mrtl

The 3-Year-Old Perspective

It's much nicer to think of traffic jams as a parade.

We're Not In Maryland Anymore

Heard on the radio this morning:

Expect some light snow today, with an accumulation of two to three inches.

A New Inside Joke

Mister mrtl managed to get home from his mid-shift early this morning, early enough to catch Bug, Jem and I before we left to get Bug to school. One of the first things out of Bug's mouth upon seeing her Daddy was, "Can we have pancakes?"

For some reason during pancake preparation (I'm not being facetious, mister m, I can't remember), mister mrtl decided to say to me, "I don't know what kind of crack you're on."

Bug, standing nearby and obviously mistaking this comment as being directed at her, replied, "I am NOT a cracker, Daddy! I'm a [Bug]!"

A good amount of time afterwards was spent happily calling each other crackers.

Cleansing

I did it. I went to Bloglines today and clicked the "Mark All Read" link. 3117 posts gone, the ones that I have stubbornly held onto, swearing that I was going to catch up someday. It was time to face reality. There are too many other things taking priority, and while I miss reading so much, if I want to read again, I have to just start fresh.

The count was way off anyway. So many of you have gotten new digs. Now it's a matter of tracking everyone down.

I'm breathing easier now. How about that?

Poor Pussy

Did you think I'd actually leave my birthday party plan for Bug alone? Hell, no. I'm all for talk and shit for follow through. If you've been reading this blog for any period of time and haven't seen that, then you're not the brightest bulb.

Today I renewed my search after I started putting together my things to do lists for the party. I kept seeing this recurrence of the importance of sticking to a theme, so I looked for more ideas and tried to figure out how to tie all the components together. Bottom line: The theme is "Pop." Freeze dancing will be done to a bubbly song, like "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" or "Tiny Bubbles." (And although it was an acquaintance of mine from high school who wrote and performed this song in her group, I will forego using, "How Many Licks Does It Take to Make My Coochie Pop?") A new game possibility was added with a musical chairs where no one gets out, but all the kids have to try to fit on the chairs provided. We'll do that to "Pop Goes the Weasel." The book exchange has nothing to do with bubbles, balloons or popping, but the order that kids pick their books can be determined by a balloon pop off.

But I digress.

As I was looking around the net for game ideas, I came across a game called, "Poor Pussy." I just had to share it with you. Notably with Sheryl, who is now the proud owner of my beloved copy of Games You Can Play With Your Pussy. It's not going to make the list for this party -- I honestly couldn't see this being played by anyone but adults, -- but I'd love to play it sometime.

Poor Pussy

This is a tried and true game which has been popular for generations. Arrange players in a circle. except for one child who is designated "Poor Pussy". Poor Pussy kneels in front of any player and acts like - you guessed it - a pussy cat. While he or she is meowing, the player must stroke Poor Pussy's head and say "Poor Pussy, Poor Pussy" without smiling. If the player petting Pussy smiles or laughs, they become "Poor Pussy" in the next round.

Think about how difficult it is not to crack up while petting someone's head and saying "Poor Pussy"! To make it worse, Poor Pussy is allowed to do anything to make players lose their composure, including silly faces, strange purring sounds, or other catlike moves. Other players are also permitted to laugh and do whatever possible to make it more difficult for the designated person to keep their cool.

Biting, Bug's Birthday, and Blingo

Several weeks ago I gave in on trying to keep my fingernails away from my teeth, getting tips put on. After a few weeks, I took the tips off, revealing beautiful nails. (Note that every time I have asked nail people to remove tips, they say it can't be done; the nails would be too damaged.) I manicured them, I kept them painted, and they stayed pretty until the other night.

It was the other night that I started planning Bug's third birthday party. Who knew the stress involved in planning a toddler party? I was overwhelmed with the list of things to do, of figuring out what to do with the kids. I'm also stressed at the idea of having this party with kids I don't know and parents I don't know. Bug just moved into the preschool class last month. It's so awkward.

After destroying a few nails and "manicuring dentally" the others to get a more consistent look, I managed to leave them alone... till tonight, when I decided to start writing up the invitations.

::tangent::
Mister mrtl says, "Keep it simple." Yes, I know. We're having the party at an indoor play place, so there's built-in entertainment. Still, I feel pressured. There's got to be more to it than sugaring them up and unleashing them on the playground.

::disclaimer for party time tangent::
The following tangent is provided for entertainment purposes only. It IS NOT a request or an invitation for ideas on what to do differently. I have decided that this is what is going to happen at Bug's party and am not going to continue to obsess over the details.

Of course, if mister mrtl disapproves, he can feel free to plan the damned thing himself. Word.
::end disclaimer for party time tangent::

::party time tangent::
Bug loves the color yellow, bubbles and balloons, so that's the "theme." After struggling with a potential guest list, we decided to extend invitations to Bug's classmates and a few of her friends from her last class.

We're going to serve cupcakes -- probably chocolate, although we tested a banana recipe today that was really good -- and have the kids frost and decorate them themselves.

Games shall include Cupcake Cleanup, Freeze Dance, Bubblewrap Walk, and Balloon Pop.*

We're asking guests that they not get Bug a present, but instead bring a new, wrapped favorite book. Each kid will get one to take home.
::end party time tangent::

It is simple. Still, I keep getting stuck on the execution.
::end tangent::

In an attempt to find help with the wording for the invitations, I turned to Blingo. And what do you know? I won. A movie ticket. Yay me (and ... undercovermutha these days)! (This is actually my second win. Danielle managed to win us tickets a month or so ago. See what I mean about the blogging? I never bothered. So why now? Isn't it obvious? Totally procrastinating writing the invitations.)

----

*Cupcake Cleanup: Must I explain this one? I didn't think so.

Freeze Dance: Play music and have kids dance. Randomly turn off the music and they freeze. Turn it back on and they dance more. To make it competitive, kick them off the dance floor if they don't freeze or unfreeze fast enough. While the losers cry, give the winner a cool prizes.** I'm thinking for music choices to include some Ice Tea ("Cop Killa" has such a catchy tune, the kids could spaz out dancing to it.) and 50 Cent (again, obvious choice).

Bubblewrap Walk: This one was so ghetto simple that I had to add it. Get a roll of bubble wrap and lay it out on the floor. The kids walk over it, trying not to pop any of the wrap. Poppers are losers, and Nonpoppers win cool prizes.

Balloon Pop: The jury's still out on what to do with this one. I think it'd be a hoot and a half to watch two conga lines of toddlers race across the room with balloons between them and see who can pop them all first, but it doesn't sound "sensible" (Bug's current favorite word) to expect that of them. We'll probably end up sneaking prizes inside a bunch of balloons and scattering them about the room. The kids will be turned loose to pop the balloons with their bodies. Everyone's a winner, although some prizes will be cooler than others.

**Cool prizes shall include card games (Old Maid, Crazy 8's, Go Fish, woot woot!), stickers, maybe some temporary tattoos, and whatever else I can find cheap.

Don't worry folks, I won't be quitting my day job to become a hot shot party planner.