Girl Detective

4yo Guppy had an activity at preschool last week called detective book. The students were to draw or try to write down the things they saw. Guppy has begun to connect reading to writing and spelling, so his book was filled with words. Some were easy to guess: RASCAR for racecar. HORT for heart (they’ve been studying the human body). BATMOBEYL (I don’t need to translate that, right?) FEMER BON for femur bone.

One perplexed both my husband G. Grod and me: COWED. Yes, it’s a word, but not a noun, and not one that made sense in context. At home, we asked him what he meant. He pointed to my computer, and slowly said, “COH-WUD.”

It took me a moment to realize what he meant. The power CORD. We laughed. Then I fretfully wondered: if he’s transcribing his sometimes still mushy speech patterns, perhaps it IS time to see a speech teacher.

Nah. Forget it. I love his mushy Rs.

I’m trying to start a new tradition in our family, inspired by Claire of Little Farm, Growing: Fridays as Family Pizza and Movie Night. We’re three weekends in, and I have to say, it’s not really a hard sell. For the first week, my husband G. Grod borrowed 9 (the animated film, not the dancing debacle) at 7yo Drake’s request. This didn’t turn out so well. First, I made the pizzas and didn’t get started till late, so I didn’t get to watch. Second, the movie was too scary for the boys. I asked Drake to get some socks from the laundry room the other day.

“You go,” he said. “Memories of 9 keep me from going into darkness.”

He phrased it so poetically; how could I not comply?

The next two weeks worked out much better, with animated films by one of our favorite film makers, Hayao Miyazaki. He has been, incorrectly to my mind, described at the Japanese Walt Disney. A more accurate analogy is that he’s like the Kurosawa of animation. In the U.S., he is perhaps best known for his sweet children’s fable My Neighbor Totoro, or the more recent Ponyo. We chose two of his earlier works, as the later ones, including Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away are too violent, IMO, for small children.

Porco Rosso is the story of a former Italian army sea-plane pilot, Marco, who’s been cursed by a witch to take the form of a pig. He frequents a small island bar reminiscent of that from Casablanca. It’s run by Gina, whose pilot fiancee was shot down in the war. Porco has trouble with sea-plane pirates, as well as an uppity American pilot who is vying for Gina’s affection. Along the way, Porco has to deal with costly repairs, police pursuit, and the company of Fio, a traditional Miyazaki heroine: smart, brave and cute as a button. (No mincing princess, she.) It’s a rousing, romantic tale, and charmed both the parents and kids. I’m thrilled to see a sequel is in pre-production.

Castle in the Sky refers to a floating island, pursed by young Pazu, whose father died soon after seeing it. (In Japanese, the movie was called Laputa, a hat tip to the inspiration from Gulliver’s Travels.) Most people believe it’s a myth, but two others seek it as well: sky-pirate queen Dola, voiced with cackling relish in the US version by Chloris Leachman, and bad-guy secret-agent Muska, voiced by Mark Hamill. Both of them want to kidnap Sheeta, a young girl with an ancient crystal connected with Laputa. But when Muska’s sky ship crashes, Sheeta escapes, and is found floating and unconscious by Pazu who seeks to shield her from her pursuers. This is a suspenseful tale with an undercurrent of the eco-awareness found in other Miyazaki works. There’s adventure, cool robots, treasure and smart, capable kids. As with Porco Rosso, this was a movie that delighted both me and the children.

On deck? We have many movies at home, but I’ve just reserved John Sayle’s Secret of Roan Innish. I saw it years ago at a Philadelphia film festival before it received distribution and was so glad when it did get picked up and released to glowing reviews.

A friend asked me the other day, “So, do the boys fight less the older they get?” He’d been caring for two boys, two and four years old, and had been taken about by the tackling/biting/punching/kicking.

I knew what he wanted to hear, but I wasn’t going to lie. “No,” I said. “In my experience it just becomes a more fair fight as the younger one gets bigger and more coordinated.”

And not 24 hours later I was in the kitchen when I hear something that went like this:

7yo Drake: Guppy, stop!

4yo Guppy: NO!

