The Whole World in Their Hands

INSPIRATION: This morning we had some show on the TV (I'll admit, I was Interneting and Interviewing someone for a story, so my attention to the kids was less than 100 percent). I gather the show was about wildlife in need of sustenance, because at it's conclusion CJ vowed, "I'm going to make a leaf restaurant. I'll it call CJ’s Bistro La Leaf, and if I see a panda coming, I’ll serve them bamboo. Animals who are hungry, walking down the street with no leafs to eat, I'll feed them in my restaurant."

SOLAR FLAIR: The kids staged a conspiracy of the best sorts this morning. They suggested that instead of the regular morning stuff, we tackle a project out of the Magic School Bus Secret of the Solar System kit. I thought that sounded like a great idea, and so we rolled up our sleeves and dove in. On today's to do list: Constructing a solar system. And not just any solar system - OUR solar system. Clearly, lives were hanging in the balance. :)

First step, we sized up the Styrofoam balls included in the kit. And while there were 4 or so different sizes, much to our chagrin, we weren't happy with their representative scale based on what we know about the actual planets' sizes. So we had protracted, pained discussions about which foam ball should be which planet.

Once we agreed on an order we could live with, I opened up the mini paint pails, armed each kid with a brush, and they were instructed to paint 'em to spec (the spec being a chart of the solar system we'd posted on the wall in front of us). They took their jobs seriously and handled the planets gingerly. As the worlds dried, they watched "The Price is Right" and ate raisins (I'm sure that's what our solar system's "creators" did, too).

Once the planets were safe to handle, one by one we punched holes in them (avoiding lifeforms, of course), and attached them to the sun with wires of varying lengths (based, of course, on the planets' distance from the sun).

It was a ton of fun and the finished product was super cool and something the kids were proud of - and as I looked at it, I couldn't help but get a little sad. Why, you ask? Well, because we made it from a kit we'd bought at Goodwill. And while the kit had been opened before, it was clearly never used. And there's just no way a kid wouldn't want to do at least some of what's in the kit. There are numerous potential projects, all appealing in their own way, but all require some degree of help from an adult. So, I could only surmise that the kit's original owner didn't have a Big Person around who would take the time to help them out. And that made me a little sad.

JUMP FOR JOY: Early this a.m. I moved the mini trampoline out of the kids' bedroom and put it in the middle of the living room floor. I figured if it were there, it would get used, and get used it did. Annabelle had a protracted jumping session, complete with an original song to go with. "I really like the song I made up," she said. "Maybe we could have a radio station of our own and have it go all over the world. And sometimes it might even be in commercials," she suggested.

Annabelle also expressed the desire to have someone filming her act. (Which reminds me, we need to figure out how to download movies from the little movie camera we gave the kids for Christmas.) CJ hopped on for a jump several times throughout the day, which was another rainy, dreary day, so it's good that the kids are getting some exercise in nonetheless. And, of course, Kirby had to use it as her bed for a good part of the day - she has to be in the center of where the action is or might be. For awhile the trampoline was a portal to the "Dark Signer" world (the Dark Signers are the bad guys on Yu-Gi-Oh, one of the cartoons CJ watches from time to time.

CLASS REUNION: We were invited to a Befriended buddies reunion at one of the classmates' houses today and we were happy to be able to attend.

The kids had a rollickin' good time. CJ and the host were immediately engaged in sword play - ranging from Camelot to Captain Jack Sparrow. They were both trying to be Careful and Conscientious but they were also both excited 6 year olds, so they wound up being pirates wearing their mommies' sunglasses. As I told them, only stupid pirates wind up with eye patches. :) All in all, it was a good 2 hours that went too quickly.

THE BLUEST SKIES YOU'VE EVER SEEN: On our way home from dinner out this evening, we stopped at Albertsons. The family went in while I stayed with the car. (I feel like I've spent 28 percent of my adult life in some sort of store. Any chance I have to beg out, I do.) Anywho, I turned the radio to AM and hoped to find a Huskies game or something. Instead, I found myself listening to the oldies station, having been sucked in by "Mr. Sandman." And up next: Perry Como crooning, "The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle." It was funny, because believe it or not, I'd had a (Facebook-based) conversation with a friend my age about this song just a couple of days ago.

The song was from a show "Here Come the Brides," which aired on ABC from 1968 to 1970. The television show was based on "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," which was, apparently, loosely based upon the "Mercer Girls," or Asa Mercer's efforts to bring civilization to Seattle in the 1860s by importing marriageable women from the East Coast.

I know you will want to know that Bobby Sherman and David Soul were two of "Here Comes the Brides" stars.

And can I just go on record as saying that it feels like I haven't seen blue sky here in Seattle since 2009. ...