[ oh want fun it is to... ]

sooooooo...i've got to admit it's only been the second day of yoda, our 'elf on the shelf' & it's so much fun!! my boys are so excited especially when they go look for him & he's in a different place! the best time to move him is when we get in the car & i'll pretend to forget something & have to run back in... i do get a kick out of it & have caught myself doing a sneaky laugh!!

today was flynn's turn to open the star wars advent calendar ~ which he very excitedly reminded me of at 6am this morning...

i'm really not up on star wars at all... i remember when i told my husband the only star wars film i'd every seen was the new one... he face was the same one i pulled when i discovered our dog, lennon, had chewed up my drivers license...

i had no idea who the figure was behind door number 2 ... after some research i find it's nute gunray... of course!! he doesn't look very happy... probably similar to my look when i'm woken up really early. i definitely wouldn't want to be stuck in an elevator with him!

nute

the flynnster

[ december... december... ]

sooooooo... december is here already!!! so much excitement today ~ we started the STAR WARS advent calendar that the boy's wonderful godparents got them ~ VERY COOL!! & also YODA is back!! [ my elf on the shelf!! ] please read here

YODA!!!

STAR WARS ADVENT CALENDAR!!!!

[ toilet paper... ]

sooooooo... i walk into the bathroom... errrr... does anyone know what happened to the toilet paper??
 
no-one saw a thing...

[ more costen library! ]

sooooooo... i know i've blogged about the costen children's library, before... ( previous post )

but... i can't get enough of this place!! & felt compelled to share my sons latest creations! i'm thinking of making this a permanent spot & for all you brits i'd like you to have tony hart's gallery music playing in your head as you peruse these master pieces!

i do have to fess up though, that i think i get the most excited (out of everyone in the whole library) when dr dana reveals what we will be making after she's read the story! the week it was the puppets i'm pretty sure i let a gasp! hahaha. i wonder how long it will be before the boys won't want to come... so i'm going to enjoy it while it lasts!

october 22 2010 ~ monkeys with matching tee shirts

october 15 2010 ~ super hero puppets

[ costen children's library ~ princeton ]

sooooooo... i have just discovered the costen children's library, located on the main floor of princeton university's firestone library, at the corner of nassau street & washington road.

why have i not found out about this before?? it's FABULOUS!!!! & even better it's FREE!! music to my ears!

i took my boys oscar (4 & three quarters) & flynn (3) there yesterday, for story time & a craft.

i really enjoyed the craft! ~ come on lets face it, that's very important as i always end up finishing them... this octopus mask was one i could really get my teeth into!!

just to digress about 2 years ago i was worried about oscar's concentration span. i'd think up these great things to make & 2 minutes into them he would be wanting to do something else...

i was that concerned i told my pediatrician, (oscar's my first, i'm a little less neurotic now!) who sent him to be evaluated.

i remember having to hand oscar over to this team of ladies & go answer lots of questions... i was convinced i'd done something wrong & this had stunted my sons 'art' development.

after what seemed like ages i was called back to join oscar & receive the verdict. oscar was absolutely fine for his age & i was politely told that 'apparently he's just not into arts & crafts'... WHAT!!! my hearing must be temporarily failing me because i thought they'd said that oscar wasn't into arts & crafts!!!

how on earth could that be!! my husband & i are both designers...it's like saying a particular squirrel doesn't like nuts!!..... (i wonder if that's possible, or could you imagine some poor squirrel out there having a nut allergy!!!)

i thought the genes this poor kid has inherited must be design loaded...

so anyway ~ the costen library is an amazing place to take your children, if you haven't already gone i'd urge you to go. if you have why didn't you tell me about it!! you can sign up to receive notifications about upcoming events.

check this one out:


FIRST OF OCTEMBER
It’s time once again for our stupendous, creative, fantastical event! We supply the scads of cool art materials, YOU supply the imagination! Based on the zany holiday invented by Dr. Seuss in his book Please Try to Remember the First of Octember, unleash your inner inventor and build a magnificent "something" in pursuit of the ultimate creation.  Rocket ship panel? Automatic dog-washer? Robot companion? Green garden? Roller coaster? Treasure box? The sky is the limit!

Saturday October 16
1:00pm – 4:00pm
No registration required – free of charge
Ages 3 & up

octopus masks!!

flynn modeling his ~ so proud!!

[ oscar questions ]

sooooooo... it's still early!!

 oscar, my 4 year old, has just said... mum you know radios in spanish are called...

