Simba, Sebastian and Peter! (Okay Lilo was there too.)

Once upon a time, in the land I live in, Disney on Ice comes to town every year around the holidays. While I wouldn't say we are Disney fanatics, we are certainly Disney lovers and have started our own little tradition of going to the show. So Saturday night we continued the long standing tradition and went to Disney on Ice as a family for the second time.

After hitting the ATM and the gas station we headed over the bridge to the arena. After driving around looking for a free place to park we decided to just park in the ramp. We got ROCKSTAR parking in the ramp. It was the first of many good things to come. On the way in we bought a Donald Duck stuffed animal to match his Mickey from last year. There were many different things to choose from but luckily he was pleased with the souvenir we picked out for him.

While you probably can't tell from the pictures we are all in Mickey shirts. I questioned this while we were getting dressed but went with it. Lemme just say we were tame compared to some of the Disney get ups. Clearly some people used Disney on Ice as an excuse to use the Halloween costumes again.

We bought the same exact seats as last year. We like them. They are the first row of cheapy-seats, but since our child is 17 months old and was going to enjoy it regardless it doesn't matter where we sit. Another perk of cheap seats is we had the entire section to ourselves. Meaning we could have moved closer but we like rules and all that. (Really I was nervous that my wiggly dude would have jumped over the railing. There was a little boy in the section next to us and I thought he was for sure going over.)

My guys. I have a similar picture from last year. 

Having the section to ourselves was also good because the wiggle worm could climb the steps and use his new found outdoor voice and it just doesn't matter one bit. We weren't bothering anyone. It was especially fun during the intermission for him to run the top row. (With Husband close by of course. We like him to explore the world but don't think I'm so easy going I'd let a 17 month old loose in a stadium.)

This is the best picture of the two of us. He just wanted to take it all in.

He LOVED the show. He liked it last year too but this year he really got into it. He waved to Mickey every time he was on the ice. And I am incredibly biased but it was adorable. He liked the music and at the end there were indoor fireworks so that was pretty cool. He did switch between his seat, both laps and standing but with a snack cup of baby Goldfish crackers, a bag of fruit snacks and his water bottle he did great.

This was during the Lilo and Stitch Segment.
 As it happened we just watched this movie on Daylight Savings Night.

The show itself from my perspective wasn't as good as last year but it was still Disney and I liked it. C really hadn't seen many of the featured movies, just Lilo and Stitch. I had him during the Peter Pan parts and he had seen enough of Jake and the Neverland Pirates to make that interesting. But Disney is good with music and spectacle which makes any toddler happy. I'm looking forward to next year already! 

Theme Thursday: Cold

Monday was one of those days where fall and winter crashed into each other and neither had enough strength to battle it out for long. That snow is still there, barely but it's there, arguing that winter is in fact approaching. Those leaves are hanging on there in a vain attempt to pretend October hasn't past. The bone chilling temps since then confirm otherwise.

It was a cloudy snowy day anyway but was just getting dark enough for lights to pop up outside. Darkness was invading slowly, but just around the edges where it doesn't matter yet. And suddenly the Schwan’s man was there because the moment clearly called for frozen food as well. But really, what moment doesn't call for an ice cream treat?

There is no other word to describe this. It was cold. 

Cari our fearless leader is out today so this week we're all linking up with Mary Kate. 

Join us next week with official shaming. It should be a hoot.

WWRW: An Ode to Mo

Way way back many centuries ago... okay more like 2006, Husband and I went shopping at Barnes and Noble. I think, like anyone with eyes, it was really more accurately "spend an hour browsing and end up with more than you expected and maybe even justify your sudden new finds by not getting the thing we came for which was really more of a splurge than this book we HAVE to HAVE." Or are we alone in that Barnes and Noble disease?

We were still in college then. Husband as a graphic design major has a very specific style that spoke to him. I think most designers do. (I wonder if any other wives of graphic designers have adopted their husbands design style in their heads as "good" like I have?) And as we were browsing I happened across a book and it overwhelmed me.

