Zhu Zhu Pets Argue

Our first Zhu Zhu pet, Nugget, is jealous of our new Kung Zhu, Rock'o, because Rock'o has a set of armor AND a tank. And he doesn't want to share. We snapped them mid-argument.

Song Titles

Everybody Loves Donuts

Robotic Arm Rocks the House

New Transformer Idea

We came up with a cool new Transformers character:

A Decepticon whose vehicle mode is a Zamboni. His Cybertron name could be "Freezemaster," and he freezes his enemies... or the road in front of them.

The Peeps Go Stylish

The Peeps decided they wanted to look spiffier, so the 3 chicks got glasses and the bunnies, since their ears didn't lend themselves to holding up glasses, opted for headbands.

Oh, and all 5 of them are wearing blue pants.

Stylish, yes?

An Alphabet of Transformers

We passed the time on the ride out to Grandma's last weekend trying to find something to do with Transformers for every letter of the alphabet. here's how we did (Hey: nobody steal these and make a book, ok, 'cause we're going to! Thanks!)

A --Allspark, Arcee, Autobot
B-- Bumblebee, Blitzwing, Black Arachnia
C-- Cybertron, Chief, Constructicon
D-- Devastator, Detriot, Decepticon, DinoBots
E-- EMP, Earth
F-- Fanzone, as in the police captain's name
G-- Grimlock
H-- Headmaster
I-- Isaac (Professor Sumdac)
J-- Jazz, Jetfire, Jetstorm
K--
L-- Lugnut, Lockdown, Longarm, Laserbeak
M-- Megatron, Mixmaster
N-- Nanobot, Nanosecond
O-- Optimus Prime, Omega Supreme, Organics
P-- Prowl, Professor Princess
Q-
R-- Ratchet, Rodimus
S-- Sari Sumdac, Starscream, Soundwave, Sentinel Prime, Swoop, Snarl
T-- The Fallen, Transformer
U-- Ultra Magnus
V--
W-- Wasp
X--
Y--
Z--

Suggestions to fill in the missing letters welcome!

Hamsters Humming Stupidly

Sounds like a book:
"Hamsters Humming Stupidly"
it's just us, playing.

This is a joint creation by DB and his mom for Haiku Friday.

Silly School 5

At this school detention is at Chuck E Cheese. The principal took the kid and bought her 3 whole gumball machines!

The principal's name is Principal Nonsense.

Susie is the kid's name.

(Daddy got to hear the first 4 installments of this series while Mommy was in Chicago. She hasn't gotten them out of DB yet.)

Revenge of the Toys 2

These are the same Transformers in car mode: Decepticon Dirt Boss (aka Scrapper) vs. Autobots Dune Runner, Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime

Transformers: Revenge of the Toys!

When Toys Attack:

Autobots battle Decepticons on the table near the TV.

Computer Game Idea: "Spit & Score"

Last night we came up with a computer game idea. He wants to have a whole website called "HotGamezzz.com"

It has 4 levels, Pre-K, K 1st and 2nd grades.

The controls are:
Letter "S" fills your mouth with water from the drinking fountain.

If you get too much water, you explode and the game is over!

L&R arrows move you left and right. Spacebar moves you up and down.

"Enter" button shoots the water out.

Bonus Actions:

• Spit on the stack of tests (Grade 2 only)
• Spit into the wastebasket
• Spit onto the class plants.

Bad Actions:

• Spit on the class pets (lose points)
• Spit on a teacher (get sent to principal; maybe ends game? Or maybe you ahve to do something to make amends and then you can go back...)
• Spit on the art project(s) - get sent home
• Spit on classmate(s), lost 3 points
• Spit on the bus: Ends game

Seems like we ought to be able to get someone to program this for us!

The Story of How We Got The Squirmy Model

When Daddy and I decided we wanted a baby, we put in our order. We checked off the qualities we wanted our child to have:

Girl or boy? Boy.
Smart? Check.
Handsome? Check.
Slightly mischievous? Check.
Good sense of humor? Check.
Good imagination? Check.

Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, a supertaster would be acceptable, must like cars, and so on down the list. It took us, like, a week to agree on everything.

We finished filling out the form and sent it in along with our deposit, which was like $80 or something.

A few weeks later we got a call from the baby people. They explained that for the date range we wanted our baby to arrive, they did have a smart, handsome boy with a good imagination who would have all the characteristics we wanted, but -- all they had left were Squirmy models.

What was a Squirmy model? we asked.

The lady, I think her name was Louise, explained that Squirmy meant that he'd be more active than some of the other models, like "Quiet" and "Calm."

