School Talent Show 2019

Yesterday, the kids' school had its annual talent show, which is part of Catholic Schools Week, and what a show it was! The show is always on Student Appreciation Day, which this year, was their "crazy clothes day", too. Mix and match those patterns, my loves! MIX AND MATCH!

As you may recall, dear readers, that for past shows, our children have demonstrated such talents as singing while doing a headstand, whistling, making banana bread, and doing a stand-up comedy routine with a puppet. This year, Conor opted to demonstrated how to make a few balloon sculptures and Annika (pre-broken arm) planned to do a little Irish dancing). Once we got word that Annika would be able to avoid surgery on her arm (wooo hooo!!!), we recruited her to be Conor's assistant for his routine. Ta da!!

Conor (with a little guidance from home and with OK from his principal) opted to make a balloon heart and two different swords. He practiced very hard on his creations (the hills of balloon corpses left scattered around our home is a testament to his practice!) and what he could say during his act. 

When it came time for them to take the stage, the kids were amazing!! Conor adeptly created the heart and amazed all of the kids in the audience. (His deadpan instructions were probably the piece de resistance of the routine, if I'm being 100% honest.!! Without trying to, Conor embodied the comedian Steven Wright to a T.) Conor then moved on to the more difficult of the two swords (the trident sword) and really showed how much poise he has ... and Annika provided a great deal of moral support. We prepped way more balloons than we thought he'd need, but he wound up needing every one of those balloons because more than ever before popped during the sculpting process. Much to Conor's credit, the popping balloons didn't phase him or ruffle his feathers. He simply tossed the popped balloons aside and started over. Meanwhile, Annika would lean in to the mic to explain that "even if a balloon pops, that's ok! Just try again. It just gives you more practice!"

After quite a few attempts, Conor conquered his trident sword and (out of a sense of generosity?) opted to throw it to the audience, which basically created a mob that surged for the stage. As the the teachers jumped in and got the crowd back to their seats, the kids were still on stage with Conor at the mic saying "No! No! I'm not done yet!" (By this point, I was shaking with laughter... tears streaming down my face!)

He finished his next sword and, apparently not learning from the first time, also threw it into the crowd .... creating another balloon-focused mob rush toward the stage. The teacher, once again, jumped into defensive mode and got the kids wrangled and back under control. I'm pretty sure my laughter subsided around 10 minutes later after the last acts wrapped up. (Best ab workout ever!)

We are incredibly proud of our kids for having the courage to stand on stage in front of their entire school. They had poise, charisma, humor, and a great rapport. 

To our sweet performers, you two did a fantastic job!! We love you and are impressed by your bravery and love your creativity!

Lest ye not forget

So, the kids and I visited my mom on Sunday and this was the first time she didn't recognize one of the kids.

Annika, Conor, my mom, and I were seated at a table waiting for lunch and my mom asked, "Where are the others?" I asked, "What others?" She said, "Sister. Conor, where is sister?" To which, Conor and I pointed to Annika and she raised her hand somewhat sheepishly. Oh dementia, you are a cruel beast.

(Fortunately, Annika was OK after this having a good understanding that Nana's brain isn't as healthy and her memory isn't what it used to be. In fact, Annika was more concerned about me and the fact that my mom would, one day, completely forget who I am. Awww! What a sweet girl we have!)

To protect himself from the same fate, Conor did this after we got back home:

Honestly, I think he deserves double points. It is effective AND funny! Conor for the win!

Funny Faces

On Sunday, we broke out the Uno cards and had a family card game evening. The summer temperatures have returned, so doing much more than sitting around and playing cards would have taken more energy than we had. Too hot!

During the game, I made the clicking sound that people make when they're interacting with horses. That "side of the mouth, but in the back" clicking you. You know the one, right? The kids were fascinated by the sound and spent the next few minutes trying to figure out how on earth to make the same noise. They kept clicking their tongues on the roofs of their mouths or on their front teeth instead of having the sound originate from further back.

Try as they did, neither kiddo was able to make the sound, even with Eric and me both trying to demonstrate it and have them mimic us. After awhile, though, I was down for the count due to unrelenting laughter and could no longer help the kids.

Why was I laughing? Take a look at the faces Conor was making as he tried to make the "horse click" sound and you'll soon find out! Enjoy. :)

Forget Whistle While You Work! Annika Boogies and Sings While She Works!

I recently asked Annika to clean her room. Not a huge task, but still one that most kids would prefer not doing. We talked about ways to make her job seem more fun, and she chose to listen to music... specifically, the Caspar Babypants Beatles cover album.

I peeked in her room after awhile to check on her progress. Much to my great entertainment, this is what I saw...

Silly boy

Conor and I are home today because he had an every-so-slight fever (as in 99 degrees) at the end of his day at day care yesterday. A few minutes ago, he told me that he wanted ponytails in his hair. Sure - why not! The result was one of the funniest pictures I think I've taken of him thus far. Enjoy!

Keeping Busy

Kids have an amazing ability to keep themselves occupied in any situation. During a recent visit to the doctor for their flu vaccines, our kids decided to make use of the waiting room in a very clever—and entertaining— way.

Take a look!

Our kids are so thoughtful

They decided our dog (Buca) needed more water in his bowl on the deck. Our kids are such givers!

Note: The lids are still on the bottles!