My 10 month old’s physical appearance is about to change dramatically.  Well, first, let me start here – he’s been suffering from lethargy, crabbiness, diarrhea, and diaper rash lately.  You seasoned parents out there know what I’m talking about – teething!  Sure enough, the other day when we were playing and he was upside-down, I saw not one, not two, but THREE little tooth buds on his top gums.  Poor little guy.  So pretty soon, he will have a mouthful of teeth!  I just hope that’s the end of his awful diaper rash – he’s been taking about 3 baths a day; it’s one of the things that helps his sore little bottom.  And being 10 months old, he’s been doing all sorts of other things: climbing stairs, pulling things down, pulling himself up on everything…  they grow so fast and it seems that his trouble is just beginning!

His 2-year-old sister, Disney has gotten a Dora the Explorer obsession from somewhere.  She wants to watch Dora constantly, and it’s so cute to hear her talk back to Dora on the tv – she is even learning Spanish as a result!

And today is their sister Sammie’s birthday!  She is officially 5!  We already had her birthday party, but I think we will take her out to dinner and maybe to the store.  She has been a little better behaved lately, but still not as great as she was a few months ago – her behavior comes in waves, I guess.  At least we’re not stuck in horrible-acting Sammie-ness as a constant any longer – there have been glimmers of hope!  She is getting ready for Kindergarten in the fall and has been practicing writing her name.  A note about this – she would have aced the writing her name part already if we had just named her “Maps”, a word she writes over and over!

Taylor is 9 and almost ready to go to middle school next year.  You read that right – where we live, kids go to the middle school for 4th-8th grades.  She is VERY responsible with her school work and also when it comes to taking care of their 4 pet rats, so I think she’ll do well in middle school.  We have noticed an increase in her displaying a poor attitude – typical tween stuff, but I wish my child was somehow exempt.  Is there an exemption card I can get for this?

So anyway, there’s just been a lot going on with the kids lately, and I wanted to share some things before time passed me by and they moved out of the house before I had a chance to blog it.  TIME FLIES!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMIE!!!!!

Ok… it has been a week and a half since Joseph auditions.  Call backs have been called back (although I was informed to not give up hope until the final cast list was posted).  As always, I have been trying to focus my attention on other things until last Thursday when another fan was stricken with a heart attack.  He was immediately rushed to the hospital, stabilized, and was decided to put stints in.  Friday, bleeding continued and by the end of the day, Mr. Z had gone to his heavenly home.  Isn’t it strange how quickly things happen.  It had just been a few days earlier when he was in the store, teasing, asking when a good time to get with my mother for an “ear-lowering appointment” would be, and inquiring about any coming theatrical endeavors. He, his wife, and son frequently sit in the audience of shows.  Even going back to school days, I believe that Jason was a freshman when I was a senior and Elwyn and Jackie were members of the music boosters.  I was asked to be on stand-by to sing at the funeral; however, another talented vocalist made the trip from Columbus.

During the service Monday, my mind wandered back to the audition and what was going on there.  My mind has not been dwelling TOO much on this show because I know that I have promised to AT LEAST help with the creation of the next show which I have really been looking forward to (maybe even a bit more that Go, Go, Joe).  But whatever happens, there is always another show.

May Jackie, Jason and the rest of Mr. Z’s family find peace and comfort in the coming days.

We were all over the place this past weekend.  I guess it was the nice weather…  wait, it rained Saturday!

It started with game night on Friday night – my intentions were to take it easy and end somewhat early so we could rest up for a big day with the kids on Saturday.  It didn’t end up that way – we began the weekend by staying up too late!  But it was a fun game night, kind of a different crowd, so it was interesting to mix it up a little.  Our new friend brought presents for the kids to game night, and I can’t express enough gratitude – she basically saved game night!  Our will-be-5-yr-old-tomorrow Sammie was in a mood, and seeing the new friend (the presents didn’t hurt either!) actually got her out of the mood she would have otherwise stayed in all night probably – thanks Mary!

