Funkikis vs. Speed Racers

Once upon a time, in a wee hamlet far, far away, Ryan decides his new funkeys would make good hockey sticks..

I know! What we need is a Colosseum. Do you think we can build one?

Looks like today's lesson will be "keep it simple". So, ya... I grab a big cardboard box, glue, paints, ribbon, markers, poster board... I envision paper mache, flags, columns, the whole nine yards. Colosseum? A good thing. Thank you Martha.

Ryan jumps in and finds spectators for the ensuing battle. At last, a use for the millions of little McDonald's toys that are fun for about.. 3 seconds... He makes a little tray for the toys and programs his shiny red robot to carry them over to me on the living room floor. Soooo sweet! This is the best day ever! He was finished gathering the spectators in about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, I sit there scratching my head for the same three minutes, trying to figure out just what in the world I'm going to do with my big cardboard box, glue, paints, ribbon, markers & poster board. And please don't forget about the paper mache and the flags and stuff..

O.K. Julie - ready for the Funkey battle? Ready?! I haven't even researched how to make paper mache.. Julie - ready yet??? Oh boy.. I can't even redirect him at this point - it's all about the battle. I lamely begin to cut the carboard box into strips with my stupid scissors... Martha did this to me.! How can I make archways out of carboard? Where are the flags going to go? Who's making the signs?? THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GOOD THING!!!!

Enter Jim . (Stage direction: Eyebrows raised, he walks in.. Trying not to smile, he lays down his items and leaves without saying a word). He's left me a pen, 2 sheets of ripped paper, some tape and these lame styrofoam things that were also in the big carboard box... **sigh** I hate to be wrong. I really, really do... We did use a marker at least.

Funkikis (Ryan) vs. Speed Racers (Julie)
Scores (Jim wise old sage show-off kept score):

Funkey Hockey: Funkikis - 15; SR's - ZERO; Pirate Fencing: Funkikis - 5; SR's - 2; Shrek Boxing: Funkikis - 16; SR's - 4; Funkey Pinball: Funkikis - 7; SR's - 1.

Happy Easter, please pass the Hot Chocolate!

Yes, that's the temp: 36 degrees.... No, this isn't the Bears Game. It's the White Sox vs. the Twins on Easter Sunday!! It was a glorious game - once we found a sunny spot!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Goodbye Winter!!

Winter is SO fun - in November and December... Starts to wear on me around mid-January.. In the Midwest, Old Man Winter hangs around really until the end of April. So while I'm ready to jump out of my skin at yet another rainy April day (thankfully it's getting a lot warmer though), I thought I'd go through the winter pics one more time.. Then I'll put them away until my bones warm up a bit.. These are from January, 2009- we were kind of excited for this big blizzard.. The snow that fell would have been perfect for skiing - not so much for snowman making. Ever the miracle seekers, our brains here at the Hamlet are now trained to seek creativity as a antidote for bummed-out-ness. (yes, it's a word). Sadly, creativity levels seem to drop substantially after Christmas. *sigh* We made a snow-dragon instead. Snow-dragons don't require sticky snow. Truth be told, in order to get to the snow-dragon, I first had to walk around the yard for 20 minutes trying to get a #$&!! snowball to stick so the snowman could be made. Then I had to have a temper fit because it kept crumbling after about 2 inches. THEN in my fury I started to try and mound the snow for the snow man's base, but of course I couldn't get any height... In my defeated surrender, I noticed that if you put a snowball on the mound of snow, it kind of looked like a dragon tail... And poof - a happy ending is born! I really am grateful that despite the fresh powder, Ryan's snow ball maker from Paul & Dorie worked great! It was a fun afternoon of snow ball fights, snow dragons and reenactments from one of our favorite Christmas movies. In January it seems kind of charming that the day is only about 3 1/2 hours long, and that you can see the moon at 4 pm, and the snow is everywhere...

A Guest Post! by Jim O'

These are a few of my favorite things...

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

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All my favorite "things" - table set with pretty mismatched china, diet dr. pepper, coffee, flowers... Still, just things.

I make it a habit to write a gratitude list each day. It helps to highlight the mundane miracles I see each day. These "things" don't typically make the cut.

It's the people at the table, or the thoughtfulness of the one who brings the flowers, or the friend I'm having coffee with. Sometimes it the minute of solitude I'm granted to take a photo before the Thanksgiving 'rush'...

Yesterday was a good day. It looks like Dad's unplanned vacation is over, Sissy is feeling better, Jimmy and I sat around and listened to music for a bit, which we haven't done in a long time. He played some Pat Travers tunes ( 80's rocker); we laughed that my ipod has songs by spongebob square pants in it... (For I-dog dance parties in the kitchen - duh!).

Good day or challenging day - it's gratitude that helps balance the see saw. You know?

Wee Hamlet Q & A

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

The Wee Hamlet is quiet when Ryan goes back to his Mom's....

Jim (outside on the front porch): "BE QUIET! YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!"

Q: Who are you yelling at?

A: The geese.

Silly Goose...