Prepare for Takeoff

If I may pat myself on the back for a moment, I'm pretty proud of our latest project around here. We checked out a book from the library called Captain Bob Takes Flight by Roni Schotter. In the story, a little boy named Bob goes on an adventure in his cardboard box airplane. After reading, I saw a vacuum cleaner box in the corner that I had been saving for just such an occasion... We got out the scissors and markers and created a super cool flying machine for Captain Max himself.

Max packs the trunk for the big trip

Lucian promptly unpacks the trunk

"No pictures, please" says the celebrity pilot

It's amazing the hours of fun that can be had using only a cardboard box!

Word Up, week 1

I have decided to start keeping my eye (or ear) open for new and interesting words, and share them with you here. I am hoping to make this a "Word of the Week", but I think we can all be honest with ourselves and know that my track record is not exactly great with schedules and planning. So whenever a new word rolls around you'll hear about it, but it may be a week or a month... or a season between words.

I will also take suggestions! If you hear a great word in conversation or read a new word in a book, I want to know. (Monica, I have you in mind especially...) But for this week, I've got one.

Drum roll please... Aaaaand the word is...

Obfuscate

(ˈäb-fə-ˌskāt) v. Confuse. To be evasive, unclear or confusing.

I heard Click and Clack use this word on Car Talk on Sunday, and I've been trying to drop it into conversations ever since. (Unsuccessfully, I might add. It's a tough one!) So I thought I'd throw the challenge out there- use the word Obfuscate in a conversation, and let me know how it went! What was the context? Did it take pre-planning, or did it just roll off your tongue? And most importantly, what was the reaction of the listener?? (I'm envisioning, "What the... did she really just say that...?")

So there you go, and happy word hunting!

*Pronunciation guide and definition from Merriam Webster Online. I don't know how to get my computer to do those cool symbols and stuff*

Chugga Chugga

My dad recently introduced us to the Model Railroad Museum at Bandana Square in St. Paul. Another great way to while away the hours before we can play outside, the Model Train Museum is free for kids under 5 and $5 for adults. We were all fascinated by the detailed miniature landscapes and towns, and Max squealed with delight each time a model train chugged around the corner. Louie, for his part, was pretty awestruck.

Miniature Twins Pro Shop and Mickey's Diner

After wandering the main model train room, we visited the children's building, where the kids got to drive Thomas the Train and push buttons to make the displays light up and move. My favorite was the county fair display. The train itself was almost an afterthought, as every ride could be controlled by the push of a button: the ferris wheel, rollercoaster, scrambler, and even a mini-golf course!

When deep in concentration, he can't keep that tongue in

Bandana Square used to be a central hub in the St. Paul area, and entering the beautiful old railroad buildings makes me feel nostalgic for a time I never even experienced! Now the buildings are mostly offices or empty spaces, but I'll hold out hope that eventually the area will be revived. It's a shame that such an historic spot is so rarely visited. We'll definitely make our way back there soon, as long as the Train Museum keeps its doors open!

Got Milk?

It's official: my second-born son is a milkoholic. No doubt about it-- if that kid is more than three feet away from his bottle at any given moment, it's not a pretty sight. If Baby ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

Our family has never been much for milk consumption; mostly we use it for cereal and cooking. Even though I always tried to make sure Max got his share of milk for strong bones, we used to have trouble getting through a gallon before it expired. Near the expiration date, we would begin to eat lots of cookies just so that we could dip them in milk, and we would sometimes even find ourselves dumping the last cup down the drain when it started to smell like sour cream. No more, my friends, no more! Since I've begun weaning Lucian, he has taken to the bottle like I never dreamed. Now we have three, count 'em, THREE gallons of milk in our fridge! Between the four of us, we went through a half-gallon in ONE DAY. This is new territory for me! How can one kid down that much liquid without expanding like a water balloon?

So the plus side is that we are down to only nursing once every 24 hours, in the middle of the night. Things are looking good for my planned trips away from my babe this summer! But we may have to take out a second mortgage to afford the milk that he is consuming instead.

Anybody own a cow that we can rent?

Our Little Carnivore

Recently at the dinner table, I commented to Paul about the rising cost of meat. "We may need to become vegetarians!" I jokingly mentioned.

