Wake Up The Earth!

And it's cold and rainy!  Yay, for Massachusetts in Spring!

Maypole, in the cold! 

Face painting, in the cold!

Junk Percussion, in the cold!

Music, in the cold and rain!

And we'll do it all next Spring, with smiles on our faces.

Create A Playground

Our mayor challenged all Boston K2 (that's kindergarten) students to design a playground, and Frances's school was asked to display their creations!  The kids were so excited and the parents were so proud.  The playground models were displayed in City Hall with a grand opening ceremony.  (The mayor had to miss it, due to kidney stones, but it was still grand.)

Frances was so very proud of her class' work,

The kids planned an adult-sized swing set and a children's-sized swing set; an adult-sized monkey bars and a children's-sized monkey bars.  And a track and sprinklers and food stands and...

They also came up with rules for the playground which were completely depressing.  The gist of the rules was "Parents, put down your phones and play with your kid."  Completely depressing.

There was a rumor that the winner would actually get built.  I thought Frances's class had a real shot at winning.  It was much, much more practical than some of the other plans and would improve the health of adults and kids.  What could be better?  Alas, no, but Frances really enjoyed it and I think she felt special just to be invited to City Hall.  The mayor missed a good thing.

Feed The Birds

After I'd repaired the kitchen as much as I was able, the girls and I headed to the Franklin Park Zoo.

The Franklin Park Zoo is not spectacular.  It is not.  But it is very convenient and has its perks, like budgie (or parakeet) feeding.  They like peanut butter and seeds, and for an almost low price, the zoo will sell visitors a tiny stick with just that goodness on the end.

Here's Frances feeding and Chandler supervising as two budgies investigate. 

Frances was a little wary of these flying things.  They did swoop around quite a bit.

The first thing Chandler did with her budgie stick was eat its contents.  Shucks.  The birds were still willing to inspect her stick.

The girls both warmed up to this project and we stayed until the exhibit closed.  Then Frances and Chandler went exploring.

I Blame April Vacation

The kids are getting easier and easier, without a doubt.  That being said, a week of vacation with no particular plans can get a bit long.  So we were willing to try about anything.

The girls and I had a copy of Jack and the Beanstalk from the library.  Chandler in particular asked for it repeatedly.  Mr. Internet suggested a Jack and the Beanstalk activity:  building castles in the clouds, or stacking blocks in shaving cream.  Thank you, Mr. Internet.

I'm getting smarter:  I just stripped Chandler at the beginning of the activity.  She spent about ten seconds working with the blocks and about ten minutes smearing the shaving cream on herself.

Frances managed a quite decent castle...

...complete with dinosaur.

Chandler managed a complete mess.  I wish I could post some after photos of my kitchen, but they all include a very naked Chandler skating on a slick of shaving cream.  Ooooh, she was very pleased with herself, as was Frances.  My kitchen may have stunk of shaving cream for days, but they were very pleased with themselves.  I may not repeat this activity anytime soon, but I can't regret it either.

Bink & Gollie! Bink & Gollie!

A little miracle happened in our house this spring.  Frances's school had a Character Day when all the kids got to dress up as a character from a book or movie.  Here's the miracle part:  Frances didn't want to be Elsa!  She never even brought it up.  She wanted to be Gollie, from the wonderful Bink & Gollie books, by Kate DiCamillo.  I was so very proud, and pleased as punch because the costume took about five minutes to put together.  (Thank goodness she didn't want to be Anne Shirley.)  What Frances wears here is pretty much what Gollie wears, too:

Chandler's resemblance to Bink was just an added bonus.  Frances even proudly took one of the books to school, so she could explain who she was.  

Gollie is the less goofy of the two characters, but she's smart, imaginative and fiercely loyal.  

Frances, dear, you make one fine Gollie, and that's saying something.

Let's Make Gak!!

 It sounds like a bad thing, but really it's not.  Mostly chia seeds and cornstarch, and some food coloring for a little pizzazz.

Chandler was none too sure about the cornstarch and chia seeds.

But Frances never shies away from food dye.  I thought less was more, when it came to shirts.

It was a semi-success.  It was supposed to ooze, but was more like stiff playdough.  Too much cornstarch.  Chandler soon grew bored with it.  I'm going to give it another try since I've got a lot of chia seeds left over with much less cornstarch and see if it piques her interest.  Fingers crossed.

Oh, [Expletive Deleted]!

Damn it to hell, I have a three year old.

The first month of this three year old being three was Not Fun.  There was much raging against the machine (that'd be me).  Her principal form of protesting was the sit-in, or lie-in, whichever struck her rapidly changing fancy.

So, here we are sitting in protest on Frances's school playground.

And here we are lying in protest outside Frances's ballet class.

And here we are sitting in protest outside my gym, which I must visit frequently lest I lose my mind.

And finally, here we are lying on the floor inside Frances's school.

Hmmm, perhaps what she is actually protesting is the dearth of Chandler-centered programming.  Worth a think.

She has bounced back quite nicely.  No more lying down on the job.  Her newest form of protest is sticking out her tongue.  It's super cute, especially because it is almost always directed at Frances, not me.  I can ignore it forever.  Frances does not take it in stride, but eventually this phase too will pass.