7yo Drake: [suspicious silence]

4yo Guppy: pained wail, then GRRR of frustration

[glass breaking]

I enter the room. They’ve lobbed pieces of the Snap Circuits electric lab at each other. Drake hit Guppy, Guppy returned fire, missed (Drake) and broke a pane in the built-in buffet cabinet that’s original to our 1917 home.

I banished both boys to their room. They came down and I yelled that they were not to come down till I’d finished cleaning up all the glass. Guppy apologized. Drake snuck around guiltily. Was a lesson learned? Was there another fight before bed time? Was there more than one fight?

Well, what do you think?

My younger son Guppy is now four. “And a half!” he always adds. Many of his cute mispronunciations have passed away. While I’m glad his speech is progressing, I do miss his dropped s’s, like ‘poon for spoon, and ‘picy for spicy.

Character names still give him some trouble, especially those from Star Wars, which he got to watch recently with dad G. Grod and big brother Drake. 3CPO, R2B2, and Light Savers aren’t what George Lucas wrote in the script. And the star of Cars, one of the most popular Pixar movies in our house? Lipening McQueen.

Me, instructing 4yo Guppy and his nearly 4yo friend Bitsy on the basics of Quiet Time so that I could get a little lie down:

1. Be safe.
2. Be kind.
3. BE QUIET.

Guppy turned to Bitsy and said, “My mom loves quiet time. Because she gets PEACE and QUIET!”

The more detailed instructions on quiet time, which both my boys can tell you if you ask:

1. No going outside
2. No talking to strangers
3. No answering the phone or door.
4. BE QUIET

Things you can get Mom for:

1. Someone we know is at the door.
2. Blood
3. Burglar

This morning, the sun was shining, the humidity was down, so I walked with 4yo Guppy and his friend to the coffee shop, which is closing this Saturday, but will reopen with new owners in late June/early July. The breeze ruffled my hair as I walked with two little hands in mine. We waved and said hello when we saw R, our mail carrier. We chatted with a neighbor and her son who were going to look at the fire house, then waved at the fire fighters as a truck drove by.

In front of the shop, M, the owner, greeted the kids by name. I asked T, the barista, for my usual–a double short latte in their smallest for-here cup. I didn’t have to tell her what it was; she made it flawlessly and suggested a raspberry Italian soda for the kids. They so loved it they could barely sit still to drink it.

I thanked M for her shop, said it had probably saved my life–we moved to this neighborhood in the fall. It turned cold early and we knew few people. I was at home with a temperamental 1yo, so the walk to the coffee shop ensured I’d get outside and talk to an adult before my husband got home. That carried me till spring, when I took ECFE classes, joined a moms group, and met neighbors when they emerged from their houses.

The kids played pretend backgammon while I sipped my drink. On the walk home, we said hello to an older couple up the street, whose daughter in law is one of the current baristas, and one of the new owners. The husband asked us to wait then went to get a wooden top he’d made, and showed the kids how to use it. They were delighted, and so was I when the man urged us to have it. “You’ve walked by our house for years,” he said to me (it’s on the way to the coffee shop). “Enjoy.” We took it home, and that’s exactly what they did.

Until the bickering started. But then it was lunchtime, and time for preschool, and so we moved on through our day.

On previous randomly (to them) designated important-to-me days, my boys, 4yo Guppy and 6yo Drake, have not really gotten on board the whole “be nice to Mom” thing. Night wakings, early risings, yelling, hitting, screaming and the occasional sickness have been the norm. Earlier this year on my birthday, that changed. And yesterday, Mothers Day (US) was similarly lovely.

The boys woke late-ish (about 7:30am), we had a family snuggle, then they brought me juice, coffee and pastry in bed. I read several chapters of my book, then we all got dressed and went to a Bull Run Coffee Shop and Rustica Bakery, then to Kitchen Window to purchase a mug that Guppy had picked out for me. (Love it!) Then to brunch at the Red Stag Supper Club, where the boys devoured the smelt fries. Later that afternoon, I went on my first long bike ride, the first one, too, that was riding for the enjoyment of riding, not to reach some destination. (Though I did figure it was time to turn around when I saw the Welcome to Fridley sign).

Supper that night was baked salmon wrapped in prosciutto, and salad with pears, cranberries and smoked almonds. THE BOYS ATE THIS! Or, most of it. But what a huge improvement over the olden days, when they would refuse anything mixed up (like a salad) or foreign (like fish and prosciutto).

