legos

Sunday late morning Theo was looking for a buddy to hang out with and he chose me. It was all about convenience, not actual preference. But the request came in for me to do something with Theo, and since I hardly ever get asked anymore (just earlier that weekend after I saw them for the first time after they returned from a sleep over and I got home from the school fair, Theo kindly asked me to leave him alone and Eli silently closed his door on me) I accepted, despite the fact that the activity being offered was...legos. Like I have said before, I love legos if there are diagrammed directions and sets that include only the pieces needed to build the things in the diagrams. But Theo escorted me into his room and there on the floor was the old Lego bag with the legos covering about 16 square feet of floor space. No plans. Just time to play. But then, a ray of hope! Theo mentioned that it would be nice to separate some of the legos into the new lego bag Grandma Sherry had made him for christmas (she was making her statement about how heavy the one bag was and how much she disliked hoisting it back up onto its hook in the closet). Seperate! Sort! What warms my heart more than a good sorting project? So I eagerly sat down and began trying to sort them into the categories picked by Theo- legos, and legos used for bionicles. But to do so, I needed much clarification as to what was bionical-esque. After Eli (who had actually put down his book to join us) heard me ask for the 1245 time, "is this for bionicles?" he had a better idea. He figured I could possibly identify by myself which pieces were people pieces- they were either heads, or bodies, or legs- and I could concentrate on those. I spent the next hour blissfully hunting down all body parts in that damn bag. And I found them. No severed hand was too little for my discerning eye. Soon it turned into quite a fancy sorting operation, with containers for hats and hair, weaponry, and yes, even severed hands. It became quite the hunt, with much cheering and hulabaloo anytime a particularly rare piece was found. "McGonagal's hat!!!" "Chewbaca's legs!!" "Dumbledore's beard!!" "A severed hand!!" And I managed to get become familiar enough with the properties that make a lego a bionicle to get those all stashed in bag number two. Our legos are now so nicely organized that I think the kids are scared to play with them. I know that within the month they will be one gigantic mash again, but I don't care. Then when Theo asks me to play with them again, I can get another good sorting fix. Love sorting. Really. This has given me a whole new attitude toward legos.

Como Park

For years now everytime I've made it to Como Park for a ski I have had this nagging feeling that it reminds me of something and I just can't place it. Today it became clear: Busytown. A la Richard Scarry? There are just so many people doing so many different things and everyone is going going going. Even though there are always a ton of people, there is definitely room for everyone, and people seem to always have huge smiles on their faces. And there are all kinds of people- skiers completely bedecked in lycra and flying around the skate lanes as well as old gramps in his knickers and his wooden skies cutting cross country, following his own route. Then the sledders, snowboarders, hikers, dog walkers, downhill skiers....it's amazing. And the setting is kind of busytown-esque for me for some reason. It brings me back to what I think it might have looked like in a 40's winter scene- minus the lycra, of course. Anyway, loved my outing, loved my ski, love St. Paul. And dang if the moon wasn't spectacular as I pulled out of the parking lot.
I never did find Lowly Worm. But he's out there. I know he is.

Perfect Allignment

Today I had the amazing luck to have all these things come together:
Sunshine
25 degrees
Freetime
Good health
Fabulous ski conditions (albeit only because there are some crafty groomers working for Minneapolis)

After a mind-numbing 4 hour workshop on testing protocols I was able to hop into my trusty suburu and head over to Lake of the Isles. There they have a lovely groomed skate trail with a skinny little track for those who prefer the classic way of skiing. I waxed up and headed out for an hour long ski. I went around Isles, through the channel over to Cedar, around that and then to the tunnel that connects to Brownie. From there you can go and go, eventually landing in Theodore Wirth Park. But I was out of steam so crawled back to my car. I am completely amazed at how hot I got while only wearing a long underwear shirt and a thin thin thin windbreaker. And I wore pants. But it is so refreshing to know that you can be completely comfortable out there even if the thermometer shows that it is technically below freezing. The only downer of my whole ski was that I forgot my sunglasses- and out on those snow covered lakes in the high noon sun, they are handy. Anyway. I'm still estatic. It is not often that all of those factors come together. Love Minnesota (for the moment) and especially that Minneapolis park system.

Costa Rica!

