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!

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.