All in all, a lovely day with a good mix of family time and quiet time.

I was upstairs in the bathroom, my two boys, 4 and 6yo, were downstairs playing, when I heard a man’s voice saying something to them about donuts.

I raced down the stairs to see my dear friend John K handing a bag of Sarah Jane’s donuts to my younger, Guppy.

So, a friend, and we’d left the front door unlocked.

“What would you have done if it had been a stranger?” I asked the boys.

“Ignored him?” asked 6yo Drake.

“I don’t know,” whispered Guppy, with his hand aside his mouth, even though I was across the room.

“Not quite,” I said. “Try again.”

“Kung Fu skills?” asked Drake.

I bent over laughing. The kid really enjoyed Kung Fu Panda recently.

“Not quite,” I said again once I recovered. “How about yelling, ‘Mom! Help! Strange man! Or you could call 911.”

“Or press the button on the alarm box,” said Drake.

“Exactly,” I said.

Then a friend of mine linked to this article on teaching kids about strangers. I’ll do a follow-up lesson later today.

I’m not sure how to break it to Drake that he doesn’t really know kung fu, though.

4yo Guppy is far less trying than he was at 3.5, for which I’m very thankful. That doesn’t mean, though, that he’s a walk in the park.

Last week, he grabbed the orange metal lid to the French-fry pot and ran around shouting, “I’m fighting dragons! I’m fighting dragons!” (as in How to Train Your…)

We had friends over for supper. Dessert was creme brulee. The grownups were in the dining room; the kids on the porch. When the sounds of glee rose to alarming heights, we went to investigate. Guppy and his 3yo friend Bitsy were throwing custard at each other–walls, windows, floor, table–it was everywhere. I found some on the refrigerator later that night.

This morning, 1:35 am, I hear Guppy shout, “Drake, Drake, wake up!” and see the light shining in the hall. I go into their room and find Guppy and Drake wide awake, out of bed, and fetching books from their closet. I told them it was the middle of the night and to go back to bed. They didn’t listen, and for the next hour they ran around, used the bathroom, read books, and generally kept G. Grod and me up.

Fair warning to all new parents: not sleeping through the night is not exclusive to babies.

As part of our pre-long-car-trip buying frenzy, I got Ice Age, since the boys have watched and loved Ice Age 3 several times, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown once, but never the original. Then I forgot to take it on the trip. So on a recent dad-night-out, I made popcorn and snuggled down with the boys to watch it.

Like its sequels, they loved it, especially the action sequences. A mammoth, a sloth, and a saber-tooth tiger reluctantly team up to return a baby to its human tribe, with some wrinkles along the way. There are a few sad moments that aren’t spelled out that my kids didn’t get. Nearing the end, my 6yo exclaimed, “There are only 10 more minutes. When’s the mother coming back?”

“Sorry, honey,” I told him. “She’s not coming back.” He returned to the movie, though, and didn’t ask why. There was also a wordless scene in the middle that told the mammoth’s tragic backstory, but when I asked the boys what had happened, they couldn’t tell me. Probably for the best, for now.

This was decent for me, and great fun for them. Definitely a good family DVD.

Watching the Olympics with the kids this year was both fun and tiresome, as they insisted we watch every single commercial that featured How to Train Your Dragon. Since the interest was clearly there, and early reviews were good, we took the kids to see it opening weekend. The theater near my hometown doesn’t have 3D, so we saw it in 2D, but enjoyed it immensely just the same.

There aren’t a lot of surprises: skinny Hiccup is a disappointment to his he-man father, and no good at fighting dragons, a sign of Viking prowess. Does he befriend a dragon? Make nice with his dad? Get the girl?

Well, what do you think?

The dragons are what make this movie, and the charm of imagining a dragon of one’s own is infectious. The flying scenes are spectacular, (perhaps more so than the ones in Avatar, I dare say) and the main dragon, Toothless, is so great I may make a trip to Wal Mart to buy a toy. For the boys, of course. Ahem.