It had the right design elements. It was smart. It was a little snarky. And it was funny. It was also for children. Don't get me wrong--we LOVE children's books. I just couldn't justify buying them. But for Christmas or my birthday or some other gift giving holiday there it was.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Oh that Mo Willems. How I love that Pigeon. Over the next year or so we managed to collect them all. It became our thing so much that Husband wound up getting permission from Mo's publisher to use:

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog for his first partner scene at ACTF. (Long story, not relevant.) And my mom bought us Pigeon shirts for Christmas. 

We are at that ACTF here, young, goofy and ridiculous.
You can see a smidgeon of the pigeon on my shirt.

So it's really no wonder to me at all that C is OBSESSED with Pigeon. We have most of them. We had them all but somewhere Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late were misplaced. Which is really sad because "The Bus" had a very sweet inscription in it from Husband. But don't worry. They are coming back to us again at home this Christmas. Joining their friends. 

This is C's most favorite currently.

C loves Pigeon SO much that 90% of the time they are up on a high shelf because they would be the ONLY books he would read and we don't want him to damage them. Luckily we also have the 2 board book Pigeons and those stay in rotation all the time. He loves them. They are also VERY easy to memorize so reading them from the front seat while he turns the pages is a breeze. 

One of the board books. 

The other board book. See how they say a smigeon of pigeon?
That's too good a line for me to have come up with.

 But our love for Mo doesn't end there. We have some Elephant and Piggy books as well as Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. Which is a delightful book. Witty and fun.

We've read the Knuffle Bunny books but up until now they have just been library books. So imagine my joy when I noticed the other day what was available for presale? 

It's due out in April. Which is Husband's birthday month. I am sure you can't guess what he's getting. 

Mo captures everything I need in a picture book. There are a lot of inane books out there, books I know I loved as a child but that are not as much fun for the adult to read. But these books, are enjoyable for C and fun for Husband and I to read aloud. Pigeon is SUCH a fun character, he's basically a big toddler. For the most part he learns lesson in each book as well. There are a lot of little details in the utter simplicity of Pigeon's illustrations too. It's just great. 

Pigeon is also REALLY easy to draw if you wanted to make up your own coloring sheets. We just did that yesterday in fact. But we have done it before. I was watching a segment of Mo on the Today show a few months ago. (Maybe longer than a few...) He and his family sit down every night before bed time and have a family coloring/drawing session. They buy butcher block paper and spread it over the table and they all draw and color while talking about life, their days and interesting topics. I just really liked that idea. 

Anyhow, we love Mo Willems. We love Pigeon. He is highly recommended by me for anyone. Linking up with Jessica for What We're Reading Wednesday. 

Theme Thursday: Shaming (Unofficial Theme) THUMBS

A long while ago I thought up "Shaming" as the unofficial theme for this week. I was thinking like those funny dog memes.

But I don't have a dog. 

Then I read an article about how shaming children leads to low self esteem and all that stuff that you know, leads to them living lives of destitute or in serious therapy.

So I am shaming myself. It was a weak moment in parenting. But I just stood by and watched. (Then cleaned up.)

UPDATE: Shaming is now an official theme for 11/21. This week is thumb. Brought to you by my right hand and the sad remnants of OPI Bubble Bath.

Linking up with Cari who apparently decided 3 legged Levi was on to something yesterday. 

And since this is mothering at it's finest. I am also linking up with Real Motherhood link up over at Messy Wife, Blessed Life. 

WWRW: Champions, Tiaras and Counting to 5.

Well I am back for What We Are Reading Wednesday. I took last week off because what I read, I didn't like. And since many others have very recently read, reviewed and loved this book I didn't want to write a contradicting blog post about it. Especially because I can't pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about it other than it didn't speak to me.

So I am making up for it with 3 books this week.

Alright. Well yesterday Champion came out. It hit my Kindle just before midnight and I didn't finish before I went to sleep. (That right there should tell you something typically but in this case it is telling you I was tired.) But I managed to get through most of it during nap time and I finished around 9:00 last night.

