Mud Pies

A little tropical depression that later turned into Hurricane Kyle kept us inside most of the weekend. The rain came down in buckets and the wind was worse than that actual hurricane that blew through the area a few weeks ago. I'm convinced the term "cooped up" was coined by somebody with a toddler in the house. As soon as we had a momentary break in the weather we were all racing outside - mud boots on - to play in the puddles. Sunday we went berry bogging at the Westmoreland Berry Farm . I was amazed by how gentle Sawyer was picking the ripe raspberries, although he wasn't much into eating them. Add 'Seeded Berries' to the list of things this picky toddler refuses to eat.

A little skeleton

It's time to let a certain skeleton out of the closet. While other toddlers are watching the Backyardigans, Dora and whatever the heck else is on the Disney Channel at 10 am, Sawyer is obsessed with musicals. One musical in particular: Hairspray. During a weekend at Mimi and Pop Pop's house when Arden was born, Sawyer was looking for something to watch among a dirth of options - the Horatio Hornblower boxset, some history channel specials. So, they put in Hairspray, the movie where John Travolta plays an overweight woman. Sawyer was transfixed. He would stand in front of the TV, shake his little booty and watch the thing from beginning to end. My parents often talked about his love for this movie in the months that followed, and I eventually had to watch it myself. While there's nothing outright unacceptable about the movie, the 60s-era racial tension at the plot's surface seemed a little inappropriate for a two-year-old. I suggested that if he likes musicals so much, perhaps we should try something more classic.

My mom took this mission to heart and started ordering them all: Annie, Oliver, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The Music Man and Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang. (She ordered Grease too, but I've 'top-shelved' that one due to all the smoking and drinking.) The absolute winner with Sawyer and the rest of Pierce-ville is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It starts off with an exciting car crash and delivers with cute kids and catchy tunes the rest of the way through and, like any good Disney musical, it stars Dick Van Dyke. We've watched it no less than 50 times, and I never get sick of it. (I can't say the same for Pixar's CARS). What's not to love about a movie that uses the word "uncategorical" and has a floating/flying car that travels to an imaginary country called "Vulgaria" where children are outlawed? And how COULD anyone forget Truly Scrumptious?

Not every musical is a winner, at least not int the toddler category. Oliver is rather dark (wouldn't recommend it) and Sound of Music, as much as I love it, is pretty slow if you're 2-years-old. Mary Poppins and Annie are enjoyable but haven't hit the top of the charts yet in Pierce-ville. (Sawyer can say "Annie," which I find incredibly cute). We don't have TV, so movies are our sole source of hands-free entertainment. I am a bit leery of how this watching the same movie over and over will scar him down the road, especially when I see a scene like this:

Mud - good. Rocks - good. Bike - good. Beads around the neck - highly suspect.

Oh dear, don't let your pretty necklaces dangle in the mud!

Return of the Blogger

Sorry it's been so long folks - I can't even get into what all has been going on here - at least not yet, although I do promise a full update this week. Let's just say that my mind's been elsewhere - and NO, I'm not pregnant, just in case THAT thought crossed your mind. Scott and I have a goalie on a 5-year-contract to any possibility of THAT.

Last week signaled the end of our supplement season and a major lightening of my work load. We had a wonderful family weekend and I spent some time catching up on my blogging and taking lots of photos, so check back for updates every day this week!

Metamorphosis

Found this time lapse video of a black swallowtail turning into a chrysalis - starts out slow then BAM! What a finale. And to think that all this occurred in my kitchen while we slept.

Tribute

Because I'm a little bit weepy today:



This commercial ran as a tribute to 911 for one day only. Promise to have an uplifting post next time.