The Big Top!

The boys went to their first circus yesterday! Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sue invited us to go see the Big Apple Circus, so off we went through the rainy day to the National Harbor.

We saw super strong tumblers and acrobats. (While this image is impressive, even more amazing were the times when the man balanced himself on her!)

Both boys said Mark, the clown on the left, was a favorite. He stumbled out at the beginning, a seeming spectator looking at his phone and suddenly finding himself in the middle of the ring.

Of course, as a family we loved the dogs!

In the car ride home, Maceo exclaimed, "That's the best circus I've seen in years!"

(Only the last photo is mine. The rest are from Google!)

Decent Docents

The boys and I went down to the National Gallery to see a collection of short children's films. We made it just in time, only missing the first few minutes of the first film. After each film, Cassius would lean over and give me a silent thumbs up to let me know he had enjoyed that one. Once the films were over, I was interested in seeing how they reacted to an actual art museum. We'd never really been to a grown up museum like this one before. The American Art Museum is a little more experimental in its collection, and I wondered how the boys would react. Well, first, they loved the escalator. 

Daddy, now YOU try it!

Then, they were remarkably interested in the Giacometti sculptures to the point where Cassius was identifying them from afar! I showed them the famous picture of Giacometti walking amongst his sculptures, and they dug it. Maceo pointed out that the sculpture in the photo was the one right in from of us!

From there, we entered some of the galleries and I asked them to point out the ones that they really liked. Here's Maceo with one of his faves:

The docents giving me some insight into Gene Davis's "Black Popcorn."

Cash chose an artist I really like, Claes Oldenberg:

"So, so, so, this is a pencil."

And Maceo went with a solid choice in Wayne Thibaut, although he merely told me he "wanted to eat that one", pointing at the canvas. Damn liberal arts education....

"If you really look, you can see how yummy they are,"
my docent told me.

They did like talking about the pieces, looking carefully at them, and proffering ideas about what to look at, what it meant, what it was.

"Beam me up, Macers."

We made our way through some parts of the museum I had never visited before, including quite the staircase:

And finally, we ended up on a terrace outdoors where there were some very interesting and fun pieces. Some were terrifying, like the giant rooster.

I'm saving this one for their high school band's first album.

Some were quite intriguing, like this one called "Ugly Buddha Watches Ugly Television."

We spent quite some time there, and the boys were really great. On the way to the car, I praised them for being such great museum goers and companions. It was delightful. And of course, we had to look at the old standby that all kids in DC know--the incredibly sharp angle of the museum where it seems like the building is toppling over on you.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Early Morning Musings

While the boys were snuggling with me one morning, Cassius asked, "How did God make bodies?" "Well," I started. Maceo jumped in. "God didn't make bodies, they come from outer space." "Or China?!?!" asked Cassius. "Because China has lots of inventions."

Playdate upon playdate

Monday. Presidents' Day. What to do, what to do. I know! Invite three other 7 year old boys over, tell their parents to leave, and figure it out from there! What could go wrong?

So, that's what we did. At 9, our friends came over. First to arrive was Seamus. His dad dropped him off and then was gone! Arriving soon after were Parker and Carter. And then there were five.

The boys began by talking lots of Pokemon. Maceo had asked me to text the parents ahead of time and ask them to remind their sons to bring their cards. No one played Pokemon, of course. But there was lots of discussion of attacks and points that went right over my head.

Then, the boys went running off to Bunker Hill Elementary school, brandishing lacrosse sticks and wiffle ball bats to fight the Killer Clowns that are apparently rampant in our neighborhood.

Notice weapons at the ready.

I followed and soon was chasing the boys around the building until, on some invisible signal, they decided to run back to the house. Once there, the boys divided. Carter and Cassius, the two younger boys, paired off upstairs. The three older boys played outside, fighting the Killer Clowns at least to a stalemate. I got them to come in for some lunch, and at 12, Brian showed up for Seamus.

At this point, all children appear to be in good spirits and good health. Like with
all gentlemen, there was little discussion of politics or religion.

Not long after, Alex came by for hi sons Parker and Carter.

