Breakfast With Santa

In other news, Santa and Mrs. Claus were in Minnesota yesterday, and we got to have breakfast with them.  Santa and Mrs. Claus dine at Macy's Lakeshore Grill at Southdale Mall when they are in town, where the staff has the whole operation down to a science.  When you arrive, you are taken to your very own table, pre-set with some tide-you-over-until-the-buffet fruit and bowl-pack cereal for the children in your party.  You are set upon by an elf who will make your children a balloon animal or reindeer antlers as a distraction until Santa arrives.  You can also visit an elf who paints faces--red noses for little ones and snowflakes for big kids.  The buffet opens at 9am sharp, which is the same time that Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive.  They visit each table--Mrs. Claus serving as a kind of traffic control help meet--where Santa chats with each child for a bit and poses for a picture.  On your way out, your children get to collect a small stuffed animal brought for them by Santa which makes the magic linger for the car ride home.

It was pretty great, Fans.  The bambini were a little star struck at the big guy and his sidekick.  Clara was so star struck that she spent most of Santa's table-side visit in Ted's lap.  Joe wondered what color Mrs. Claus would be.  He speculated yellow.  As it turned out, she was the same color as Santa--which is to say not yellow.  Joe told Santa that he was hoping for a new sled, and Cars (the movie).  Clara said that she wanted a baby doll.  We took pictures of their respective lists, which we mailed on our way home.

 

Winter Gala 2012 II

Joe.  A pre-kindergartner known for his conscientious approach to his craft and winning good looks, Joe would like to thank his legion Fans and especially, his family for their love and support.  He was last seen as a Monkey in Winter Gala 2012 I, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.

Not only did we leave you hanging, Fans, we have been holding out on you as well.  Well it ends here.  Wednesday night was the KinderCare Winter Event.  Longtime Fans may remember the Winter Event as the Winter Gala.  (We can discern no reason for this seeming downgrade in title and continue to call it the Gala ourselves.)  Fans, Joe has performed in the Gala since its inception when he was in one of the toddler rooms--before the toddler acts were cut.*  He performed in the Gala when he was in one of the "twos" rooms--before their acts were cut.**  And he has, of course, performed in the Gala as a pre-schooler and now, a pre-kindergartner.  Winter Gala 2012 II**** was Joe's last.  What a road it has been, Fans.  What a road it has been.

As a pre-kindergartner, Joe performed not only more acts, but more sophisticated acts.  First up was a prop-aided rendition of Jingle Bells.  You'll see Our Hero in the line right about center stage.  Next came Winter Wonderland in which the group sang about walking in such a wonderland--while marching.  This was followed by a mash-up of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the ABCs, and Ba Ba Black Sheep, as the parents or most musical among you may recognize as the same tune.  (Hence the knowing ripple of laughter that spread throughout the audience as Joe and his Pre-K classmates began that particular number.)

But the best was yet to come.  Last year, Mr. Mark's Pre-K classroom gained a measure of celebrity with its original chant.  The chant was reprised at Winter Gala 2012 II by the current pre-kindergartners.  We have broken the number into its component parts below, and are providing truncated lyrics in case the words being chanted are difficult to discern between the high register of the voices, the lackluster audio recording environment, and the general hilarity marking the whole number, most especially the big finish.

Next year Joe will join Julie and Ted in the audience for Birdie's Gala debut.  Oh Fans.  You just know it's gonna be awesome.

Rock the House.  Form the house; paint the house; rock the house.
Raise the Roof.  Form the roof; hit the roof; raise the roof.
Make the Dough.  Form the Dough; knead the dough; make the dough.
Guacamole and Have a Cow.  Form avocado; peel avocado, guac the mole. Form the cow; tip the cow; have a cow.

*Return to the beginning again here and here.

**Experience Winter Gala 2011 memories again here and here.

***Relive the first Winter Gala 2012 here.

****Traditionally, the Winter Gala is held in January, so as this holiday season's Winter Gala was held in December, it is the second gala of 2012--and Birdie did not perform in it as she remains in a twos room.

Getting Back to In the Pink

Wednesday night

Fans, it's true: we left you hanging.  When last we posted, the bambini had called in sick, and were headed to Doc Harrington.  Joe had nothing more than a cold (but we all know how a bad cold can really flatten you).  Clara had a cold, as well as impetigo (a skin infection--a patch of raw, crusty skin by her mouth) and pink eye.  The poor little moppets.  They were messes.  But they have turned the corner.  Clara has been on antibiotics since Wednesday evening, and thus, is looking much, much better.  They are still coughing, but less and less with each day that passes.

We love each other

It's Daddy daycare today, and we are off to a good start.  While Ted was washing dishes in the morning Joe found his way to a kitchen drawer where we rediscovered some hearts he had colored and cut out along with some tape.  Ted told Joe that the new rule in the house was that artwork should be taped up in their room not in the living or dining rooms.  This set Joe off on explaining all the surfaces in his room he would tape artwork, including the ceiling.  So off he went to decorate.  When he came back into the kitchen he informed Ted that he hung them by the beds so "we know that we love each other.  I love Clara and she loves me. I have the big heart because I'm big.  Clara has the little heart because she is little."  Hopefully this mutual love can make it through the day!

The Bambini Call In Sick

Fans, the bambini are both sick.  Clara's lingering kind-of-a-cold-but-for-sure-her-two-year-molars-coming-in malaise has turned into a cough-fest.  This ongoing sickness (and of course the imminent appearance of some molars) goes a long way to explaining Birdie's bear cat-iness in recent days.  Poor Birdie.  She's so discombobulated she fell out of bed last night.  She got a horribly bad bonk.  Then, her blankets came off and she couldn't even contemplate figuring out how to get them back on herself, and really, that's what Mommies and Daddies are for--to tuck blankets up around us when we're sick.

Joe is also a one-man coughing band, but also has a stuffed up nose and a fever.  As is Joe's way when he is sick, he slowed way down and slept hard when the time came.  When Ted arrived early to pick Our Hero and his Erstwhile Sidekick up from school, he found Our Hero spaced out on a cot.  He reportedly curled himself into the chair in the living room with a blanket the moment he got home, and slept hard when the time came.  He did wake up--but not right away--when Clara was wailing in the wake of scoring her goose egg, but was otherwise down for the count practically from the moment his head hit the pillow.

So the bambini are calling in sick, and staying home today with Ted, who will be taking them to Dr. Harrington this afternoon just in case they have something that won't resolve on its own.