While It Was Cold. . .

Fans, it is still cold here in the North Star State, but it was warm enough today that Joe's school reopened after its winter break and being closed these past two days because of the extremely cold temperatures. So the bambini were back to their regularly scheduled programming today. But Monday and Tuesday found them at home with Ted. Target encouraged its employees to work from home so Ted did while the bambini amused themselves with various activities.  They worked out with Ellen who is referred to like a close friend of the the family.  The bambini work out with Ellen in their bathing suits, which was ironic on Monday and Tuesday given the temperatures outside.  In Birdie's case, working out requires a number of wardrobe changes.  (Really anything is a good excuse to dispense with one ensemble and create another.) Working out segued into dancing for Clara.  You can see a brief snippet of it here. (Doesn't Berenice seem jazzed to have nearly everyone home with her still?)

The bambini also wiled away a fair amount of time watching some Berenstain Bears movies which they love because there are no "scary guys" in them.  It's always amusing to see which of the several 20-minute vignettes on a DVD will captivate them the most.  On the DVD we currently have out from the library, they are especially taken with an episode in which Papa Bear keeps getting hiccups because he's eating too fast: "When eating your food, remember to chew. It's not just good manners, it's healthy for you!"  Pearls of wisdom in rhyme, Fans.  Can't beat it.

Joe read to Clara a bit--Amelia Bedelia, Fancy Nancy--and onTuesday, Ted and the bambini came to St. Paul and took Julie to lunch after they poked around Julie's office and charmed a few of her colleagues. Fans, as you know, the bambini love a rock. Most rocks and pebbles are buried under the snow right now. Julie was amused to see them make a beeline for the various rocks she has around her office that she uses as paperweights.*

So it was a little of this and a little of that and here we are, looking forward to double-digit temperatures north of 0.  Apparently they will be here tomorrow.

*Our Little Red Sometimes Resident Fans maybe interested to know that three of her rocks came from the beach at Orient Point by the ferry. Practical Ted asked Julie if she was really going to pack rocks on their return home. Yes, yes, she was.   And she did.

A Day at the Beach?

Day 576 of the coldest winter ever found Julie and the bambini at Kiddywumpus' open art studio. (While there, they learned that Governor Dayton closed all K-12 schools in the state closed on Monday when the high will reach -14 in the Twin Cities--and be much colder up north. Kiddywumpus received several calls from people wondering whether they would be open Monday--yes, though clearly the idea is to stay in.) Today, the open art studio had magic modeling clay (which is like Play Doh) and sand art--you know, when you put some glue on paper, sprinkle (or dump with abandon depending on age and skill level) on colored sand and then shake off the excess? The bambini LOVED sand art. The sand art-ed away an hour. It was sort of like a day at the beach!

Time Travels

The arctic-like temperatures have limited our activities this winter break.  Ted, in an act of Shakleton-like heroism, took the bambini to the Minnesota Zoo today.  Their visit was of course focused on the indoor trails and thus, they were there when the fish in the big aquarium were fed by the diver.  (Joe shot a video of it with Ted's phone for Julie; she saw the--very--rough an unedited cut tonight.)

A few days ago, Julie had taken the bambini to the aquarium at the Mall of America in lieu of the zoo.  So, we are totally up on the distinction between an aquarium (animals that live in the water) and the zoo (animals that live on land or in the water, or both).

The aquarium at the Mall of America is pretty limited and probably counts on people thinking it, too, is overwhelming large like the mall that houses it.  It's piece de resistance is a large tank with a tunnel through it so that one is surrounded by fish, and sharks, and turtles as one walks through said tunnel.  (Joe learned that large groups of fish are called schools and has been trying out this new vocabulary word every chance he gets.)

On the way from the aquarium to Noodles for lunch, Julie commented that she and Daddy had once visited some turtles with hurt flippers at a sea turtle hospital.  (This was in South Padre Island, Texas, about a year after they'd been dating.)

She added that this was before they were even married and before Joe and Clara were born.  That comment prompted Joe to say, "Like in the 1950s?"  We don't know why that decade was selected, Fans, but Julie replied, "No, in the early 2000s."  She added that the 1950s was when all the grandparents were about his age.  From there, Joe moved on to what Ted and Julie had done after visiting the sea turtles, which was, in fact, going to lunch at a restaurant called Ted's restaurant.

Then later, over bowl of noodles, Joe asked when the dinosaurs were alive.  Julie replied that the dinosaurs roamed the Earth millions and millions of years ago.  Joe said, "Like back when Grandma and Grandpa were kids."  Sure, in the 1950s.

Time.  It's a tricky concept to nail down you know.

Tree House Dreams

The other thing Joe is desperate to do is build a tree house.  He and Birdie are, as you know, Fans, big Berenstain Bears Fans.  The B. Bears live in a tree house and Papa Bear is a carpenter and thus always building things like play tree houses and club houses.  In fact, it seems that most cubs in Bear Country have one or the other.  His latest is to build a tree house in an orange tree.  He reasons that doing so will allow him to simply reach outside for an orange when he wants a snack.  He plans to start tomorrow.  Our low tonight here in the Twin Cities is -15 degrees, and we've not had a high above 10 degrees in days and days.  Joe is undaunted.  He has saved his orange seeds from this evening.  (Really, they are tangerine seeds, but this seems a minor issue in the face of the climate challenges.)

Waiting For the Tooth Fairy

Joe is absolutely desperate to lose a tooth.  At least four kids in his class have lost teeth.  Their names are listed on a poster in the room.  Tooth losers are, thus, minor celebrities.  One day not so long ago, Julie found Joe sawing away at one of his bottom front teeth with his tooth brush.  She told him that teeth came out when the big teeth underneath them pushed the little tooth above them up and out, and that if he rushed the little tooth out of the way, he'd end up with a big, bloody hole in his mouth.  She embellished a bit so that he would stop his machinations with the tooth brush.  He has in fact stopped his efforts with the tooth brush, but his desire to lose a tooth remains undiminished.  A few days ago, while Clara was napping in Joe's bed, and Julie and Joe were painting the mopboards in Clara's room (well, Julie was painting; Joe was "painting"--in underwear and a pair of Clara's tights and her pink tutu), Joe again asked when he would lose and tooth and Julie again said she didn't know; that it would happen when it happened; but that it couldn't be rushed.  Joe confirmed that if it was rushed, that's when a big, bloody hole would result.  So that part sunk in!  Then, after a pause, he said, "I love you, Mommy."    It was a good heart-to-heart.