So I not too long ago wrote about the beginnings of this trilogy with Legend and Prodigy and if you are sick of the "Madeline spouts on about all the dystopia-YA triliogies WWRW posts" you're not alone so let me promise you this is my last for a while. But I feel like I owe it to you and the world for writing this post right now. Champion is a good solid ending to the series.

But I won't leave it at just that. The story line had just enough action, just enough emotion and just the right amount of happy ending to make it fulfilling without being super predictable. In this case we do the ending in current time then the Harry Potter-esque ten years later thing. But while I continue to think Harry Potter ended that way just to please fans I feel like Champion needed this ending so you could see the growth in both the characters and the country in which they live.

Champion is not as violent as many of the other series. There are a few bombs planted on (empty and grounded) planes and a few (racking my brain and I think 2) instances of on foot gunfire battling. But that is pretty much it as violence. What it does have is teenage intimacy. (Very much implied though not graphic.) And a character who was hinted at having same-sex feelings in the previous books... well we are given a detailed flashback with dialogue. I am INCREDIBLY torn on this moment particularly.

On one hand it felt gratuitous and there so that "everyone would be able to relate to one of the love stories." On the other, it was a moment that was manipulated in the war of the book and actually was important for the plot. This part was written so that we as readers understand a character and so June can understand how deep the corruption got. It was just a kiss and ultimately the action did not bother me because I understand why it needed to be there. The way it was written, however, did bother me as it seemed to me more than was necessary to drive the plot. If you are a parent you should be aware of this as I'm sure the ultraliberals will tout it out as being "a good role model" plot line. (It really isn't a good role model for anything other than evil. It is truly a horrible moment. Not because of the kiss. Because of what comes after.)

I would say pre-read and decide for yourself if Champion needs a place on your bookshelf. Through all this thought process I decided I still like Hunger Games the best. When I read those books I felt so deeply for the characters and the terror permeated my soul. I guess I am seeking for another series to make me feel that intensely and so far all have failed. Still I haven't been completely unhappy with any of the series.

In other reads it was also self help week I guess. With a reading of The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman and Teaching in Your Tiara by Rebecca French.

As I am SUPER late to the party with Teaching in Your Tiara I will just say if you haven't read it and you're interested on any level in homeschooling this is worth a read. Even if you're like me and are 97% sure you won't actually homeschool but maybe would like to supplement or do some curriculum over the summer.  Or if you're like "homeschoolers are nuts but they're sure fascinating" this book is still a good one. I had tried to win a copy or 5 a while back but lucky me it was FREE on Kindle for her birthday and that is in our pre-Christmas season budget so I was thrilled to get to read it finally.

So I'll be honest for a second and while I knew both the love language of Husband and myself, read some articles and excerpts and taken a quiz I had never just read the book. So I did. I put it on the Kindle because we were going to visit my in-laws and I needed plenty of options of unread material to keep me occupied if I needed it. I didn't need it so read it when I got home. It's a good refresher on how to help people feel loved. Obviously it focuses on marriage and Chapman has other versions for children but I think it works as a reminder in all relationships to be the best you can be.

Linking up with Jessica for WWRW. Have you read anything lately? Should you? Let me know about it. Link up!!

My Little Helper

By my calculations it has been a while since my last straight up C post. So here we go. He is such a little helper. He wants to do everything and be involved. I just love this stage and I want to remember it because I am sure we'll get to "I don't want to do ______ " sooner than later. 

He has had just a love affair with the vacuum for months. It is his favorite thing. He has his own sized Dyson Ball and when it's time to vacuum we have a mini party. It helps that we vacuum almost every day. We had a Halloween party last week and the two toys all the boys wanted were the vacuum and broom. It was really bizarre because the girls could have cared less about them but there were actual tears involved when a turn was up from 4 different boys. No idea. Though let's be honest, Brave Little Toaster is making way more sense these days. Because who thought as a child that it was weird he was connected to the lamp, toaster and vacuum? I understood the blanket but the appliances? I get it now. He also has a fondness for the appliance cupboard with the crock pots, rice cooker and toaster in it. 

