Celebrating the Small Stuff

It's coming... only three more days.

What's coming that has our household (well, at least one member) super excited? Is it World Paintball Day? Um, no. Maybe National HIV Testing Day? Nope, not for us.

Haven't guessed? Well, here's a hint. Take a peek at our calendar.

Still no clue? Come on, people. It's Candy Day!

This month Linus decided to help me fill out our family calendar. He insisted on making his own addition right there on June 27th declaring it Candy Day, and who am I to argue?

He's waited patiently all month, checking the calendar at regular intervals to be sure Candy Day was still approaching, and I've been saving an extra special, super jumbo lollipop I picked up from The Lollipop Shop.

Now who says a two year old can't be patient.

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How about you? Any special days your family likes to celebrate or at least recognize? We'd be more than happy to add them to our calendar right along with National Ice Cream Day (July 15) and maybe even Lollipop Day (July 20).

Post Christmas Depression

Every year after Christmas, my husband enters a post-Christmas slump. It's pretty much just the byproduct of the huge Christmas build-up followed by a swift conclusion. Most years I don't get too blue as the return to our normal routine provides a welcome relief. However, this year there are things I will miss now that Christmas is gone.

The Lights: Linus loved our Christmas lights. Every morning, we'd go through the house turning on the trees and garlands. He'd spot one that wasn't on, point, and shout, "Dat," and I would quickly plug the cord in. He especially loved the tree in his room and could not begin the day until we had plugged it in. He would also end his day by telling the tree, "Nigh-nigh."



The Elves: Like my childhood tradition, Linus has elves that watch him during the holiday season reporting back to Santa on his behavior. Linus loved the elves. He would search out their new hiding place every morning and ushered any house guest around to view their location as well.



The Candy Canes: It would be an understatement to say that Linus likes candy canes. He simply could not get enough of them. Of course, we only let him enjoy the soft kind that melt away quickly in your mouth. There were many days where I caught Linus climbing up onto the dining room table just inches away from the glass of candy canes. Lucky for Linus, Santa left some candy canes in his stocking so he'll be able to enjoy a few more yet this year.



Frosty, the Snowman: Linus has a book that when opened plays the tune of Frosty, the Snowman. He loves this book and requested its reading at least 5 times a day. Now, whenever he sees a snowman picture or figurine, he identifies it not by its name but by singing a C note, the first note in the tune.

Of course, these things I will miss only provide me more reasons to look forward to next Christmas.

What holiday happenings, traditions, or experiences are you already looking forward to repeating next Christmas?



(My favorite pic from Christmas morning. Linus checking out what Santa brought him.)

Boo!

October 31st was a VERY busy day for one little goblin ape. It all began over at playgroup buddy Wyatt's house. There, Linus King Kong joined a monkey, a duck, a dragon, a dog, and an elephant as well as many other costumed cuties for a toddlers and Mommies Halloween extravaganza. Kelly (Wyatt's mom) spooked out her house, provided all sorts of delicious treats, and actually invited 15+ crazy toddlers into her house. (That's a brave woman.) Linus Kong loved seeing everyone dressed up but his favorite part was eating, of course. He even had his first experience with candy corn which he yanked off of my plate and stuffed into his mouth before I could even blink. I'm sure it would have been an enjoyable experience if he had molars. Instead, he didn't look too thrilled when he had to swallow what I can only assume was an intact piece of candy corn.


With dusk came Kong's next big adventure: trick-or-treating. For this, we ventured over to the small town of Hillsborough so I could show off my little gorilla to a good friend. Kong and daddy the Empire State building hit up only about 5 houses before Kong's energy and Daddy's bravery faded. Lucky for me, they did manage to collect a few pieces of candy before calling it a night.


The final act of the evening is worth a small mention because it was discovered that Linus is indeed a product of his uber-Liberal parents. Once home, we were joined by Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Chelsea. As the grown-ups sat in the living room, Linus, in true Liberal-style, decided to redistribute the wealth by handing out his collected candy stash to everyone in the room. Ahh, it makes a mommy proud.

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

If you're looking for Springtime activities for kids here in the Triangle, look no further than DBAP. That's Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the uninitiated. With sunshine, hot dogs, and cotton candy, it's got all the ingredients for a perfect kid day. Plus, with ice cold beer, baseball, and cotton candy, it's a fun for the parents as well.

Linus, slathered from head to toe in sunscreen, attended his first game on Education Day. Although much busier than originally planned, it made for an exciting atmosphere with enthusiastic renditions of "Charge!" and the Sponge Bob Square Pants theme song.


Our family attended an 11AM game which worked perfectly around naptime but there are also a few early afternoon games and evening games. If you splurge ($2 more per seat), you can get seats under the awning which, for a fair child like mine, will ease your fears of sunburn.

Linus was enthralled with the game, crowd, and Wool E. Bull and managed to sit through 6 innings during which we indulged in all the regular ballpark foods.

Just don't forget to purchase your Bulls hat before you leave the ballpark so you can root for the Bulls even outside of the ballpark.


Edited to Add: Crossposted at Triangle Mamas, a great place for local mamas (and dads too). The post also received a shout-out over at 30Threads, a great place for local happenings.

A Love-Hate Relationship

A long time ago, in a faraway land, back in February, Midwest Mom tagged me for a meme. I've neglected to do it until now. It's really simple: 5 things I love about myself and 5 things I don't like about myself. Here goes...