Saturday we were going to take the kids to the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan.  My husband and I (and Taylor in her fetal days) went there in ’99, and we loved the zoo.  We found out it was only about an hour and a half drive from here, so we decided to check it out.  An hour and a half drive doesn’t seem like a long time if there’s no traffic and the kids are good!  Besides, an hour and half drive home after a busy day can sometimes (if we’re lucky) cinch the deal and put all 4 of them asleep for the night.  Well, anyway, it was raining on Saturday.  And we didn’t want to take 4 kids through an unfamiliar zoo in the rain.  So we ended up at Crazy Pinz in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  It’s a place where they have arcade games, bowling, mini-bowling, mini-golf and the kids’ favorite, Ball-O-City – a giant play area with levels and tunnels and balls to shoot at each other.  I was really happy when my husband pointed out the Chicago Cubs game playing on the huge tv in the bar.  So I stood over there and watched the Cubs wriggle out of a dicey situation – they had been winning 4-0 when all of a sudden, Houston scores 4 in the 9th and ties it up!  They also had bases loaded, but the Cubs got out of it somehow and came back with a win in the bottom of a 9th!  The bar at Crazy Pinz erupted in a cheer – Cubs fans everywhere!  So we stayed there for awhile and then got home late but not too late for us to catch up on watching the season finales of our two favorite tv shows – Lost and The Office.

I guess I should save it for another post, so let’s just say we were really happy with the finales of BOTH shows.  Lost actually answered a lot of questions that were outstanding, and it can finally be seen how events are starting to come full circle for the characters.  Something awesome occurred on the Office, well, it was alluded to anyway, but I think it was obvious what the next development is for the Pam and Jim characters.  Ahem.

Sunday after church we decided to reclaim our Saturday plans and head up to Battle Creek to Binder Park Zoo.  Sunday was a gorgeous, picture-perfect day weather-wise, and it ended up being a great decision – it would not be fun to tour this zoo in the rain with 4 little kids.  The zoo is mostly outdoor, and there is a bit of walking if you want to see the majority of the zoo.  You climb aboard a (free) zoo tram that takes you 5 minutes into the wilderness, err Wild Africa as the zoo calls it.  But whether it’s the wilds of Michigan or the savannas of Africa, the view that awaits you when you arrive in Binder Park’s Africa is breathtaking.  Beyond the authentic-seeming African village is a wall, and beyond the wall:

Click the picture to see a larger version – those are zebras and Thomson’s Gazelles grazing in the huge pasture.  And a clutch of ostrich eggs (real?) on the edge of the exhibit (lower right middle of picture).  The giraffes can go out there too, but they are usually over here:

where you can FEED them!  It was a great day at a great zoo, and we even saw an animal I had never heard of – the Patagonian Mara.  Fully grown they are about 35-40 lbs. (the one here at Binder Park is 9 mos. old and about half that), and they are rodents most closely related guinea pigs.  At Binder Park, the keeper was in the cage with the mara, and she was jumping onto his leg and doing tricks for food – very cool.  I didn’t get the best picture; there was a tree in the way – again click for a larger pic, maybe you can actually see the mara:

The Binder Park Zoo also has a cute rabbit exhibit where the kids can crawl through a tunnel and end up “in” with the rabbits, a cool children’s zoo (housing the happiest Guinea pigs I’ve ever seen – the first time I’ve seen Guinea pigs that weren’t squealing with fright or freaking out), and a carousel, among other fun things.  Here is my son on his first carousel ride:

And two of my 4 happy kids at the zoo:

And my other two riding a giant ant:

So…  a great weekend, even if we were never home sweet home.  I was going to share my pastor’s story he told on Sunday, but this post is long enough, that will have to wait for another post!  Until then…

Last weekend, I discovered that a friend was in desperate need of a job so I said that I would be happy to pick up an application for him and preach him up to TPTB.  I told him that he should come in Tuesday afternoon around 4.  This would allow him to get out of school and tidy up a bit.  Tuesday nights are good since the boss works (or is there, anyway).

So today shortly after I arrived, here comes a well-groomed just turned 18 year old dressed to the nines.  I  almost thought that I had seen a tie.  I commented that he might be just a BIT overdressed although I did tell him to dress to impress.  I should have warned him about the lobe jewelry.

