Cupboard TARDIS

The children have discovered a teleportation chamber under the kitchen counter. So far it's taken them to Africa, America, the land of the dinosaurs, and Barbieland.

25 March 2011

Rose Pink chatted me today, using Mr. Brown's account, using all her own spelling. She is so amazing.

St Patrick's Day

Kiddos woke us up on Saturday morning a week ago as they were searching in their drawers for green clothing. They've been anticipating the St. Patrick's Day parade here for weeks. Then they came into our room and shouted, Happy St. Patrick's Day! as if it were Christmas.

After all the anticipation, the parade itself was not so great. Definitely below the standards set by the Quad Cities parade. There's a bigger parade in downtown Detroit (this was just the Royal Oak parade) but it was on Sunday.

20 March 2011

Spring is here!

12 March 2011

We saved those big pieces of paper that movers use to wrap your stuff in, the ones that weren't too wrinkly, anyway. (We filled six garbage bags with the unsalvageable ones and drew ghost faces on them before setting them out at the curb.) Here kids are occupying themselves with a large expanse of paper and 100 colored markers. Nut Brown has drawn brown and green dragons breathing fire in the corner, two black owls shooting lasers above them, and lava raining from the sky. Rose Pink is working on a very fancy crown.

10 March 2011

Nut Brown's vocabulary is increasing tremendously. Last night he said, "I'm a super hero! I wave my hand and voila! I can fly!" (He knows the word voila! and how to use it!)

In the car tonight, Rose Pink says, "We're eating dinner at home tonight" and Nut Brown says, "No we're not, polka dot!" and reduces us all to giggles.

9 March 2011

Because snow is for dancing in. Even when you're on your way to church and your dad is shoveling a path to the car. Snow boots are default footwear, because snow and children in this family are like ducks and water; there's no keeping them apart. Notice she's holding her church shoes in her hand.

8 Mar 2011

Dear LL Bean and Lands End,

Thank you so much for coordinating your efforts and each sending us a catalog today, on this cold dark stir-crazy rainy day. They were just right for filling in that witching hour right before dinner when everyone is just a little nuts and Mom has had it up to here.

Yours sincerely, Adrian Brown

7 March 2011

Rose Pink made up her own video game yesterday. Mr. Brown has been playing one called 'Sacred' and Rose Pink came out with the idea of making one called 'Hope'... because you'd have to rescue your sister who's been kidnapped by a monster, and you'd have to HOPE that he hasn't eaten your sister yet. Here are my notes on her creation:

-it's in the style of the Sacred video game (running around killing monsters, collecting treasure, and getting experience points)

-the final boss is the kidnapping monster

-the sister is a twin. They were eight when his sister was captured and now they're twelve.

-secondary boss fights along the way include vampire warthogs, frogs that will suck you while appearing to burp (press A to jump away and escape) and vampire angels wearing ripped black dresses with short sleeves that come down to their knees

-the hero knows karate & has two hooked swords like Jet. Also an axe and a chili pepper gun

-hero's sidekick is named Jet. He's a robot like Astroboy but doesn't have rockets in his feet. Instead he turns into a jet. He shoots missiles and you can ride inside him.

-The monster's lair is in a dormant volcano that's about to erupt when you get there to rescue your sister. Lots of smoking black smoke. You have to hurry and get you sister out and leave the monster there to die.

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And hooray, it snowed on Saturday, a whole inch and a half. Hello, it's March. What's up with this?? However, people at church assure me that the tremendous amount of snowfall we've had this past month has been highly irregular. It may snow this late sometimes, but it doesn't usually snow as much as it has been. That's a relief. I'm worried about my 200 bulbs rotting where they were planted.

6 March 2011

Yesterday I came home and Nut Brown was wearing Rose Pink's pants, and Rose Pink was wearing Nut Brown's pants. I didn't ask. Maybe I should have!

fun with markers

Kids and I had fun with markers the other day. Rose Pink wanted to draw portraits. so I drew her

and she drew me

and Nut Brown drew her too

then we moved on to letters, one of my favorite things

(Rose Pink asked what I do at work. I was explaining how I doodle letters during meetings)

she wanted to try it too

then we moved on to free style

Nut Brown produced the following

and Rose Pink created this masterpiece. One of the clouds is in the shape of cat and has burning meteors for eyes. They fell in just the right place.

5 March 2011

Mr. Brown and kids just watched the new Karate Kid movie. Mr. Brown really, really liked it. And he says that now the kids are doing just what he remember doing with his younger brother when they first saw the original Karate Kid - karate moves they have invented themselves.

4 March 2011

Last night, after FHE, kids were sitting on my lap (oh my sweethearts!) eating girl scout cookies for treats (okay, I was eating some too).

Me: Okay! Time for scriptures! Let's go in the nest! (our front room with a couch)

Rose Pink gets up and runs into the nest.

Nut Brown: No!

Me: You can sit on my lap in the nest, too, Nutty. Let's go!

Nut Brown: (stubbornly bracing his feet to make it clear he's not moving) No!

Me: Come on, little dude! We can read together.

Nut Brown: No! I want more cookies!

Who can resist? Held hostage for 'more cookies'. So I promised him cookies for breakfast. Then I forgot the next morning. But that's okay, because he did too.

3 March 2011

Nut Brown has an invisible friend named John. Last night kiddos were pretending to be Kung Fu Panda characters (Rose Pink was Tigress (I know you saw that coming) and Nut Brown was Tai Lung) and when they needed a sparring partner, Nut Brown offered to call John up from the basement for Rose Pink to practice on. Rose Pink was in complete consensus. Later, Nut Brown announced that his invisible friend John was actually a girl, and s/he was pregnant, so s/he could be Po. I completely love the logic there.