Let Sleeping Queens Lie

Seamus and Bridget gave the boys a Christmas present that may be the best present ever. It's a card game designed by a 6 year old. The game is called Sleeping Queens, and the boys are infatuated with it. They have taught multiple grandparents the game and then beaten them soundly. They want to play every day, and they insist on bringing it with them when they go to Kate's apartment. And we even play it at dinner time. Here are some shots from tonight's match.

The game got so heated, Cassius took off his shirt! (For the cognoscenti, you know the real reason he took off his shirt.)

Maceo, right before he won the game.

Soccer and Boys' Clubs

Cassius and Maceo have built a clubhouse in the family room out of blankets, stools, pillows, and other materials.

Cassius is in there somewhere.

There are some serious rules, of course, for members.

Maceo has been convening meetings there to discuss Pokemon, but Cassius has been slightly recalcitrant about attending, much to Maceo's displeasure. He hectors Cash to come in for a meeting, and then, when Cassius says he isn't coming, he bars him from membership. And then the cycle repeats. He also sends out formal invitations to entice Cassius to come back to the fold. 

I'm not quite sure what those last few words are...

On Saturday, the boys went to soccer practice. While other parents yell directions and encouragement at their players, I tend to sit quietly and not pay much attention. At this practice, a lot of the kids had a bad case of the sillies. However, Maceo and Cassius were the best behaved of them all! They waited patiently with their feet on their ball, focussed on their coach! I was pleased and pleased to tell them so afterwards. Here they are concentrating on dribbling through a slalom course of pylons. Speed was discarded for care...

MLK Weekend

The Nordic air struck DC this Sunday/Monday, making me a bit stir crazy. First, the boys didn't want to go outside when the weather was nice. And then, when it got cold, none of us wanted to go out at all! And with my one arm, there isn't much I can really do within the house. So, I wandered around the house trying to do small tasks, and Maceo wandered around the house trying to get someone to play Pokemon with him, and Cassius wandered around the house narrating his activities.

Maceo gets one victim to play Pokemon. 

This is a strange combination of floor hockey, Pokemon, and Beyblades and Legos.

On Martin Luther King Day, Mom and Maurice and the boys and I went to the Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore to celebrate and see some art. Cassius worked hard to make an "I Have a Dream" button while Maceo and I looked at the exhibits.

Maceo and I found the museum entertaining and thought-provoking. 

One of our favorite things was the mechanical theater which has buttons and handles to turn, allowing the boys to control the movements and which piece moves when. 

And then we celebrated MLK's birthday with hot cocoa and birthday cake.

"So, what do you think of the furlough?"

"Can't talk, eating cake!"

It's ok, he did share one bite with me.

The Doctors Are in the House

After decades of volleyball and recent poor exercise decisions, I succumbed to rotator cuff surgery. This meant that I stayed home a week from school, and my arm will be in a sling for a month. As my friend Jon said, "Parenting singlehandedly!"

Does this sling make me look fat?

But this week, at least, I have some helpers besides Maceo and Cassius. My mom and Maurice have moved in for the week!  They are cooking, parenting, dropping kids at school and picking them up, and more!

Everyone is addicted to the Spot the Differences book.

And afternoon Pokemon tv is so much fun!

Tonight, with "Hakuna Matata" playing, we are all making frittata for dinner.

Three eggs per sous chef.

Snow Bunnies

Santa's gift for Cassius this year was a snowboard. And it's been getting good use as both boys love it. However, Cassius really shows some aptitude, and Maceo is quicker to lose interest and just revert to playing in the snow.

Today, we went to a new hill, and a friend there, Craig, had built a jump. You might be able to pick out our boys' different approaches to sledding.

The Snowstorm of the Year!

It has been snowing for about 24 hours, and we have been making the most of it! This morning, after breakfast, the boys and I piled into the car and went to snowboard and sled in Takoma Park on a street that is closed for sledding. I had sledded there as a kid, too, and when we got there, nobody else was there. The boys tried sledding, but then both were more interested in snowboarding on the board Cassius had received from Santa. They were pretty good, though the video is not the best evidence of it!

After a quick snack at Mamy and Maurice's, we sped home to drop off Cassius with Aunt Lucy. Maceo and I continued down to Capitol Hill where he took part in a Pokemon class at a very cool toy store. Two hours later, we were on our way home, fully Pokemoned up and ready for quiet time. 

And it was still snowing.

Once quiet time was done, Cassius and I headed across the street for some more snowboarding.

