Jack Skellington has arrived

I very much dislike Elf on a shelf.  For reasons like he is suppose to be caught making mischief in the house and yet he is also watching you to make sure you aren't?   But despite all that I thought of something similar that I actually love, Jack Skellington "on a shelf".  Basically I have a Jack Skellington doll that I pose with notes and supplies for activities that our family can do in preparation for Halloween.  Since the musical is currently in full swing Jack has been delivering some pretty simple activities but they have brought enjoyment to The whole family, which is what I wanted.  Plus, you know me, I love Halloween and this just lets me celebrate the holiday a little more richly.

Activity one- decorate with what we already have.

Activity two- make spider webs out of garbage bags.  A few went on the window to decorate, and a couple went in Link's toy collection so he can pretend to be venom.

Activity three- mummify a stuffed animal.  Link chose to do the cat in the hat.

Activity four- .make ghosts from cheese cloth and styraphoam balls.  Link said the face he drew was like e ghost on Marion kart.  This is him making the face as well.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

We open up Millie on Thursday and I am so excited.  My friend, Cheri, is the lead and she is phenomenal.  Everyone is doing a really great job and I am singing the songs all the time, even the ones I'm not it.  I'm so glad I stuck this show out.  I had my doubts going into it.  First of all there are two Chinese men and I was worried they were just going to act comically stereotypical.  I wouldn't go to a show with people in blackface being stereotypical so I felt the same way about this show.  Fortunately the comedy of these characters is not in their speak and action but in their actual lines.  These two men actually had to learn Mandarin for the show and they do a great job.  One "man" is 15.

I start the show in the role of Ethel Pease, a southern girl living in New York who gets abducted.  I have the unfortunate line of "white slavery" but I guess it's a smidgen better than "sex trafficking." Which is what they actually mean.  Anyway, after that scene Ethel's whereabouts are never really cared about again.  I revive her for curtain call just in case someone out there does wonder.  I like this part because I get a little bit more acting than was intended for me and my only singing where it is not full chorus.  I have to thank Cheri for being in this song.  She was a very good behind the scenes person making people remember that I existed and could pull this off.  I think I am a good addition to this song (when I get the notes right)  so I'm glad I'm in it.  Although I do feel a little guilty about it.  After talking to another auditioned about my concern with the racial stereotypes she dropped out and this (I assume) was her role.  I almost feel like I manipulated my way in without actually trying to.  

Next I am a stenographer.  This role I tap dance in.  I love dancing and this was really fun and really hard.  We started back in May with the choreographer.  I tapped at 5 years old so I thought I would be fine.  Big difference!  It's challenging but so great.  I miss the hours of Dance that really felt like workouts.  I have a lot of fun with this character, giving her a prissy face and such.  Unfortunately I must have gotten fired after this scene because there is one more stenographer scene and tap dance and I'm not in it.  I'm not sure why, but I've shed enough tears about it to not care anymore.  At first I thought it was because I had an immediate scene change, but actually I have no conflicts and barely even grace the stage in the entire act 2.  There is even an actor who can't be at all the performances in it.  I just figure I must have had one suck ass audition where people didn't get that I could act, sing, or dance. 

Next I'm a dancer at the Speakeasy.  I started with this wig but have since decided to use the black one since this one falls off.  I added the cigarette holder because I've always wanted to use one.  This scene we just dance and act drunk.  Easy.  I mostly like dancing with my actual dentist.  And if the lighting ever gets completely figured out this will look really cool with cop like spotlights and flashes for mug shots.

My final character is, Mathilde, the maid.  This is my original casted character, complete with two lines and 2 min stage time.  Like I said, bad audition.  We hardly practiced this role so it's my least developed character.  I'm still working on her.  I get to interact with my friend, Karin, which is fun.  I also put myself in the dance and started walking the stage carrying a tray.  The butler waiting in the wings always gives me weird faces like "what are you doing that is not in the script" but I'm just doing what I like my high school actors to do "think like your character."  No notes from the director means it looks fine, right?

