New Puzzle Smell

Me: What are you doing Seth? 

Seth: Smelling my puzzle. I like it. 

Me: Does the puzzle... smell like something? 

Seth: YES! It smells like puzzles! 

– Mmmm...

- L.

Seven Things About Easter At The OP

1. Being the Easter Bunny is hard work and a thankless job. I was up until 11 the night before getting things ready and awake at 4:45 Easter morning with a little boy who needed "something"*. He went back to sleep around 6:15. I did not.

2. The power went out right after the boys discovered their Easter baskets at 7:45. 

The power going out was not a hit with anyone in case you were wondering.
It was a long 5 minutes in the dark.

3. I will never again buy things that need to be played with right away and that need my full-time help and attention while I'm trying to make breakfast:

I think DVDs would be a good choice for next year.

4. I will not leave promissory notes over something as important as a "Fox Book"** ever, ever again. Nate spent the better part of the morning wandering around and asking if the book would maybe come that day. It didn't. I hate disappointing my kids. 

My heart was in the right place, but my head was not. 

I still wish I could take the whole idea back. This photo was taken while the
concept was still settling in. It got worse. MUCH worse.

5. It turns out $2 puzzles from the dollar store are just as exciting as $40 Boogie Boards when you are 3 years old:

– "Wheee! Boogie Boards!"

– "Wheee! Puzzles!"

6. I will always dye Easter eggs and bake cupcakes before the big day:

We did Easter eggs on Good Friday after I thoroughly read the instructions on the
PAAS kit. I still can't believe I messed this up two years in a row.

At least the cupcakes turned out. Store-bought cake mix and store-bought frosting
led to the best cupcakes I've ever made. Home-made is overrated sometimes.

7. Most of the pictures I took looked like this: 

Maybe a video next year would be more appropriate.

As a Mommy I am learning things all the time and I'd like to think this year made me smarter, but it probably didn't. Remind me about the DVDs next year and I hope I will thank you for it.

- L.

PS. The baggy PJ bums made it worth it, but really it was a very long day.

• • • • • • • 

*I get woken up lately for calls about "something" all the time. It's not a euphemism. Sometimes it's about an itchy finger or a sore toe that needs kisses, but when it's the middle of the night and you happen to be 3 years old it's hard to come up with something that needs Mommy's attention, so for the most part it really is that vague at 2AM, 4AM, 6AM and all the rest of the AMs.

**The "Fox Book" is out of print. When I tried to buy it a week or so pre-Easter new copies from private sellers on Amazon (both the .ca and the .com variety) were selling it upward of $130 (some were close to $200). I see the price has come down a lot since then and you can find new copies for $40 from private sellers. Used copies are under $5. I paid $30 for a used version in "very good condition" because Nate would give up his Mommy and his brother for that book and I think the local library is getting tired of us requesting a copy. More importantly, I know how much Nate loves everything "Fox" and at the time $30 for a hardcover book in very good condition didn't seem like such a bad deal for a book that's out of print. Whenever it arrives and whatever condition it's it I hope it's a cause for celebration. We anxiously await the mailman in the meantime.

Happy Easter Everyone!

The baggy PJ bums made the late night and early morning worth it.

- L.

Second Verse Same As The First

The verse:

S: I think we can wait. Yes.
N: Or maybe not.
S: Or maybe we can!
N: Maybe...
S: I guess we'll see!
N: We WILL see.
S: Or not.
N: Or... we could.
S: We could!

N: Maybe.
S: MAYBE!
N: I guess we'll see.
S: Yes.

The chorus:

N and S: Mommy! Mommy! MOMM-EEEEEEEE!

- L.

PS. The picture has nothing to do with this post really other than that my boys like to stand on that box in the kitchen at night and sing songs (real ones) while I listen and applaud. I got them to stand still by asking Seth what song he was going to sing next and if he could hold his brother's hand at the same time which is why he looks a bit puzzled but it worked.

PPS. This picture is several weeks old and in-between everyone being sick and getting sick again. Songs are not the same if you don't do it nakey so I might be waiting awhile for an encore. The conversation was from today, but it's pretty standard fare. I should try to get it on video one of these days. I guess maybe I could do that. 

Maybe. 

I could.

We'll see.

- L.

This Isn't What It Looks Like

At least not here:

Or here:

Or even here:

Nate loves Fox like nothing else and in our spare time today we played doctors which makes sense since we are all sick again. You will be glad to know that Nate checked his patient over thoroughly and Fox's temperature and reflexes are OK and Carrot even survived a shot.

I didn't manage to get a picture of Seth when Broccoli got "a shot in the eye! And it HURTS! Ha ha ha ha ha..." followed by much poking and laughter, but I think his expression in the last picture right after Broccoli "got it" says it all:

– I stick it to him good everyone!

- L.

Great Grandma Edna's Puzzles

Great Grandma Edna's puzzles are very popular over here, most especially with Seth who coincidentally isn't especially fond of anything to do with crayons, markers, or paints.

Nate loves crayons, markers and paints and thinks Great Grandma Edna's Puzzles are good fun, but they aren't his favorite.

As such, I have a great stash of Nate art and not so much Seth art, but on the rare occasion when Seth decides he wants to "do art now" he gets pretty serious and he got pretty serious the last time we got out the fingerpaint to attempt some St. Patrick's day art. As you know, our attempts at shamrocks were short-lived and everyone pretty much went to town – some were keepers, some were not – but at the time I couldn't help but notice that Seth pretty much painted the same picture twice.

Specifically, this picture.

And I mostly couldn't help but not notice it because Seth started telling me about his painting the second time around. His paintings might not look like much, but they have a pretty big story behind them. The captions are his own, except I should have said "mans" instead of "men". 

My captions move around more than Seth's paintings did. You can pretty much stack his work over the picture on the box. He really, really loves these puzzles (they come two in a box), but this one is his favorite.

Thank you Great Grandma Edna on the good find. We have other puzzles and they are occasionally asked for, but nothing close to the level of this one. Seth can slap both of them together in under 5 minutes when he wants to at this point, but mostly he likes to take his time and ask questions and think about the stories. It's really been something to behold and participate in and it's brought up some interesting questions along the way as well.*

- L.

PS. Nate and Seth really do call these "Great Grandma Edna's puzzles".

• • • • • • • 

*Dear Ravenburger Puzzles: You make a great product within a reasonable price point and it inspired my 3 year old son who does not like art to paint a story he saw in your puzzles – twice in a single sitting. That said, my son doesn't understand why all but one of the women who appear to be doing anything in either of the puzzles other than looking sad/scared/alarmed or giggling is the paramedic (and thank goodness for her).

Fortunately, my sons have a legacy of strong women behind them – including Great Grandma Edna – and I like your product enough that the Easter Bunny is bringing a farm puzzle to by you to our home. But really, Ravensburger... get with it a little. You can still make a great product at a reasonable price point with women who can do something other than be scared or giggling.

Overstating The Obvious

"I think maybe a bath night tonight..." he said (as though we don't have a bath every night), "because I think I have spaghetti in my hair". 

- L.