We didn't think that sounded so bad, after all, we like to walk and take trips and do things, so we told her that seemed OK.

Then she said that the handsomest, smartest, funniest one of all was only available in Extra-Squirmy.

What's Extra-Squirmy mean? we asked, starting to get a little worried about whether this squirmy business might be hard to deal with.

"It just means he's a little more active, that's all," she reassured us, "think of it like the Border Collie of kids."

Now, we knew that Bordie Collies are beautiful dogs, active and alert and smart. So we told her yes, that was the one we wanted.

Well. We didn't know what we were gonna get!

It turns out that the Extra-Squirmy baby HAD to be upright at all times when he was awake. And he didn't nap much, either.

He always wanted new stimulation. He NEVER sat still. And that's still true 6 years later.

And we wouldn't trade our Squirmy model for any other kid in the galaxy.

Poem

Yellow Bus

Lemon yellow buses
Wheels are rolling clocks
Tail lights like apples
Windows like boxes
Head lights like crackers

Alphabetical Hess

We used these Hess trucks to help us alphabetize the
Words of the Week last week.

Zunkin Zonut

This is DB's first creation in the Dunkin Donuts contest, Create Dunkin' Next Donut:


It's a pumpkin donut with maple frosting and orange and blue sprinkles.

DB's View of the Election

Translation:
Dear Mr. President,
I am angry! I am a Republican!
President Bear

President Bear is a teddy we have who is wearing a sweater with an American flag on it. I can't remember how or when he became President Bear, but until I received this note last Saturday I had no idea he was President of more than Stuffed Animal Heights and the other communities in DB's room.

Nor did I know his political leanings. But now we all do.

Three Kings Day

After seeing Meredith's posts about the three kings' journey, DuckyBoy wanted to do our own version tonight.

First our kings looked into some modern modes of travel:



Once they made their choice, off they went, wasting no time:


They were surprised to see a similar journey on a big screen ... and developed an expectation of what the Holy Family would look like:


Their arrival at the manger was greeted by cheers... and a surprise! A part of DuckyBoy's new Mega Rig Space set (a piece that shoots into space) has been missing since some time Christmas afternoon. It turned out to have been hiding behind the manger on the bookcase, and was found when we moved the manger to set up this shot. (It's the orange-with-a-black-roof silo-looking thing next to the manger.) You can just see the legs of their forlorn camel watching from the bookcase...


I was delighted to be able to say, "It just goes to show you, when you think about Jesus, good things happen!"

Playing School

For the first time DB has been playing school about once a week or so. Usually on the weekend, when he has time to process his week.

In case you can't decipher this, it's a daily schedule for the class. It reads:

Flow of the Day
Morning Meeting (with gavel icon)
Lunch (apple icon)
Writing Workshop (notebook)
Reading Workshop (the little person is saying, "Books rule!")
Read Aloud (book)
Centers (Lego block)
Snack (apple core)

He added centers after I pointed out that in his very own classroom, he could add whatever he wanted. He misses the play centers from kindergarten. (Who wouldn't?)

The Peeps Explore DuckyBoy's Room

With no idea what they'll find, the Peeps boldly embark on their latest adventure: A visit to DuckyBoy's room.

They have a few mishaps along the way, like a run-in with a train...

... a dizzy spell after a ride on this thing ...


and a car that went nowhere:


However, there were some successes as well, including a drive on a bigger vehicle ...


... a chance to drive a bus ...


and a fun time pretending to sell ice cream in a truck that was just the right size.


Playing with stickers had both ups and downs:



Meeting their stuffed relatives was a real thrill, as the Peeps had no idea such folks even existed.



After all the excitement, the Peeps returned home with happy memories of their adventure.
The End.

With a Nod to Dr. Seuss

I made this up tonight, after DB said he thought his ear gurgled.

Once I heard my ear,
I thought I heard it gurgle.
I guess I was mistaken --
it was my nose that snergled.

And then there are my toes,
they like to gerbalot.
When my elbows see them do it,
they dance a mergalot.

I'm adding this stanza now because it needs something to finish it:

I don't know why they do it,
and I can't make them stop.
All I know is when they're through it
they need to wikkezot.

Illustrations TBD (to be drawn) -- or, maybe not.

The Lorax

We read Dr. Seuss's The Lorax today. It made quite an impression on me when I was young -- I especially remember the cartoon version -- and was interested to see how DB would react.

As the trees get chopped down, on a page that's before the crisis gets totally out of control, he commented, quite matter-of-factly I might add, "I would plant new trees to replace the ones getting cut down."

I love him so much!