LOVE
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1. My feet- We have been through a lot together. They have traveled from Kansas to Phoenix, San Diego and Austin. They've ventured up to Seattle, and even down to Tijuana. They now reside in North Carolina but long to head overseas. They've been through State Cross Country meets, kicked and jumped on sidelines, suffered through surgery, danced all night, waded into the ocean, and even have run a marathon. My feet, though far from pretty, are loyal friends and will always be loved.

2. My eyes- Though they can't see much (I'm talking my hands in front of my face, people) without the aid of contacts, they sure look pretty anyway. When I was younger, I had blue eyes like the rest of my family. However in middle school I read a book about a girl with piercing green eyes, and desperately wanted that too. I prayed and prayed my selfish, ungrateful little middle school prayer until sometime in middle school they did begin to take on a greenish tint (puberty perhaps?). They aren't quite the emerald I had hoped for but they are just different enough to be unique.

3. My obstinate nature- Hey, when you're right, you're right. I don't speak up often but when I do, you can guarantee I won't be shutting up any time soon.

4. My compassion- I have a heart for the weak, unjustly treated, and defenseless populations of our world. Whether it's the stray cat on the side of the road or the horribly misunderstood and mistreated impoverished of our nation, my heart weeps with pity. I'm guilt stricken by how little I help, how much I have, how silent I remain, and desire to one day have the courage to do more than shed tears (and adopt strays).

5. My gift- I have the gift of teaching. Teaching is not something I believe one can learn in school. The science of teaching will only make a decent teacher. For the best teachers, it is an art. Something they can do regardless of circumstance, education, or obstacles. It is horrible that so many people who do have the gift of teaching are forced to choose a different career due to a desire/need for higher pay, a more esteemed profession, or advancement opportunities.

DISLIKES
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1. My hair- It's thin and fine, often unmanageable, and always flat. Sure, it's blond even if it does require a little assistance to stay that way, but what I wouldn't give for a little bit of body.

2. My boobs- Yes, I once thought that breastfeeding a child would provide me with a new respect for these things attached to my chest, but alas no. They are HUGE, often painfully so. They are eye-catching whether I want them to be or not (usually not). They often make me appear much heavier than I really am (try being a size 4 on the bottom and a 12+ around the chest) and make it impossible to wear dresses and challenging to find shirts. It's even hard to find them a bra. Maybe one day, I will have them surgically altered, but I will have to wait until I'm sure there are no more mouths to breastfeed.

3. My inability to apologize- Refer to Love #3. It makes it awful difficult to be married to me.

4. My lack of social skills- I've written some about this before. However, at its worst, it means I don't even stay in touch with people I do know and like. I was once asked what a friendship required. My answer: proximity. Sad, but true. I can't be counted on to stay in touch, I must be forced. It's not that I don't want to and don't think about it constantly, it's just that I don't. Even Facebook can't save me especially since my brothers aren't on it.

5. My weakness for dessert- I can't help it. It's in my genes (paternal). I am a sugar addict of the worst kind. I love cookies, cake, candy, and chocolate- oh chocolate. It is impossible to resist. It's calling me right now...

Before I go get that Chocolate Peanut Butterbar, I'm supposed to tag 5 people for this meme. So...

Kelly of Monkey Man because she's in a blogging block.

Corrie of the CLog because I miss her writing.

Heidi of Elser411 because she doesn't have enough to do with a new baby and a return to work.

Chelsea of Loaf of Love because I figure she needs even more procrastination material.

Marty of Don't Take the Repeats because she usually doesn't do these on her blog but does on Facebook.

Education Day at the DBAP

It's baseball season and here in Durham, baseball means Bulls! I've already been to two games, and am ready for more.

My first game was last Friday night. Although a trip to the ballpark may sound like a cheap date ($8 tickets are less than the movie theater after all), when you add in several hot dogs, beers, and other "ball park only" splurges, that price quickly elevates. Despite that, a Bulls game is a near perfect date. It nicely tows the line between stare at each other, talk dates and stare at a screen, sit in silence dates. There's both entertainment and conversation. To me, that's perfection.

For my second game, I took a different date. I've written before about how perfect the 11 AM games are for little ones, and today's was no exception. Linus and I met up with our friend's Marty, CC, and and lil' C for a little Spring time fun. The boys did great, spreading their attention equally between the actual game, the fun festivities, and the Matchbox cars I brought along. I still wasn't able to bring myself to indulge Linus in a hot dog or electric pink cotton candy, but he did pretty much eat a bucket of popcorn by himself. Anytime I tried to sneak a little, I was chastised, "No, Mommy, you're not hungry." Of course, one drawback of attending a game with toddlers is that you lose the conversation part of the date. It never seems I get enough chat time with Marty, but we do our best while still being the hands-on mommies we are.

I know Linus enjoyed the game. The rest of the afternoon all he wanted to do was, "Talk about the Bull, Mommy." We were lucky enough to witness a Bulls' home run before leaving the ballpark. For those of you not in the know (or who haven't seen Bull Durham), there's a great big Bull in left field that has eyes that light up, a nose that steams, and a tail that moves whenever the Bulls hit a home run. Linus was fascinated by it, and could not stop talking about it.

So, whether your date is a devilishly handsome 30-something or a two sweet little tow heads, there's lots of fun to be had at the DBAP.

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Updated to add: Cross-posted at Triangle Mamas where all the cool local moms hang-out.