For our recent family car trip, my husband G. Grod and I rationalized the purchase of some new DVDs, since we were borrowing a DVD player from friends, and wanted some new things to distract 6yo Drake and 4yo Guppy. We also got a few from the library. For a few, I was surprised to see what worked and what didn’t for the kids and grownups.

Both kids and grownups:

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Kung-Fu Panda
Toy Story 2
Pinocchio
Wall E
Schoolhouse Rock

Grownups, not so much the kids:

Up

Kids, not so much the grownups:

Cars
Tom & Jerry
Scooby Doo
Yo Gabba Gabba

DVDs the kids refused to watch:

Free to Be You and Me
Mary Poppins (6yo Drake is afraid of the cannon)
Ralph’s World
Fraggle Rock

DVDs the kids watched that G. Grod and I want to, but haven’t watched yet:

Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death (even if it’s only full screen)
Shaun the Sheep: A Wooly Good Time

I know, entries have been sparse, lately. I was diligently reading for The Morning News Tournament of Books, which ended with a bang, not a whimper, today, and preparing for our first-ever long family car trip last week. Fifteen hours there, five day visit, and sixteen hours back in a four-door sedan with 2 parents and 2 boys, 4 and 6yo. It went surprisingly well.

These helped:

Age-appropriate books on CD; we listened to Nate the Great and Dr. Seuss
New activity books for the kids
Games, like Rubik’s Cube, Fifteen Puzzle, Rush Hour, and Amaze
Lap desks
2-screen DVD player (borrowed from friends) BUT wait as long as humanly possible to break this one out
Age appropriate DVDs
Healthy food: grapes, berries, cut-up apples, carrot sticks, sandwiches (PBJ and turkey/cheese), juice boxes, bagels with cream cheese and jam, pretzels, granola bars.
Print outs for things like spot the car maker and color the license-plate state.

As I said, it went well. But I’m glad to be home, where I don’t have to drive very much, very far.

4yo Guppy is showing ever-increasing independence. At 3, when he began using the bathroom, he demanded company. Now, he asks for privacy. In his late 3s, he maintained he needed help getting dressed. Instead, I’d ask him if he wanted help, and began offering incentives (like watching this fabulously entertaining OK Go Rube Goldberg contraption video this morning) for him to get dressed on his own. He dressed himself, very quickly.

This morning, I was working on my computer, and heard him banging about in the kitchen. Bags rustled, chairs were moved, and I decided to just let him be. Several minutes later, smelling strongly of jam, he came out to tell me he’d made himself a snack.

What was it, I asked.

Toast! he crowed.

You actually toasted it, or did you have bread? I said, wanting to be precise. (Guppy has had trouble with the difference between bread and toast. Often, when 3, he would ask for toast, then throw a fit when I gave it to him. “But I didn’t want it toasted!” he’d wail.)

Yep, he said, with his characteristic decisive nod.

Later in the morning he crawled into my lap and I read to him. Right now, he’s (mostly) at a lovely age and stage, where he’s still small, snuggly and cute, yet able to do things for himself and not quite so insanely autocratic as he was not too long ago. I’m writing this down to remember it, now and later.

I love nicknames, and use them frequently with my sons 6yo Drake and 4yo Guppy. (See? I just did.) Guppy, however, is not a fan. Whenever I call him by his full name or deploy a nickname for him, such as Goose, Mr. Guppy-pants, Mr. Cranky-pants, Captain Huggy-Face, Grumpster Demon, Punkin, Punka, Punk, Pookie, Pookie Pants, You, Hey You, Boy, etc. You get the picture.

When he began to protest this past year, his vocabulary wasn’t quite up to the challenge.

“Mom!” he’d shout. “I keep promising you! Only call me Guppy!” More recently, though, he’s become more precise.

“Mom! Call me Guppy!”

To which I respond, “Please, say please.”

I watched my first Disney princess movie with the boys when I took them to see The Princess and the Frog this weekend. But surprise–the heroine isn’t a princess! Tiana–the first African-American princess, about time!–is a hard-working girl from a poor family who is saving to open her own restaurant in New Orleans. The prince is a handsome twit, and some voodoo magic turns him into a frog. While some of the broad strokes are predictable (boy ends up with girl, bad guys are punished, etc.) several of the details are not, and those are what make it charming. My boys, 6yo Drake and 4yo Guppy, loved it, and laughed throughout. They didn’t find the scary parts too scary, though my husband G. Grod and I had a hard time explaining where the bad guy went (he got dragged to hell by demons.)