After the interview, my FRIEND and the boss came up and told me that I was fired.  Thank you Mrs. Trump 😀 Seriously though, I was informed that the interview went really well and that he would start on June 1st.  So long?  The boss was really impressed and told me that since he is now of age, Nate probably would be learning some of the adult duties (meat grinding which he seemed only too happy to be instructed in… as long as he does not get his hand in the grinder while it is running).  I was also informed that he was very well spoken and a great guy.  I could not agree more.  One thing bothered me though.  The boss somehow got the impression that I told Nate that she was NICE?  I must have a word or two with my young friend before June 1st to avoid any further brainwashing.  Welcome to the Jungle, Nate!

This evening, I went to watch two of my nieces play in their respective ball leagues.  first stop, the 5-6 year old tot league to watch little Alyssa.  Although a delight to watch, a little goes a long way.  Watching the little ones just starting out, each player hits every inning and has seven chances to make contact before the tee is brought out.  Alyssa was the last player in the line up for her team, getting a hit each of the three times at bat. After each turn at bat, she made a lap of the bases even after the play was made. At times, the players in the field looked more like a football team than baseball diving and tackling each other to get the ball and make the play.  After two rounds, I decided to go to the neighboring field to watch my older niece, Elizabeth.

I missed a lot of action.  Apparently, she not only caught a pop fly but also turned a double play… not all on the same play.  I got to watch her walk and make her way to third base.  She also played center field then was behind the plate the next inning.  Unfortunately, the mercy rule was enacted with final tally of 13-5.  But good for Elizabeth!

When we got home, I learned that Alex hit the game winner in his game across town.  Now it is the final game in the Yanks/Twins four game series at the stadium (NY up 3 games to 0 and up 6-2)

‘Tis that time of year again, when things come to an end for the hot season.  This month is halfway over, and jobs will soon dry up for me.  I anticipate this week will be my last full week for work, assuming I can find jobs for Thursday and Friday- the rest of the week is covered.  Fortunately a friend of mine has a friend looking for a few part-time camera-people to take pictures of cars for ads.  I am also going to finally start filling out some summer applications if anything is still available out there.  I did apply for a management position at Oberweis, but I kind of bombed the interview (hey, at least I got that far) and they never called back.

Besides school, I have just performed my last church drama for the year- so sad.  Next week should have been the one for me, but I switched with another cast member because he couldn’t do this week.  It was also a farewell of sorts for our 5th grade students.  I say of sorts because there is actually one more week, but it was decided to go ahead and hold the graduation this week since next weekend is Memorial weekend.  Yes, graduation.  We actually held a little ceremony for them with the Pomp and Circumstance song and diplomas from children’s ministry.  As of next month they will be considered 6th grade and a part of youth ministries which goes through high school, though similar to children’s ministry which is divided into three parts (pre-K, K-3, 4-5 which parallels school which calls them early childhood, primary, and intermediate) it is divided into two parts, junior high and high school.  They also had a going-away video which I put together over the last few days, which included testimonies from many of the 5th-graders.  I wish I could have watched it with them to see their reaction, but ironically for only the two times I was there they mistakenly played it at the wrong time, while I was still doing drama.  If the church makes it public by putting it on their website I will post a link to it for you.  I will be modifying the video (change some text, lower the music volume which was too loud during its sections compared with the spoken sections) to show the new 4th-graders next month, and since drama won’t keep me out this time I will get to see the new kids’ reactions at least.

Well, I did it.  I paid the extra bucks to go see Star Trek in IMAX.  As expected, the screen was large, though not superhuge like at Great America when I was growing up (dunno if the screen is still there).  I also noticed that it was curved, but failed to notice if it was silver.  I would guess yes since they bothered to curve it.  Why to I mention this?  Well, because 3D movies utilize a silver, curved screen.  While this was not a 3D movie, there are many IMAX movies that are also 3D, so I would presume this theater is just set up for them when they happen.  Back to topic, once there a half-hour early, the good seats in the theater were already starting to fill up.  I did notice though that they tended to sit not in the true center, but rather the center of the visible image which was not centered but toward the left.  The commercials weren’t in IMAX and probably utilized a different projector entirely.  Once 4:00 rolled around, they dimmed the lights and switched to IMAX for the previews and movie.  Well, they tried.  The audio came out crystal clear, but- no picture.  At first I though this was a preview that just started dark then the picture would kick in at just the right moment, but after a minute (less, really) it became clear the picture wasn’t coming at all.  They eventually stopped it, and I could see several shadows on the screen from the projection area as they tried to figure out the problem.  After several minutes they got  a picture going, but one that was a little out of focus, or rather some color separation.  I heard something move into place and the picture became clear.  Wait, how could I hear it when a preview was going you ask?  Because now it was a picture with no sound!  They froze the picture and worked another few minutes.  Finally, the Harry Potter preview could be seen *and* heard.  Boy, could it be heard- volume a wee bit too high.  It started with color separation again, but once again that was quickly resolved and we were on our way.  We only did see the tail end of the one preview before the movie, and also a commercial which also served as a “silent your cellphone” reminder, but I was just fine with that!  By the time the movie started, the volume level was fine as well.