(wow i'm thinking i don't know what it is!! this boy is a genius!)

... then he tells me it's 'walkie talkies!' ~ ok!

his next question:

mum what do police stations in texas look like...?? do they have cactus?

mum whats a rodeo!

...wheres my coffee!!!

mum is an umbrella a force field?

mum does everyone wear underwear?

no darling... (how am i going to answer this one...!) some people don't have enough money to buy underwear & some people just choose not to.

does spiderman wear underwear?

yes

does wonder woman wear underwear?

yes

does wolverine wear underwear?

yes

does ironman wear underwear?

yes

mum hulk smash's underwear is made of purple dots

really?

do giants wear underwear?

yes

mum does dr doom wear underwear?

i hope so ~ listen oscar, superheroes in general wear underwear.

mum because spiderman is in general thats why he wears underwear isn't it?

yes sweetheart!

[ FREE children's museum passes! ]

sooooooo... my kids love going to museums, i've just found out about this & am very excited! it's the association of children's museums reciprocal program (ACM).

basically if you buy an annual family membership that costs around $130 (which is tax-deductible) at any children's museum that participates in this program you'll get free admission to all the others!

me being the suspicious person that i am (must be the italian in me!!) made a few phone calls to try & find a catch! but as long as you check with the museum you are buying the membership from that they are in the program & your pass has ACM on it somewhere, either printed or a sticker all the other museums should allow at least 4 people from your household in for FREE! music to my ears!!

& there are around 165 nationwide you'll have access to!

you can see who participates here:

http://www.childrensmuseums.org/visit/reciprocal.htm#acmreciprocalprogramparticipants

& if this is one of those things that everyone already knew about... why didn't you tell me!!?!

[ another beautiful day... ]

sooooooo... oscar, my 4 year old son, looked out of the window

oscar: mom come quickly!

me [ thinking: oh no whats happened now...  seriously... it could be anything ] yes oscar what is it?

oscar: look it's another beautiful day!

me: [ really relieved ] you know what you're right! look at that sky!

oscar: yes... even the clouds have turned blue!

kuser farm park... really nice!


http://www.fieldtrip.com/nj/98903630.htm

[ superman ~ batman ]

sooooooo.... i took the boys to the ymca for ‘sportsmania’ to give them a taste of lots of different sports & burn off some energy!

first of all oscar, 4, had a superman tee shirt on & flynn, 2, a batman one.

when we got in the gym there were 5 boys already there that must have been a year older than oscar trying to play scoccer. they all knew each other & oscar didn’t have the confidence to go up & join in (he gets that from me). so we sat & waited for the instructor to come.

the coach goes over & introduces himself. wasn’t pushy at all, which i was really relieved about. oscar was hiding behind my leg & flynn was literally trying to get up into my sweat pants!!

so the coach says just join in when you feel ready. he gets all the boys to sit on a line while he explains what they are going to do today. so i'm thinking... i should try & get him to go join in without being a 'pushy' mom!

he won't go without me... so i'm sitting on the line too. the coach gets the kids to say their names for oscars sake... oscar introduced himself & his brother as superman & batman.... i said oggie tell them your name.

i knew i shouldn't have said 'oggie' as soon as it left my mouth... but that's what we call him. oscar first started saying his name as oggie ~ it's sweet & stuck...

i managed to slip away to the side with the other mom's & oscar actually was getting into it.

it was really funny watching these kids calling oscar superman as if that was his name!!!

flynn didn’t want any part of it & kept my lap warm.

they started trying to throw balls over the volley ball net to each other. this older kid ’archer’ who always had his hands in his pockets was oscars partner. oscar had real trouble getting the ball over the net... archer pipes up 'superman’s meant to be able to do anything!!!' oscar turned around showing his back & replied 'i don’t have my cape!' touché pussy cat!!! i don't know where he pulled that from but good job!!!

superman gets picked to bat first & he hit the ball!! oh the pride!! thank god pride isn’t like sweat... i would have left a puddle!!!

things i can get away with now but should probably start trying to train myself not to in front of other kids ... saying 'yes my darling' ~ probably did that about 27 times ooooooooooooooooo

yelling 'go oggie go!!!' when he was running round the baseball bases.

waving ~ & giving the thumbs up!

wow... this was my first taste of how a mom can get their kid bullied!! luckily, though, these kids are just a little bit young to realize the ammo i was handing over.

he was having a conversation with another kid... it was so strange to watch!! i don’t know what they were talking about but all of a sudden oscar started doing karate moves!!