crowd. I half expected the 78 year old docent to jump off the counter and crowd surf the children and parents.

Mikey, at first, was unimpressed. The Mister (never having been to this museum) promised him dinosaurs. So, when we arrived and he saw mammoths, he was beside himself with disappointment. In his words, “Oh, no! There aren’t going to be any dinosaurs here! Mammoths are from the Pleistocene Era and dinosaurs were extinct already.” He may have fooled Nicholas, but I wasn’t impressed. It’s the Cenozoic Era and the Pleistocene Epoch. Duh.

The one thing I wanted the boys to try was the faux tar pits. They are poles meant to mimic the feet of mammoths and other animals who would have found themselves stuck in tar filled water. I did this as a child a little older than Mikey, and I remember thinking it was almost impossible to lift. Of course, we had to wait for the contaminants to clear the area, which took a while since they were 4 deep. After the crowd cleared and the eight gallons of hand sanitizer I doused the equipment with dried, we were good to go. As expected, they loved it.

Mikey started to warm up to the study of the Pleistocene Epoch after experiencing the faux pits.

And when he rounded the corner and saw a diorama of Saber Tooth Tigers on attack he was sold. Nothing intrigues the mind of small boys like blood letting. Kind of creepy, but true.

They do have a Paleontology Laboratory on site, which I thought would interest Mikey since he claims, for the last year, that he will grow up to be a paleontologist. It did, but I think he would have preferred to see the lab somewhere in wilds of south America.

As big as I remember that museum as a child, there wasn’t much left to see after that. Of course we bought in souvenirs what we saved in admission tickets. I bought Mikey a few stones to add to his rock collection, and Nico got a Saber Tooth Tiger plastic something or another. Both boys got place mats which later completely scratched off the finish on our dining room table.

All in all, a great day, even for His Royal Highness, Mikey of Dinosaurlandia.

I decided to honor my love for Backyardigan’s music by buying “their” Born to Play CD.  I didn’t even lie to myself and say it was strictly for the boys.  I did tell them I was buying them something they would love, hoping years from now their memories will blur and all they will remember is a random token of affection from their mother on a Thursday.

Part of the fun with children’s media is how often they discreetly touch upon adult themes.  And in case you are wondering, this is exactly the type of overly intellectualized hogwash one should say right before announcing a new favorite song called Go, Go, Go! Sure, Pablo is talking about his go-cart race with the gang.  I, on the other hand, hear a song about about perfectionism and then need to succeed at any cost–something that weighs heavily on my mind now that I am starting my own practice.

Mikey liked the song as well, but after around the 5th go-around he was ready to listen to some insipid number about “the customer always being right” blah, blah, blah.  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.  This lead to a debate between the two of us (I debate with children) on the merits of each song.  Mikey almost won the argument on sheer logic, explaining that Go, Go, Go! was just about winning and beating other people in a race, while The Customer is Always Right is about keeping people happy even during unpleasant situations.  I told him all that nicey-nicey business is fine and dandy, but if he thinks an altruistic attitude is going to get him 75 extra pounds and 9 ulcers by the time he’s in his early 30s, he’s going to be very disappointed.

Go, Go, Go! - The Backyardigans

It started off innocuously enough. A hum here, a warble there. An innocent toe tap (or two) while Mikey and Nico sang along at the tops of their voices with Tyrone, Uniqua, Pablo, Austin, and Tasha. Then, one day I watched The Backyardigans video on T.V. when the kids weren’t in the room. Believe me, I didn’t look for it; it appeared like a ray of light from T.V. I keep on like background music.

When it played again days later I thought, my that tune is catchy.

Eh, eh, something something dunes.
Hm, hm, something about dunes.

Jules: Mikey, what’s that song I like that Pablo sings?
Mikey: Vroom-Vroom, Cruisin’ the Dunes! It’s when Pablo is on his way to catch some waves at Tikki Beach!
Jules: Thanks. Just so you know, my life is over.
Mikey: No it’s not, mama. You’re right here.
Jules: Exactly.

Exhibit A:

Backyardigans - Cruisin The Dunes - the backyardigans

Yesterday I heard another Backyardigan song I like even more. In my defense, Alicia Keys sings in this one. The song is about the planet Mars and how everything is called Boinga because that’s the Martians’ favorite word and it’s all sung to this catchy island beat and I’ll just be quiet now.

Exhibit B: (This time, with video!)

I am arrogant enough to believe I am not alone. Maybe not Backyardigans, but somewhere out there are moms who whistle softly under their breath the tune to a song they should not know. Admit it. I promise you it feel great to finally get it off your chest.