The Dining Room

We went away for a week. Its nice albeit hard to get away with four kids. The planning is always the hardest part. I make lists of lists to make sure nothing is forgotten.

One of the many things to remember is pet care. I arranged for a cat sitter via an agency. They sent the same person we had last time. I like that they are bonded and insured. I don't even really know what bonded means, but it has an official sounding ring to it.

Upon our return we were met with a lengthy list of all the cats' activities and foibles. I find these lists reassuring albeit boring. At least I have proof that someone actually came in and fed the creatures.

Generally I skim these lists of cat activities. Not being insane I don't need to know exactly how the cats managed their time in our absence. This time around however something caught my eye and my interest.

Apparently one of the cats, irritated by our unexplained absence, decided to poop on the floor. While not intriguing in and of itself, the note actually read " someone pooped in the dining room". This is where it gets interesting.

We don't have a dining room.

When we bought this house some of the alleged selling points included an eat in kitchen, and a separate dining room. The eat in kitchen was in fact a bit of counter that juts out awkwardly and hits the refrigerator door. I suppose someone could grab a stool and sit there and hope no one opens the fridge. But I wouldn't really call it an eat in kitchen. The next mystery was the separate dining room. We've never found it. We've looked. We've hoped to discover a secret extra room. I rearrange furniture a lot. I secretly hope that one day I will happen to trigger the sliding passageway and the separate dining room will be revealed. I imagine it will be dusty but well worth the discovery. However, as of yet, its location remains unknown.

The fact that the cat sitter, whom I have never met, uncovered the secret of the hidden dining room, is making me lose my mind.

Valentines Day

The concept of Valentines day is a difficult one to explain. Especially when there isn't a whole lot to explain. Its a made up holiday in which everyone feels pressured to give people crap to eat, and if you are an adult and single its a time to feel badly about yourself.

With school age children its all about giving the Valentines day cards. Fortunately mine are still too young to be a part of the inclusion/exclusion element of Valentines day cards. Everyone gets one at school.

Holden and Oliver both had Valentines day homework. They needed to make ( or buy) Valentines for each child in their class. Making was not an option. I'm not about to spend 4 months trying to get them to make Valentines.

Oliver loves doing homework when Holden does his homework. So one night we sat down and Oliver wrote out all of his Valentines cards and Holden wrote out about three, complaining the entire time.

The following day I put the Diego and Princess Valentines on the table. I was going to fill them out for Griffin and Laurel to bring to school. Laurel saw them. She saw Princess!

" Oh! Oh! These are MINE! Oh! My.. my... my own homework!"

She was so proud.
I love those moments.

HOW Much Is A Pinata?

Griffin and Laurel's 3rd birthday is approaching. We're planning something small. The something small will include a pinata. They will also have a party at school. The school party will also include a pinata. So I thought, OK, I'll buy four pinatas. 2 Princess, 2 Diego. Off I went to the party store.

Pinatas are $20 each. I am not spending $80 on cardboard with tissue glued on it.

Plan B: Nemo pinatas were on clearance for $5 a piece. They will have one pinata at each party. I decided I could simply draw a princess and a Diego and glue them over Nemo. So I went to Walgreens and got some poster board.

I carefully drew Diego and a princess. I got out some books for reference. I wet the paper a little so the magic marker would smear and give them even skin tones as opposed to magic marker lines. That made the whole drawing smear a bit. My princess face was a bit off. I forged ahead. Diego wasn't looking so hot either. I spent about 45 minutes drawing. My pictures didn't look very good. I carefully cut them out. Maybe they'd look better once they were on the pinata. I held them up. They didn't look better. I had drawn Cinderella in 20 years after botched plastic surgery and Diego with a skin disorder.

Plan C: OK, I had a Diego table cloth and a Princess tablecloth. I cut out a design from each and taped it on either side of the Nemo pinata. Good enough. Done. They get a Nemo pinata at the school party.

I'm sure there is enough chocolate in there to make up for character disappointment.

I love Toy Story. I love the concept of Toy Story with its Velveteen Rabbit-esque anthropomorphications. Most of all I love Toy Story because Oliver loves Toy Story.

Oliver has loved Toy Story since he was about 18 months old. Holden had a few miscellaneous Toy Story themed toys about and Oliver claimed each one. Toy Story was the one movie that could calm Oliver down when things were rough.

As the years went by Oliver amassed quite a collection of Toy Story paraphernalia. He had all the basics, Buzz in assorted sizes, Woody in assorted sizes, along with the less coveted but still important Mr. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm, Jessie, the Prospector. Oliver slept in Buzz sheets with a Buzz blanket, wearing Buzz pajamas. He had Buzz underwear and Buzz bathing suits and towels. He went to sleep with his Buzz night light after reading his Buzz books. We listened to Woody's roundup on CD in the car.

One summer his interest seemed to wane. I was saddened at the thought of Buzz being in our lives less often. Buzz was a family member at this point.

Oliver decided he liked Curious George. For the first time received presents that were not Toy Story related. Within a few months he was done with Curious George.

Oliver reverted to bringing Toy Story characters with him on any adventure. Buzz, Woody and an Alien have been camping, they've been to Tahoe, they've been to Safari West. They've been on a plane, in cabs, in cars. The Alien went to the museum of Natural History in NYC and sat in a muddy wolf paw print in MA. Buzz has been swimming in pools and lakes. Woody has enjoyed Muir Woods.

We're back on Toy Story now and I couldn't be happier. I put new batteries in his Buzz action figures. Buzz talks once again. Oliver's face lit up when he pushed the buttons and Buzz worked again.
My face lit up too.
I hope Buzz stays with us for years to come.