Karin plays Muzzy and she has two stunning songs that she just knocks out of the park.  My very first musical I was in with her was Fiddler on the Roof.  She was my mother, Golde, now I'm her maid.  

I'm very excited to present this show to an audience, I hope we pack the house every night.  There is so much talent exuding from so many people.  I still love watching it and I've seen it many times now.  

Cave man unit completion

In order for Link to earn a Lego Caveman and woman he had a checklist of activities he had to do.  Tonight he completed the last ones which included finding wood for a fire in the woods, roasting meat (hotdog) over the fire, and watching a little video on how you can make a fire by rubbing sticks together.  He didn't have to actually start a fire this way.  He is 5.

The other day Link learned to make pinch pots.  I've been trying to get him to be more adventurous and get dirty, but now I'm realizing that it is something we can work on gently or else learning won't be fun for him.  Clay was not exciting for Link because of the mess.  So I put it in a baggie for him to make.  And when that still wasn't capturing his interest I brought out the colored modeling clay and we had much better success.  We also let the clay dry in the sun.

Here is a great tutorial on how to make a pinch pot with the added bonus of Link making up a song called "caveman style."  Can you guess what tune it was sung too? 

And Link added his own activity to his list.  A bear hunt with Felix as the bear.  This bear we attacked with bear hugs.

First Humans continued

I made a cave out of a large box (thanks Olson appliance) and crumpled brown paper and Link loved it.  Today he made mud paint, mixing mud  and "blood" and trying out different types of brushes.  For this kind of paint the harder the brush the better it worked.  He liked the feather and the stick the most.  

He made some petroglyphs in the cave.  It is so funny to see how much he doesn't like to get dirty.  Not sure he would have survived.  

I also let him use a marker so he could better tell his story. He drew a cave girl similar to his Lego one with a bone in her hair.  And he put a seed in her belly which he told me was grandma rose.  So basically cave people are about 90 years old.  

We also looked at random facts about cave people and discovered they talked by making clicking noises and that they ate sweet potatoes, so we had sweet potatoes for dessert.

Felix update

Felix has a tooth.  Right on the bottom.  He is also standing up and trying to balance and move around.

I am putting lots of toys away that Link loved at this age but Felix doesn't care for.  Things like the jumper and play center.  Felix is more drawn to cars, which is great because we have a few and link didn't ever play with them.  I even think Felix is making motor sounds a little.

He's making mama  and dada sounds but not intentional words or signs yet.  Except he rubs his eyes when he wants to nurse.

Felix is getting lots of curls on his head.  He has been fortunate to never get the reverse male pattern baldness in the back or sides of his head.  

Here is a selfie he took at work.

In laws and no husband

Bryce went to San Francisco for the annual Disrupt convention and I stayed home with the boys.  Fretting how to do it alone without daycare for Felix, Jim and Betsy came from Ohio to help out.  I have amazing inlaws.  Not only were they able to watch both boys, they helped us get ahead in so many areas we were behind in.  Yard work, kitchen cleaning, etc.  I couldn't have done it without them and wish they could have stayed longer.

I think Felix looks a lot like Grandpa Jim.  Look at those matching ears.

8 months

Felix is now 8 months.  When we come to these dates I hate that I work.  I feel like I hardly have seen 8 months of him. Felix is now a babbling, crawling fool.  So amazingly adorable.

 To celebrate we went to Pike's Peak in McGregor and climbed behind Bridal Veil falls. Then we went to Shihatas and picked apples.  Bryce also went pants shopping for his trip to San Francisco.

We dropped Bryce off Sunday in Cedar Rapids.  The Boys and I went to The Village Meat Market.  There was a man singing live and we were the only customers so we got ourselves our very own blues concert and amazing food.  Now we just need to take Bryce.