"What's a vegetarian?" Max asked.

"A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat," we explained.

"Are vegetarians people?"

"Yes, they're people. They just choose not to eat meat."

Incredulously, he responded, "Do they don't have mouths?"

Our meat loving son could not fathom someone choosing to forgo hamburger, chicken and pork. The only possible explanation was that these people were physically incapable of eating!

It's fun to stay at the...

Check-in sticker: proof we were there!

Well, it wasn't a complete disaster, but I wouldn't call it a resounding success either. Today was my first attempt at dropping the boys off at the YMCA while I went to work out. I've been stalling, putting off the day when I would bring them with me because I thought it would be tough. Scratch that, I knew it would be tough. The only other time I left them was when we took our tour on the day we signed up to be members. Lucian "had a tough time" (i.e. screamed for 45 minutes), Max had a melt-down when it was time to leave. I mean full-blown melt down, the worst I've ever seen from him.

So with those memories fresh in my mind, I decided (against all common sense) to try for take-two... sans Paul. When I told Max in the morning that he got to go to the "Magic Play Room" (that's what our tour guide had called it), he lit up like a Christmas tree and started bouncing off the walls. I got us all packed up and opened the back door... and walked into a hailstorm. I stood on the porch thinking, "This is a sign. This is a sign. We're not supposed to go." But reason lost out again to brute stubbornness, and I packed the boys into the car.

Thankfully, the weather calmed to a sprinkle within minutes, so getting into the building was not a problem. I brought the boys into the playroom and filled out all the paperwork. Max practically hurled himself over the gate to get to the toys, and Lucian sat quietly on the floor watching his brother. So far so good. I took a pager in case of a meltdown, left them with Louie's bottle and paci, and off I went to jog on the treadmill.

All went well for about 15 minutes... then I felt a buzzzz in my pocket. Bummer. I left the treadmill and started walking toward the playroom. When I hit the lobby, I could already hear the screams. I came in and rescued a red-eyed, howling Louie and brought him with me to gather our things. When I returned to check the boys out, Max made it good and clear that he was NOT ready to go. Thankfully, this time he didn't reach the point of throwing himself on the floor, but there was plenty of back-arching and several inhuman screeches.

Finally everyone settled down enough to head to the car and head home. I bet those childcare workers are hoping we take our time coming back...

But in spite of it all, I feel kind of proud that I did it. I feel like we accomplished something, even if we may have burst a few eardrums in the process. Hopefully next time will be better... and hopefully I am able to gear myself up for a "next time" before next winter. We'll see.

Read all about it

Peek-a-boo!

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the Westcott Library has gone and outdone itself. It may have just become my favorite place in the Twin Cities to bring my kids, and I think they would agree with me. I have to plan for at least two hours for a trip there, or Max will not have time to make the rounds!

Let me explain myself: you probably thought that libraries were a place to read and check out books, maybe do some homework or research. Well, yes, but the public library in Eagan has taken that simple purpose and expanded it to become just about the happiest place on Earth. They have a huge selection of children's books, CDs and DVDs of all kinds, separated by a wall from the rest of the library-- score! Within the children's section are several different play stations and a separate area for quiet reading complete with a huge (and I mean chair-sized!) teddy bear. On arrival to the library, Max beelines it to the airplane cockpit for a quick fly to California, then meanders through the stacks of colorful picture books to maybe do a puzzle or two. Then it's off to don his mail carrier's hat and bag, delivering mail and loading foam blocks into the mail truck. He might then cast his magnetic fishing line from the boat to catch alphabet fish or pretend to jump off the dock into (onto) the "water". Does this sound like your everyday library, kids?

And now, to put the cherry on top of an already delicious sundae, they have opened a library coffee shop!! Pretty much all of my favorite things have suddenly converged in one location. And believe it or not, the coffee shop has a kids corner whose centerpiece is... you'll never guess... a toy pirate ship! So I can enjoy coffee and a muffin while Max blasts cannonballs at a stuffed snake.

We always leave the library in a great mood, weighed down with an enormous stack of books. The only thing that will make a trip to Westcott even better is when Max can carry his own load to the car!