Shakespeare's 6th Birthday Party

What do you get when you put 26 children in a room with cake and ice cream? A bouncing great time! Shakespeare celebrated his 6th birthday at a local bouncing gym called Bounce U. It's actually two gyms filled with a blow up bounce playground.

I thought that $200 was a bit much for a 6 year old's party, but now I'm a believer. What was included? invitations, 1 hr. 15 min. bounce time, 45 min. in your private party room, all paper products, drinks, set-up and clean up, and two helpers to take you through the whole thing.

What really sold me was the two helpers. They were fantastic! They helped kids in the gym, made a big deal over Shakespeare being the big birthday boy, poured drinks, cut and served cake, even wrote down the presents and who gave them. They took everything to the car and were extremely courteous and helpful. I got to socialize and take pictures.

The Parthenon, Anyone?

We've been studying Ancient Greece and recently made gingerbread Parthenons. Thought you would enjoy a few pictures of our masterpieces, complete with white frosting to create that marble look. Also, Gem added Hera, Hermes (winged shoes), Artemis (with pretty hair), and, my favorite, Zeus (with a white icing thunderbolt). She also built a small temple for Artimis Nike, god of victory.

Goodbye-Pod?

I promised myself that I wouldn't post a thing about this incident until it was resolved--trying not to use this blog as a reason to gripe.

During our trip to Disney, Jon took Gem to a dinner with Cinderella at the Grand Floridian Resort. While driving there, they listened to music through the cool gadget that my parents got Jon for Christmas: it uses your AM/FM radio to play your ipod. All you have to do is stick the ipod in the cradle, press a button or two, and you're good to go.

When they arrived at the resort there was no parking available in the lot so Jon valet parked. He turned off his ipod, handed the guy the key . . . and that was the last we saw of the ipod.

Needless to say, it has been a long road. We filed a compaint, called the manager, called her manager, emailed a copy of our origial receipt, talked to the claims department that "doesn't replace persoanl property", talked to the Disney hotel manager (valet was sub-contracted), were directed back to the parking company, were ignored for a week and a half, talked to a new Disney hotel manager---and she contacted her boss who contacted the president of the parking company and they cut a check that day.

It's in the mail. ?

In the meantime Jon reordered his ipod and has been enjoying it. We ordered it from Apple because they engrave your name and phone number on the back.

The morals of the story are: First: Disney good. Sub-contractor bad. Second: if you can't find a parking space, grass is a good option-- because, hey, a $50 ticket is better than having your ipod stolen by the valet. Third: if you're a valet and you are going to steal an ipod, make sure you take the cool $100 gadget that charges the thing and lets you play it through your car radio.

Shoulder Angels

Scene: Pizza Hut lunch with the kids.

Gem: "Hey, Mom, are there really shoulder angels?"

Mom: "What do you mean, shoulder angels?"

Shakespeare: "Yeah, I think they're real."

Mom: "What is a shoulder angel?"

Gem: "Those angels that stand on your shoulder, like in the cartoons."

Mom: with dawning realization laughs histarically in the middle of Pizza Hut

Thanks, Bob!

We have a phrase in our family that was passed down from my mom. It originated with her dad, Bob, my Papa. He was notorius for answering simple questions that were meant for the kids.

"What is 2 plus 4?" If he were present,the kid had no chance.

We carry on the tradition. Whenever someone answers a question that is clearly meant for someone else we say, "Thanks, Bob".

Today, our 3 (on Friday) year old was muttering to himself, then looked at me and said, "Thanks, Bob", just the way I do it--slow and sarcastic.

What a memorial to Papa! Ha! It would have made him laugh.

Jack, the Insomniac

Every day when I put Popcorn down for his nap, we go through a charming stall routine. The demands include:

1. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
2. Jack be nimble
3. Jack Sprat
4. Little Jack Horner
5. One, Two, Buckle my Shoe
and finally,
6. Jack and Jill

Our rendition of Jack and Jill goes something like this:

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.
Up Jack got and home did trot as fast as he could caper.
He went to bed. . . "No, mommy. He not."
"He didn't fall down?"
"No, he fall down. He not go nigh-night, to bed, Mommy."
"Oh, okay, let's try it again."
...as fast as he could caper. He went to bed and plas ...
"No,no,no,no,no. He NOT go to bed!!!"
"He didn't go to bed and plaster his head with vinegar and brown paper."

Then we give kisses and blow kisses as I shut the door.

Gotta love that kid! He's three next Friday and already so advanced in the art of stalling.

Bouncin' Birthdays

Every year our February birthday kids (Popcorn 16th, Shakespeare 22nd, Gem 24th)get to have one party. This year it's Shakespeare's turn. He and 15 friends will be bouncing at "Bounce U". (Perhaps it was Tigger's influence). Picture those inflatable jump toys at your local festival x 10, complete with obstacle courses, slides and a wrestling ring, all indoors. For an hour and fifteen minutes they get to bounce and pummel each other, then off to the party room for presents and cake. The nice thing is that the staff there sets up and cleans up and we get two helpers during the party. So, on Feb. 22nd, at 3:30 we'll be bouncing!

How we Celebrated 10 Months!

Okay, so maybe we were just tagging along to Orlando for a business conference. We spent every morning doing school at the sand pit playground right outside our villa. In the afternoons we hit the pool and soaked in the rays. THAT is the way to do school! My kids were so motivated by the pool that we were done by lunch every day.


My in-laws drove over from Tampa for lunch one day. It was wonderful to see them, even though the visit was so brief.

We saved Disney for the end of the week (after the conference). We spent the day in Magic Kingdom. This was Popcorn's first trip to Disney that he could remember. We thought he'd love Buzz Lightyear and Mickey and all the characters, but no: trains. "Where monorail, Mom?" and, "Monorail asleep?" and, "Look! (squeals of delight)Monorail!". "Steam train" and "Fass(fast)train" (small rollercoaster) were also favorites. Basically, anything that rolls and follows a track was a big hit with our little mister.





We met Alice and the Mad Hatter and all the Pooh characters, but our piece-de-resistance was Gem's big date the next day with Daddy: A Cinderella and friends dinner at the Grand Floridian Hotel. More about this trip in my next entry.

We have autographs, photographs, squashed pennies and quarters. We have pens that look like wands and a little princess too.

On our last full day in Orlando I took Gem to Downtown Disney where we went to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. They specialize in turning little girls into princesses. We opted for the up-doo, complete with tiara, sash, and fairy dust. To celebrate her coronation we made a beeline for the Godiva chocolate ice cream shop, where, for $8, you can get two single dip ice cream cones.

Mostly beautiful weather! Wonderful entertainment! Fantastic food. Only kids throwing up on the way down and the way back! What more could you ask for?

To view more pictures (all of the family)go here.