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!