C loves to do anything with us though, he is all grown up in his eyes. He can bake and rake. Vacuum, dust and sweep. He LOVES making pasta and bread--anything with dough really. He is very gentle though. When we made ravioli, he gave each one a soft pat as kind of his seal of approval. Every once and a while a bread loaf comes out a little weird looking but then I know that he just got a little excited and stuck his finger in too far. 

All of sudden he is using his spoon and plates/bowls. Previously he wouldn't let anything be on a plate and he'd just dump it everywhere. I don't actually know what inspired him to keep it on the plate but clean up has been so much easier these past few weeks. He can use a spoon and gets excited when he does but after a while it still slows him down and goes back to his fingers. He will eat and enjoy just about anything except  for scrambled eggs. It's the weirdest thing. He liked scrambled eggs when he was younger but for months now has shown no interest and spits them out. We definitely still introduce them regularly as we have breakfast for dinner every week and while it doesn't involve eggs every time they still come into rotation quite a bit. We once made a breakfast burrito and hid eggs in there and he ate it okay until he noticed the eggs and then that was no good. Ah well if our biggest food issue is scrambled eggs than it's not really a big one is it? 

In this case, he even has his own sized rake but it wasn't as good as the big one I guess.

The talking is so cute. Husband tells me I have too high of standards on talking but that's okay. I don't consider it really talking unless I hear it multiple times and it sort of makes sense to me. I don't have a number of words count for the doctor but I feel he is right on track since he does communicate his wants and needs with me, repeats words and then uses them later as well as uses good listening ears. He is a really really good listener. He loves to bring us things and help and even stopping his negative behavior which at this point is mostly climbing and throwing things.

In the world of toys and books anything that is monkey theme is great or if it has wheels that's good too. Cars, trucks and vacuums are pretty awesome. No really, he pushes the vacuum around the house like it's a big car. What can I say? He loves it. He makes very clear demands for the books he wants by shoving them in our faces and throats which is cute but occasionally painful. For his favorite books he knows how long it takes to read each page and he will turn the page at the right time.

He has the sweetest temperament. I'm not sure if it was ingrained or learned but he doesn't really get mad when people take what he's playing with, he just picks a different toys. He is not a rough houser but still likes to run around with all the boys. He is very gentle with things too. Of course this doesn't mean he doesn't tantrum or get clingy or get loud. He has always had a very loud cry and that has translated into also having a very loud yell.

Anyway that is what's going on with us in the C world. I just don't want to forget this stage and what he was like. And there's so many little things that I wish I could capture perfectly but he hams it up for video cameras and writing it down isn't the same so I just have to watch and remember. He just makes my heart happy. What a guy. My little helper.

I Have Come To A Conclusion

I have recently decided that there are two kinds of people in the world. 

Wreath people. 

And non-wreath people.

There are so many different kinds of wreaths. And according to Pinterest they're all apparently really easy to make and FUN! (Please note, all of these pictures are stolen from Pinterest. If one is your picture and you don't want it on here, I will take it off.) 

And all of these wreaths are cute. And fun. With whimsy. 

Halloween-y wreaths... fun. 

This matches my kitchen... but I don't need a wreath in my kitchen.

Wouldn't this get gross in pretty much any weather besides sunny?

I love this. I want one.

All the whimsy.

Can you just buy green burlap? Or would you have to dye it? Because... that seems like a lot of work,

I am safely in the "I guess I like wreaths but I'm not going to make one because while I am not entirely uncrafty it just seems like a lot of work for something that I won't really see and since no one uses my front door the only person who would see it is my mail man" camp. So mostly non-wreath. I have Christmas wreaths but... that's it.

Okay, enjoy your day and thank you for reading my conclusion on wreaths. (But seriously... search wreath on Pinterest. CRAZY how many different ones there are.)