Ring Out the Old, Ring In The New

In a couple of hours it will no longer be 2010.  That is perfectly fine with me--it was'nt a terrible year, personally, but it certainly was not without its heartaches and I am more than ready to GET ON WITH the rest of my life.  I have many plots and plans and here's hoping I'm actually not insane and that at least some of them are viable.

While I harbor the suspicion I'm having a midlife crisis, none of my plans involve a trophy husband or a shiny red car.

ANYhow, you can't be looking at a blog about a 3 year old and not wondering how Christmas was.  Christmas was nice and not too ridiculous.  It was the year of the Gender Specific gifts--matchbox cars and plastic power tools--

but the hands down winner in the gift department was the Big Fold Out Cardboard House.  I know its supposed to be for girls (there are flowers printed on the door) but I say f**k all that: my boy has loved the cardboard box houses I've made him and when this thing went on super sale I decided we needed to trade up:

 

I had it ready to go on Christmas morning and he spent most of the day in there with his stuffed elephant and his glockenspeil:

A couple days later, Mike says he caught Donny saying, "I love my new house, its so BEAUTIFUL!"

Mama must have been pretty good this year too.

We had a nice Elyria visit despite the fact that I have been, and continue to be, sick like the dog with a cough that will not let up. 

The other big news is that I took the plunge and put up a facebook page for Polish Hill parents with preschoolers.  We had a playdate on Thursday with some sweet kids and great parents: this just might work!

And now, to start on the wine.  Happy New Year! 

You Can Actually Go To Someone Else's Home Again

  

I've been working very hard to simplify my life which, for an old school Gemini like me, is tough. Every since my last cemetery tour of the season I've been guarding my Saturdays like a growling dog. That being said, there are somethings I can't say no to and one of them is The Frick.

I used to work and the Frick and the joke I make about it the most often is that the Frick is like my first real boyfriend: I knew it would never last but [fake voice breaking into uncontrollable weeping] I still love him!!! Working there was one of those crazy stumbleintoit things that can define the rest of your life, for me, in a very good way. So when one of my favorite people from the Frick invited Donovan to attend a Pre-School event, I couldn't say no.

Even tho I woke up grumpy and with a sore throat.

Luckily it all worked out--it was a two bus trip and both were on time, we had to walk but the kid was a trooper. And even tho I forgot his bag at home another mother kindly and knowingly gave me one of her (adorable) son's pullups: WHEW.

The program itself was very sweet and when I complimented the folks who put it together today, all of them sort of rolled eyes heavenward and said "GOOD, 'cause we haven't done this before!" By "this" I'm guessing they mean preschool programs that include the house museum as a component. The program started with a story about how Spencer, the Frick's chef (Spencer! Lookin' good! I've missed you, dude!) would make gingerbread men for the Frick kids for Christmas and one got away so we had to go in the house to find him.

The gingerbread boy that got away left his shadow all over the house (shadow=felt cut out) and the kids went from room to room to find them. The kids really got into it--even Fauntleroy, The Lone Gunman--but they were all very good. After we found all the shadows, we went to decorate real gingerbread cookies. Donny needed a bit of nudging from me but he did a nice job of decorating his.





And also of eating them.

As for me, it was so nice to go back on a springlike sunny day. I even got to see some of my favorite folks. Plus Donny and I both got majorly fussed over. He seemed not to notice but, you know, I think I needed that!