Earlier this year and old neighbor and friend of Jon's was so very kind as to bestow on this small family free tickets on Continental airlines. So the day after Christmas we packed up our shorts and swimsuits, threw the christmas tree out the back door, and headed to the airport. We only had four full days down in Costa Rica, but they were full of fun, hearty laughs, and many animal spottings. We failed to bring our camera on our little river rafting expedition, so we don't have proof of our sightings, but we think it was pretty cool to see a small colony of bats sleeping on the rock wall, to eat a snack below a troup of howler monkeys, and to spot gigantic iguanas and lizards sunning on the banks. Not as excited about the caimon (alligator cousin) that was as large as me, but it looked lazy in the afternoon heat, so I didn't totally freak out. We also got up our courage for a full day of adventure that included horseback rides, mud spa treatments, hot springs (not so relaxing if while sitting in them a monkey poops on your head- right Eli?) and then the dreaded zip line(s). There were too many of them, I think. Both the boys started out doing them on their own, but when on the third zip Theo's finishing move was to crash into the tree, he got 'taxied' for the rest of the ride. Eli also chose a taxi (you get hooked on to a guide) for the long rides, but finished out the last few lines under his own power. They were both much more fearless than me. It was a treat to watch them.

The return of the virus

We thought that we were in the clear- Eli had made it all through the holiday parties with just a few incidents of appetite loss. But then, this morning, he and the toilet had a nice roundevouz. He had been tossing and turning in bed for a few hours, so I had a feeling this was coming. He then went on philosophizing about what was worse, the anticipation of puking, or puking, or not puking....went on for quite a while about this, so I knew that he was feeling at least a little better. After a long day of lounging on the couch in his pajamas, he seems fairly cured, just real lackluster. I want this germ out!!! I can't believe it is the same one that struck the rest of us back before Christmas- but if it is, it atleast gives me some hope for a wee bit of immunity.

The dreaded virus

It rampaged our house- only Eli has remained unscarred. On Sunday I was sure I would never do anything productive again. On Monday I was certain that now that I could eat again that I would only provide my body with leafy greens and organic fruits. And on Tuesday....I broke into the chips. It's been a long time since I was brought so low by a germ.

Before the illness, we were busy whirlwinding through December, with parties and outings and doings galore. Jon and I have never seen so much of each other. At my staff party (after which Jon had to admit that I do work with a humorous, fun bunch) there was the much anticipated white elephant exchange. My co-workers took pity on Eli when he was stuck with the book "The Baby Whisperer" and took it off his hands. He ended up with the 'best white elephant gift ever!' which has since sat in it's box on the radiator. But Theo did dig through it and found a little book about the hula- including a flower comb for your hair. He put it in and taught himself a few steps. Never have I been so enamored with him. He was so serious, and adorable. Here he is:

After hitting the British Ad Awards with DuNordian pals I found myself longing for summer and lazy days sitting on the dock dangling my feet in Burntside Lake. This school year stuff makes time move so dang fast, it's hard to get my bearings.

After Jon and I went to the Dan Wilson concert, I sang myself "Hand on my Heart" for the next 36 hours. It's playing right now. Love that skinny 50-something guy.

And after 3 long weeks of exams and appointments and waiting- Eli is bespectacled. Turns out that the kid couldn't see much. During the wait, I wasn't sure if he was disappointed or excited about the upcoming change for him-he stayed so low key about it. When he expressed worries that he might start looking like a mole when he took his glasses off (apparently that is the fate of his friend Simon) I thought, disappointed. Then, the night before they were to be picked up, when he skipped dinner, then awoke at 5 am, ready to start his day, I thought, excited. Yep, he was excited. By now he might be disappointed, but I don't think that has happened yet. He is still thrilled to have them on, look at something, pull them down, look again, and be wowed by the difference. And I think that he thinks that he looks pretty cool. He does. But older.

Here's hoping that he continues to ward off the germ that is probably still lurking somewhere in our house. I have taken antibiotic wipes to any and all surfaces, but this one seems wiley. We have so many more doings to do in December that I don't know if we can handle another slow down. I do admit that having to sit on the couch and watch Harry Potter 1 and 2 with the kids was a nice break from the action. But it is time to jump back in.

Time

I've been thinking about it, wondering what I did all November...did I really spend so much time on Facebook? No. There was a lot of time spent watching the "Yes We Can" video on YouTube. But I'm done with that obsession now. Now it's on to the Jedi Gym video. If you haven't seen it, it is definitely worth a glance. Now that I think about it, I was alerted to both of these videos through facebook. shoot. Need more self control.....