So, about the movie.  As a Trek fan, I found this movie very enjoyable.  JustJ pretty much covered the basics, so I won’t go there, but I can see how most of the differences would be plausible as (highlight to reveal spoiler) an altered timeline can explain the discrepancies.  Besides JustJ’s one rant, there was a big nitpick I had toward the end though where they used a technology known to be in the next generation but not in the original series (highlight to reveal spoiler rant:)

Eject the warp core?  Really??  What with the change the Romulan ship made would cause the Federation to develop an ejectable warp core so early?  Nothing I saw.

I also see why (highlight… well, you know) they left the new timeline alone rather than fix it, so they can feel unencumbered by Star Trek canon when making future movies.  Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager?  (you know what to do) All in the old timeline now.  Who knows what the future will now bring for the Federation? Oh, one more thing- (yep, again) did anyone else think of the Death Star when they saw you-know-which-planet destroyed?

One slight nitpick left, one I’ve had since The Next Generation- while some may think it’s sexist which is whay they changed it in the first place, to be PC, but I really think …where no man has gone before fits better than …where no one has gone before.  Why?  Simply put, at least “man” can only mean human, if only just half the population, while “one” refers to everyone- human, vulcan, klingon, and every species they have not yet met.  They are going where no human has been, or no Federation citizen, but most places have had someone go there before- the local sentient life, whoever they may be.  So, a slight nitpick but valid I think.

Was it worth the extra price to see it in IMAX?  Maybe.  Once they got it together over there it really did look nice, and Star Trek is just the type of show to look great on the large screen.  Certainly I wouldn’t go to see just any show in IMAX, but for this one I think I can say I was glad to see it in IMAX.  The only other show this year I know for certain I will see in the theater is Harry Potter 6, but I think I will save money on that and see it in the local theater.  I wonder if the price is still under $7?  I’ll find out.

So much for my blogging break – I had a pocket of time and blogged like a maniac the other day!  I knew that would happen, as soon as I wrote about how blogging is going on the back burner, I would find time for it again.  That’s actually part of the reason why I wrote the “blogging break” post!  🙂  Not that I’m promising my 5 posts a week anymore, but I will do what I can – I do love to ramble on and on and on about everything while sharpening my typing skills!

Back to the point of this post.  A few months ago, we noticed that our front porch is crumbling away to nothing!  It’s a rather large cement porch, and parts of it have started falling off, seemingly overnight!  We called various construction places to get estimates, and according to them, it’s  a common problem around here this spring.  Something about a moist winter, then it got really cold while there was a lot of moisture, so water that was in the cracks of the concrete expanded as it froze, causing things to crack and crumble.  I’ve noticed it every where in the area – other houses, strip malls, parking lots.  But it really stinks.  I love my front porch, and it’s going to cost over $2,000 to fix it!  It’s kind of something that needs fixing asap before it gets any worse.  Replacing it with a wood deck is cheaper, but I really love it just the way it is – well, before it started crumbling to bits anyway.  The concrete where the garage meets the driveway is even worse, and I don’t think repairing that was even in the estimate!  Ah, the joys of home ownership!

How Disney gets their child stars

😀

I recently recieved a video  via an email forward that I really enjoyed – that’s somewhat rare because I get tons of email forwards and many of them are senseless garbage.  But the few I’ve gotten that I’ve enjoyed have made all the other ones almost worth it.  The following video definitely falls into that category: