Life On The Planet

Planetary Notes: 10-17-09

*Mulan rehearsals. Mulan, Mulan, Mulan. It's what were doing.

*Mulan costumes. (See above.)

*My root canal is scheduled for Wednesday. I can hardly wait.

*The cat has food.

*The front toilet is broken.

*The rabbit hutch has been winterized.

That's it, folks. I'm out of time. Have a good one.

I Am

at my Mother's. Eating her food. Watching her television. Playing with her computer.

Oh, yeah. And those funny people I live with are here, too. It's good because if they weren't here, I'd miss them. It's bad because I have to share Mom's divine chocolate chip cookies. It's always a toss up!

Tomorrow we go to the farm. You remember the farm, don't you? Aunt Sis lives there.

She makes cookies, too.

I am happy.

Pied Piper & Weekend Rehash

After seven weeks of hard work, Butterfly's play is over. Pied Piper, The Musical was a success. Naturally, Butterfly did a fine job (no bias here). In fact, the entire cast was wonderful.

Their shining moment came in the middle of disaster. The fountain in the middle of the set overflowed during the Friday night show. Several boys in the cast took wooden prop buckets, brooms and mops and, never breaking character, cleaned the entire thing up during a song and dance number. NO ONE NOTICED! Not even the director! Dances choreographed to include dancing around the fountain were re-choreographed on the fly by the cast. Not shabby for an all child cast!

It was an exhausting weekend for Butterfly; she nearly fell asleep in church Sunday. However, it was a fun weekend, so in the end it was worth all of the effort.

I woke up yesterday morning with the realization that I had nothing ready for Easter. We spent the day shopping and getting hair cuts. I would like to say that shopping with three children is a pleasant experience, but I don't like to lie.

Today it's back to the grindstone. School work and house cleaning are the only things on the agenda. How delightfully dull that sounds!

Pied Piper

I will be incommunicado this weekend. Butterfly has SIX performances this weekend, beginning with a 8:45 matinee tomorrow. She is in charge of acting, singing and dancing. I am in charge of rats, strobe lights and foggers.

(I think I got the better end of that deal, but don't tell her!)

Break a leg! See ya Monday.

Weekend Update: Sunday Night Live

My apologies on the front end for any rambling - I am tired.

The cat has a urinary tract infection. Too much information? I only mention it because I commented on taking her to the vet a few days ago. I dropped her off at the vet's office on Friday, and she brought her home that evening, medicine and all. Do you get that kind of service from your vet? (Yeah, she's a friend, but still.) I was the nursery volunteer in church today and the vet's sweet daughter (who is two) told me, "We bwought you med'cin! We bwought you med'cin!" I could eat that child! So, happy ending all around on the cat front. She is still, yuck, getting on the table, but all things considered, it could be worse.

We are all still grieving over Julia's passing. I now officially hate dog food commercials. Cute little puppies? Don't want to see 'em. It's getting better, though.

The boys are well. Sal had scouty things to do, and Tiger was a tag along. He's good at tagging, poor, pitiful third child. His tick bite is still red, so it looks like a visit to the doctor's office is in our near future. Ugh.

Butterfly's play is in five days. (On knees, giving thanks that the end is near.) Best Sunday moment was on the way home from rehearsal tonight. We were listening to her Happy Land CD and In the Sweet By and By came on. We sang it together driving Mach 1 down Interstate 55. It was a beautiful thing.

Did you notice that I told you about the animals before I mentioned the kids? It just occurred to me. My mother will read this and call me an unnatural mother. She could be right!

Love ya!

Saturday

Oh, Saturday! How I loved you as a child. Cartoons and pancakes ushered in your glory. Lazy mornings were followed by bike rides and sunshine. Remember that time Dad took us for a walk and we threw Mom's unfinished ceramic Easter Eggs, filled with baby powder at each other? Good times...

I loved you, Saturday!