One last hurrah of mess making

And then we relaxed. Or at least I did. But before quiet time, I debuted "Chores." I had printed out a selection of rooms and the necessary tasks to clean each one, so we divvied them up. Of course, I let the boys choose the room for me to clean, and of course they gave me the worst one. Cassius picked the living room because it had the most floor to mop, and he loves to mop. Maceo chose the dining room and the kitchen, and we got down to it with some cleaning music blaring. When we finished, Maceo exclaimed, "That was kind of enjoyable!"

After quiet time, we were going to host our friends Annie and Janie for another playdate. Janie has known Cassius since those halcyon days at St. Ann's, and now they are classmates at Yu Ying. However, Jane's dad was smoking some pork butt, so we went over to their house instead. The boys were excited as this meant some access to video games!

WOOT!

When we got home from THAT playdate, I got a text from Annie saying, "Jane said, "That's fun. We should do that more often." I don't know if I should tell the boys because they'd just want to go over there all the time.

And then finally, for some reason Yu Ying was closed today on Tuesday. Professional development? So, I dropped the boys off at the ever reliable Mom and Maurice Day Care Center in Takoma Park where they had art activities planned for all the kids. 

Cassius went with a Rube Goldberg device. Maceo, the traditionalist, painted dinosaurs.

And quiet time was some sweet snuggling with their favorite cousin (for now, sorry Seamus) and a movie. 

Invasion from Massachusetts

Lucy and Bridget came down this weekend as it's midwinter break up in Amherst. They stayed at our house, which was a first, and the boys were quite excited. They both wanted Bridget to stay in their rooms, but we don't have a mattress for that, and I wasn't willing to make Bridget sleep on the floor! So, instead, Maceo and Cassius invaded her as soon as they woke up!

What a good sport!

Of course, the boys had to introduce her to the card game she and Seamus gave them.

Of course, Cassius won.

And of course, Bossy McBosserson lets Bridget know how to play.

There was some snuggling during tv time, as well as some help getting dinner together for such a large group!

Luckily, the argument about what show to watch didn't last long.

Choosing which soup to have for dinner. (It was matzoh. Oy!)

Bridget and Lucy also brought down a new game to try called Chickapig. We liked it very much and will have to keep an eye out for it at the game store. Mainly because there is the option of moving the cow and making your opponent slide in a cow patty. (Bridget won.)

Although you might not guess it here, Cassius and Lucy were a team and there were many high fives.

Bum Legs

Saturday morning, Maceo complained of a sore thigh. That soreness and pain has continued to now, Monday night. He stayed home today from school because of it, spending the first half of the day with Kate and the second with me. He seemed much better, and he even was able to help me with some decorating of the living room. I don't think he'll go to school tomorrow, though. I was hanging new pictures I'd just gotten framed, and I thought I could encourage Maceo to practice some math as we put the pictures up. He was more excited to use the laser level, but he indulged me. "What's half of 100, Maceo? What plus what equals 37? What's 75 plus 75 plus 75?"

No, lower! Now higher! Careful! Careful!

The pictures are by Shep Fairey from the Women's March two years ago. They are not signed or numbered, but they are from a limited run that I sponsored via the fundraising website GoFundMe, so they're a limited edition and look great!

Dinner and Brunch

Fridays, Maurice and Mom get one or two boys from school. This time, to aid their relaxing weekend start, they took only Cassius. By the time Maceo and I got there, Cassius had been having a great time and was excited to see us, and Mom and Maurice were not the least bit harried! The boys and I started movie night on the couch watching "Wallace and Gromit and the Case of the Were-Rabbit", eating crackers, and drinking a kir royal.

Photo courtesy of one M. Belanger.

After a superb dinner of roast chicken (Maceo had 4 or 5 helpings!) and cheese and crackers and sliced turkey and apples (that's Cassius's, of course!), we headed home. 

On Saturday, we had friends coming over for brunch! The house needed tidying, of course, so we got down to it.

Maceo patiently waited for his turn with the new mop. It squirts!

Our guests were Melissa and André and 2 of their 3 kids, Oliver (in Cassius's class) and Elise (in Maceo's grade). 