In the Glades:

In another spot nearby, but still in the woods:

And then the best spot yet. A bit of open hill and some packed powder.

Dinner on a Snowy Night

Aunt Lucy has arrived in town, and so there have been dinners with family each night. Last night, Susan and Dad came over and we roasted a chicken. The boys showed off some of their Christmas presents, like Cassius's snowboard (which will probably get some use this weekend!) and Maceo's Turing Tumble.

That run had a glitch, but rest assured, Cassius kept working until he solved that puzzle!

The Narrator walks us through the process.

In addition, there has been lots of snuggling and demands of Aunt Lucy's time. 

Just some light reading

The Narrator talks his way through the set up with Lucy nearby as an "audience."

On Saturday, we went to soccer practice. The boys are feeling much more comfortable there now that they know their coaches' names and the various drills. Once the game started (with Maceo planted firmly in goal), the blob of children following a ball around was highly amusing, and amazingly, Cassius put two balls past his older brother! (However, during a water break, Maceo whispered in my ear that he was "taking it easy" because he's the biggest.)

 After quiet time, we made our way through the newly falling snow to Mamy and Maurice's house for dinner. There were presents to open,

Maceo is somewhat of a cookie expert.

 people to snuggle,

and books to read. 

Cassius was a little averse to the picture taking process.

Tomorrow, we get to introduce Lucy to the world of Pokemon as Maceo has his Pokemon club to attend, and perhaps we will get some sledding and snowboarding in as it's supposed to snow all night tonight and all day tomorrow!

Sugar Bugs!

I picked up Cassius early from school to take him to the dentist's for a 6 month check up. I am always impressed by how easy and fun it is to be with just one kid! Cassius was delightful--narrating signs outside the car, discussing the dentist's office, telling me about what he ate for lunch--just anything that popped into his mind. Once we got to the dentist's office, we were introduced to a new hygienist. She was VERY demonstrative and hands-on with Cassius! She let him fill a rinse cup using the little air/water pick, and she even had him shoot water across the room at me.

Just before he squirted me!

She also gave him control of Mr. Thirsty, the suction tool, and let him empty to cup of all the water.

Cassius is one lesson away from being a certified hygienist himself

She painted his teeth purple to illustrate the "sugar bugs" on his teeth, which he really enjoyed. (This morning, as he walked around the house, he made up a little song about sugar bugs.)

A purple people eater?

Then, after he tasted and okayed his choice of  strawberry toothpaste, she brushed his teeth, and then the dentist came in. They both agreed he looked good.

See how clean?!?

The hygienist made a cape for Cassius and let him run around the hallway to get his reward for being such a good patient. And Cassius was super thoughtful and grabbed one for Maceo, too.

We went grocery shopping before we went to get Maceo from Yu Ying. Maceo was low energy and feeling a little sick, so after dinner the boys went to bed at 6:45! Unfortunately, Maceo was haunted by fever dreams. He woke up 4 or 5 times crying because "There's a competition at REEF and I don't want them to keep score!" In the end, I had him come sleep with me, which was great until Cassius decided he wanted to get in bed with us at 5.
Sigh.

Cassius's midyear report card

I thought this comment on Cassius's report card captured a lot of his personality pretty perfectly.

And if you'd like to read "Mr. Rock", I can get an author's signed copy for you for a great price.

Weekends are Exhausting!

This weekend was chockablock with things going on.

First, there was indoor soccer practice.

The players ready themselves to enter the competition

Then, there was a Catholic University men's basketball game with friends.

First half, the audience was calm. In the second half, they retreated to the lobby to burn off some energy running around.

We returned home with our friends and had pizza and played. Sunday, there was the Feast of the Three Kings at Mamy and Maurice's house. In the tradition of the holiday, we had a cake with a toy baby hidden in it. Last year, Maurice won by finding the baby in his slice of cake. This year, we had a new king--Maceo found the baby in his slice, the very first slice cut!

Carefully tasting to avoid swallowing the toy!

The former King passes the crown to the new king!

The king shows off his treasure

Not a king, but still happy, although he refused to eat the cake.

After lunch, we went to the nearby elementary school to play soccer with our friends the Greenbergs. For January, it was a lovely day and after some initial trepidation, the boys joined in the game full force.

Young athletes in their natural habitat.

Then, we came home for quiet time, and exited again, this time for a dinner party at our friends house in the neighborhood. Whew!

Thank God we are all back to school now and the routines can get started again.