Saturday, in college you were the BEST. After a late evening of, uh, studying at the uh, library, you allowed me time to recoup my energy and sleep in.

'Til four p.m!

When I was in college, Saturday, you were DA BOMB.

But lately, Saturday, I must admit I haven't been feeling that certain je ne sais quoi.

Saturday, my old pal, it's time to face the truth.
I do believe we've lost that loving feeling!

(I think it's buried somewhere under the whites.)

Costumes

I've been working on a couple of costumes for the musical Butterfly is in.
The making of the costumes involves taking this...

stinky, old burlap, and turning it into this...

 
a cape fit for a queen. A Rat Queen that is. It's for The Pied Piper!

(It's not quite finished, but as soon as the hot glue gun burns heal, I'll get right back to it.)

Blue & Gold

Saturday was Tiger's Blue & Gold Banquet. For those not familiar with scouting, a Blue & Gold is the big hoo-rah of the year for Cub Scouts. Awards are given. Food is consumed.

(Although, when we called Tiger's Godmother, Nana, yesterday to chat, she laughingly asked if there was food at our Blue & Gold Banquet. She said her sister had attended one this year where they didn't serve food, but forgot to change the name to Blue & Gold Ceremony. Sorry, to my mind Banquet = Food.)

Our Blue & Gold Banquet is a BIG DEAL. Door prizes. Father/Son Cake Bake. Food. Themes. Hoopla. This year's had the added spice of a SNOW STORM. Who could ask for more?

Sal snapped this shot on the way to the Blue & Gold. It got worse before it got better.

A big part of the Blue & Gold for Tiger is the Father/Son Cake Bake. He and The C.F.O. won last year, however this year his father had to work. (Insert tears here.)

Fortunately for Tiger, he has a tremendously AWESOME big brother who was more than willing to help him trash my kitchen bake a cake. It was a very delicious and aesthetically pleasing cake.

Here are a few of the other entries...



Pretty cool, eh?



I couldn't, I-just-couldn't, bring myself to eat any of this cake.

I heard it was tasty.



This beauty won the prize for Scout Favorite.

And now, we get to the portion of the post where I admit I don't have a photo of Tiger's cake! I thought I took one. I distinctly remember taking one. Honestly. However, we got home and NO PICTURE OF TIGER'S CAKE was in my camera. Go ahead. Schedule an appointment with a therapist for him. He has a BAD MOTHER.

Moving right along, Tiger earned his Arrow of Light, which is the highest award a Cub Scout can earn. He also earned all of the Webelos Merit Badges possible. This is the kid a neurologist once told us would need to be medicated and possibly institutionalized.

Moral of the story: Doctors, too, can be idiots.

It was a loverly evening. I admit to shedding a few tears. But the best part, for me, was after the Blue & Gold, when Tiger and Sal sat on my bed discussing what Tiger needed to start working on to achieve his first Boy Scout rank. (He is moving up to Sal's troop.) It was one of those moments that their mother wishes she could bottle up and keep forever.

(Sniff. No, I'm not bawling. Really. Sniff.)

All-righty then, that was our Blue & Gold.

I need to go and clean the kitchen.

Okay, NOW I'm bawling!

Fast Money

Lest you think that while I was away we did nothing, I have photographic evidence to the contrary. And speaking of contrary, I do not like The C.F.O.'s current work schedule. He is working weekends, which forces me to do many things I would not otherwise have to do - like construct Pine Wood Derby cars.

But he has a job, and we like to eat,  so that is the last whine you will hear from me on that subject.

Anyhoo, here is Tiger's car.

Yes, his mother did tape quarters to the car for extra weight.


Yes, she did use lime green duct tape. You wanna make something of it?

Did he win? Hey. It stayed on the track and none of the wheels came off. I'm counting that as a major victory.

Indy 500, here we come.

Two Words...

Please leave me two words that describe your day.

I'll start: JURY DUTY.

No joke.

Have pity and play along.