Anxiously awaiting our guests.

Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as warm as it had been yesterday. But after a bit of time indoors and eating frittata and french toast, we finally got the kids outdoors! The zip line and the fort got some use, and then there was a Jenga tournament.

Cassius explaining the game to an attentive observer.

After they left, Maceo expressed his approval. "Oliver is very cute and he's pretty strong, too." "Yeah, yeah, yeah," joined in Cassius. "But I can throw him to the ground." "What? How do you know that?" I asked. "Well, he took my turn on the zip line, so I throwed him down on the ground."

Hosting magic, what can I tell you.

Birthdays and Chinese New Year

We have been celebrating the Chinese New Year for a while now, as well as Grandpa's new year! On Wednesday, the boys and I went over to Dad and Susan's to wish him a happy birthday and have dinner. Hamburgers, which is Maceo's favorite food!

The salad was not as popular as the hamburger.

Cassius is not a hamburger fan, so he ate peanut butter and cheese sticks.

We had a lovely time and played with remote control cars and finally walked home.

Thursday, the boys had Chinese New Year's assemblies at their schools. Maceo was a bit excited to NOT have me attend, so I decided not to drive across town just to see him lackadaisically not take part in his class's performance. I did, however, receive a video of Cassius doing a great (read cute) job in his class's dancing to a song.

Edited to add: I just received Maceo's class's video from his teacher!

Busy Bees

Friday, there was snow, enough to freak out the region. Apparently, some schools closed, and at 6:30 or so, I got a text from Yu Ying saying, Don't worry, school's opening on time today! Surprised, I looked out the window and saw a few flakes. Off to school we went! But mid-morning, as the snow got heavier, Yu Ying texted/emailed/called to let us know that REEF was closing early and so Maceo's Pump It Up field trip was cancelled. Sadz.

That meant that Maurice and Mom were picking up BOTH boys for the long afternoon! Lucky! By the time I got there, the boys were calm and watching "The Rats of NIMH" with Mom.

Just get their attention, I dare you!

Then they worked with Maurice on a puzzle and gradually started poking at each other as their attention span waned.

That meant it was time for dinner! Homemade pizza! Maceo helped to prepare it by eating grated cheese and also sprinkling it on the pizza dough. As all of you might have guessed by now, Cassius wanted no part of the food, and he happily ate apple sauce and peanut butter sandwiches. When I tucked them in that night, Cassius complained about being hungry. I got him a fig bar to munch on.

At 5:30, when Cassius came in to snuggle, I was distracted by a constant crinkling noise. It was the damn wrapper from his fig bar! For some reason, he was carrying it around with him like a talisman.

Saturday, we had a Pokemon playdate with Adam, a favorite friend. He and Maceo have been besties since day care at St. Anne's, and the amusing part of it is is that Adam is slightly smaller than Cassius. 

Pokemon without parents! Hallelujah!

From Pokemon, we raced across town to soccer practice. This was the last indoor soccer practice, and the boys' team won 5-1! All of us are looking forward to the outdoor soccer teams we've signed up for this spring.  If it all works out, the boys will be on the Yu Ying soccer teams, meaning they'll be with friends and thus more likely to participate with vigor! Fingers crossed!

From soccer, we drove crosstown to the University of Maryland to see Chinese New Year performances of acrobats, jugglers, dancers, musicians, magicians, and more. It was pretty good, with some stupendous performances and some that weren't so captivating. And we thought the language was probably Cantonese rather than Mandarin, so that was a little disappointing. However, at one point, Maceo exclaimed, "Magic show!" "How do you know?" I asked. "I heard her say so," he replied. So, either Cantonese and Mandarin share the same word for magic, or the announcer WAS speaking Mandarin. 

The puppeteer we saw

Finally, on Sunday, the boys helped me paper the immediate neighborhood in advance of a meeting about the eventual development of the Howard Divinity school campus across the street from our house. While Maceo was at times a little whiny about the task, Cassius was excited to fold up the tract we had printed and enthusiastically either hand it to people who opened the door or tuck it into their screen door handles or shove it through their mail slot!

Community Activists in-training!