I grew up in a very small place.  My county was so small it had one high school.  I went there.  

Every year, there was a talent show at my high school.  I got roped into participating in the talent show exactly once.  The year before I got roped in, when I successfully bagged out due to paralyzing fear, my friends did a performance of The Time Warp from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  (More on the talent show I did get roped into later.  Or not.)

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're making me feel really old.
But you should watch this movie.  Really.

*     *     *     *     *

When Durel and I told Jack that he was going to be a big brother, we framed out how long he would have to wait in terms of milestones.  We explained that he would have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and his birthday -- and then, baby would come.

He totally got it.  And now that he is officially a four year old, he asks every single morning whether the baby is coming today.

Apparently, Jack will value punctuality in a manner that takes after Durel.  (I like it.  I just struggle with it, that's all.)

*     *     *     *     *

So, about being four -- Jack is.  We had a party, his first "big kid" party.  Unlike previous years where we had cupcakes and enchiladas and balloons at home, this year we went to The Bouncy Place.

There were friends -- Jack and his school posse are pretty tight, and they came, and they bounced.  

There were snacks, including cupcakes.  I grabbed onto my Batman theme and didn't let go, as you can see: 

And the results were fantastic.  Batman was happy beyond happy.

*     *     *     *     *

And now he's four, asking every day when his baby brother is coming, and I am in my very own Time Warp.  I haven't seen any sweet transvestites yet, but I'm telling you, I wouldn't be that surprised if I did.

And, as if I needed more proof that there is a Tim Curry/time warp kind of theme to my week, which I did not, Clue: The Movie was on the other night.

And if you have not see Clue: The Movie, go watch it right now.
I'll wait.

Hope you take a jump to the left today.

Talk soon,
Heather

stewardesses, then and now

Once upon a time, a long long, time ago, my family played Pictionary.

It was new then.  We were excited.  The Davies family is a creative lot -- skewing toward the nerdy side, even.  And we LOVE to get our board game on.

The time came for my beloved Dad to draw.  His word was "stewardess."  (Again, this was a while ago.  People still totally used that word.  Pre-PC.)  He drew an airplane.  He tapped on it.

We guessed everything we could think of related to planes and flight.  We didn't, however, go inside the plane with our guesses.

Dad grew frustrated.  He continued tapping on his pencil-drawn 747.

TAP TAP TAP.

We kept guessing.  In retrospect, we weren't that smart, because how many flight-related words do we really know?  And we STILL didn't guess stewardess?  

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!!!

We didn't get it. The timer ran out.

STEWARDESS.

That was the first and last time Dad ever played Pictionary.  We told him that we're glad his brain works differently than ours.  Business school and all that.  What would we do without him?

*     *    *     *     *     *     *     *

In some ways, raising a 3 1/2 year old is a lot like playing Pictionary with my Dad.  If you don't know what they're talking about, it's really up to you to get creative and figure it out.  They are going to TAP that picture until you do.

Last night, Jack asked me on the way home if he could watch "the Michael movie."  I wracked my brain.  There are no characters named Michael on any of his favorite shows or movies.  I told him that I didn't know what he meant.

"Momma, I want to watch the Michael movie!"  (TAP TAP)

"But, Jack, I don't know what that is."

"The MICHAEL MOVIE!"  (TAP TAP TAP)

"Ok.  If you can show it to me or find it, we'll see if you can watch it."

When we got home, Jack efficiently went through the drawer containing his DVDs and proudly pulled out the Michael movie.

It is called An American Tale.

Michael = Fivel.

STEWARDESS.

Phew.

Movie night was, of course, a great success.  (And wouldn't have been complete without a shout out to Uncle Dustin and Aunt Geri, who are fond of that movie and their nephew.)

Hope your streets ARE filled with cheese today.  Because that would be awesome.

Talk soon,
Heather

the one with popcorn

We took Jack to his first movie in the theater recently.

Of the three of us, I was by far the most excited.  You would think we were going to, like, a queso festival or a party thrown by Oprah.  I was giddy.

Durel was, as he tends to be, a bit more pragmatic about it.  The movie of choice, Planes, wasn't getting great reviews.  The attendee of honor, Jack, isn't always known for his patience or ability to sit still and be quiet when it's required.  

Still, it was exciting.  

Tickets were purchased.  Photos were taken.  Jack's outfit represented an amalgamation of transportation:  monster truck tee; planes on his shorts, Star Wars moving thingees on his shoes.  And, Francesco Bernoulli in his hand.  

(Come to think of it, Jack may be the Roger Ebert of the family.  He knew that Planes would be so formulaic and modeled after Cars that he just went ahead and brought some Cars propaganda.  You know, since we haven't been to Target to buy the Planes propaganda yet.)

So, how was the movie?  

Um, I liked it.  Dane Cook voices the main character, Dusty Crophopper, who is a crop dusting plane who dreams of being a racer.  (Not really a) Spoiler alert:  He overcomes his fears, is a good guy, and wins the race.  

Durel thought it was a smidge hard to sit through.  Fair enough.  (If Sean Payton had voiced the "coach plane," I bet he would be singing a different tune.  Just saying.)

Jack thought the popcorn was delicious.

Waiting.  For.  Popcorn.

We went to one of those awesome theaters with reclining seats and a full menu.  Jack insisted that he just wanted popcorn.  So, we got him popcorn.

In reality, we got him a bowl of popcorn approximately three times the size of his head.  Gallons of popcorn. A huge mixing bowl of buttery, popcorny goodness.  He dove in.  We almost had to grab him by his ankles to make sure he came out in one piece.  

And he told everyone for the rest of the weekend that he loved going to the movie theater because he liked eating popcorn.

Hope you have a relative victory today.  With butter, maybe.

Talk soon,
Heather

Pongo and Pablo

Jack is passionate about his viewing choices.

For a while, it was Fresh Beat Band every day after school while I made dinner.  At first, I demurred when he insisted I do the closing dance with him.  But you only live once, dancing is fun, and you don't have to tell anyone or anything.  

Oops.

Then, it was Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Durel and I consistently broke his heart when we refused to let him watch more than one episode at a time.  I struggled with that phase.  I know that pirates are cool, but that show plucks my nerves.

Now, we've taken an unforeseen turn straight into the Disney archives.  We watch 101 Dalmations on the daily.  We almost never make it through the entire movie, what with dinner and bedtime and TOYS and all.  But it's Jack's current jam.  There is no denying it.

Side Note:  I was considering being Cruella DeVille for Halloween until I did some preliminary research and realized that it always make you look like a drag queen.  Best leave that one to the experts.

I had an epiphany the other day.  I think I've figured out why Jack loves 101 Dalmations so much.

Check this out:

Pongo, the main canine character and mastermind.

Pablo, our main canine character and the Most Interesting Dog in the World.

Pretty cool, huh?

Hope a spotted dog with a red collar brightens your day today.

Talk soon,
Heather