Happy Earth Day to You

Graphic from t-shirt I found/bought at Goodwill yesterday

THINK GLOBALLY: Today is Earth Day. The 41st Earth Day, to be exact. I had really Good and Big Intentions about all the Green Things we were going to do today. For instance, I thought we'd walk to the store to get the makings for CJ's (belated) birthday cake. But ...

By dawn's early light I felt like crap (the winter of my discontent/disease continues). And so, we drove to the store and got our groceries in a plastic bag (adding injury to insult), making me feel like quite the loser. :/

Here's a photo of Bee after she helped clean the beaters. I think some of it actually went in her mouth. ...

I did manage to muster the strength to cue up an earth-friendly type BrainPOP video for the kids, which they enjoyed. And Annabelle enjoyed playing some Earth-Day-ish games on McWorld (I know, also horrible).

Though we didn't plant a tree, we did manage to get some cilantro we'd started from seeds into the soil. That counts for something, right?!I had to outfit the kids with safety goggles because they kept throwing dirt up into their eyes. (Gardening is dangerous!)

Though I mostly wanted to go back to bed, we did venture out this afternoon. We met the kids' BFF from yoga class at the award winning Cal Anderson Park. That spot has to be about the busiest per-square-foot park in the city. The sports fields were teeming with soccer, Frisbee, kickball and baseball players. Grassy spots were dotted with Seattle University students, homeless people, and people who work nearby, and the playground was full of kiddos and their parent/guardians.

Unfortunately, Annabelle kept hurting herself at the park - running into things, etc. I think she was punchy from last night, when we were up late fetching Christian from the airport. When she wasn't hurting herself, Annabelle had fun being "Super Bee" on the swings, and scampering near the fountain and reflecting pool. CJ had all the fun with none of the bumps and bruises. ;)

MAD WORLD: Happy to report CJ has two new non-video game related obsessions. One is the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book series. We are quite happy to fuel this fire, as I love to see him curled up with a 200-page book. He's finished two of them so far, and we have a third one on order.

His other obsession is MAD Magazine. He discovered it via MAD TV shorts on the Cartoon Network, and he's been keenly interested in getting his hands on hard copies ever since. I have a couple of vintage issues (including one that has a spoof of "Jaws") that he's read, but today I bought him his first brand spankin' new one. He was thrilled. He has read it from cover to cover. Spy vs. Spy is his favorite part. I don't think he understood many parts of the magazine (for instance, he was asking me about Charlie Sheen's gold teeth), but that's OK. MAD Magazine was my favorite as a kid, and I'm sure there was a lot that went over my head back then, too. (Heck, there's no doubt still a lot that goes over my head.)

CJ must have asked me a dozen times today if he could subscribe to MAD. So, I guess we'll have to do that as part of our arts and literature budget. :)