Wondering: is Prince Naveen the hottest Disney prince? I think so.

It is fitting I haven’t gotten around to writing about my younger son, Guppy, turning 4 until more than a week after the fact. The celebration of his birthday stretched out over almost a week, starting with a play date. He’d told some of his preschool classmates they were invited to his party, but I wasn’t sure which ones. Then I couldn’t find a date or time that worked for a typical party, so I invited them all to join him at an open gym. I covered admission and bought a few dozen donut holes for this no-present, no-cake non-party, and it worked out pretty well. The kids who could come had fun, and (I hope) no one’s feelings were hurt.

We had a proper family dinner a few days before his birthday, with pizza and a bakery cake I customized with a toy monster truck and tire tracks. We had to have a quick dinner the day of, since G. Grod had a meeting that evening. Guppy asked for hot dogs, so I heated those, melted cheddar on the buns, cooked bacon to put on the buns, then served them alongside edamame and frozen tater tots, with ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish and Sriracha on the side. I put the plate in front of 6yo Drake and he said, “Wow, this is a fancy dinner, Mom!”

Finally, Guppy celebrated at his preschool, taking four turns around a pretend sun. All in all a good series of celebrations.

At four, Guppy is mostly past the very trying insanity of 3 1/2, where he would insist on impossible things then melt down when he didn’t get them. He still tries to exercise control over things he can, but he’s become a little more flexible and can almost grasp what a compromise is. He continues to drop the beginning ’s’ from words, so he’ll say he needs a “”poon” for ice cream, or that the chili is too “‘picy.” He calls a fox a “fots” as I did when a girl, and still has some trouble with letters G, K, R and L. Nonetheless, he makes himself understood.

We recently made the switch to a booster seat, so he’s now able to unbuckle himself, which is much more convenient than his 5-point toddler harness was. He has several friends, both in and out of preschool. His interests tend to follow those of 6yo brother Drake: race cars, comic books, and Ruff Ruffman. Guppy is quick with puzzles, and talented with those tiny Lego pieces; he’s very good at building and putting things together. He also likes to help me bake and cook, so he’s coming along nicely as my sous chef. His favorite book is Monkey with a Toolbelt and the Noisy Problem; I got him a signed copy for his birthday.

Mostly, he’s a good-natured, affectionate little boy with a ready smile who’s fun to be around. And when he’s not, I just have to wait a bit till he comes ’round again.

Move over, Curious George. There’s a new monkey in town. His name is Chico Bon Bon, he is a Monkey with a Tool Belt, and he is AWESOME.

Here is Chico Bon Bon. He is a monkey. Chico is a monkey with a tool belt. He is quite handy with tools. He builds and fixes all sorts of things.

The list and illustration of Chico’s belt is impressively detailed and hilarious. There are rhymes and riffs, with real and imaginary tools. We get to know Chico a little, then something happens:

One day, Chico noticed a banana split on a tiny table across the road from his house.

“That’s peculiar”

He went over to investigate.

What transpires is a simply written and cleverly drawn adventure story. Chico is a smart protagonist; kids and parents alike will cheer for him. In the sequel, Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem, Chico is bothered by mysterious sounds in his house, and frustrated:

But Chico couldn’t use his tool to FIX the noisy problem, because he couldn’t FIND the noisy problem.

The reveal is priceless. My 3 and 6yo boys and I burst out laughing. Monroe’s simple text, funny stories, and distinctive line drawings in bright color have made these new family favorites.

6yo Drake picked up Meno: Wet Friend! by Tony and Angela Deterlizzi from our public library. It stood out on the shelf; it’s small, bright and visually striking. As it notes on the cover, it’s “presented in vibrant Meno-Color!” What was inside, though, was initially disarming, and eventually charming. We quickly borrowed book one, Big Fun! Short, simple sentences sound like Japanese translated to English:

It is sunshine time in the house of Meno.

The art shows the influence of Japanese manga and has a 50’s retro, Astro Boy style. Meno is a cartoony kid with big eyes and a bigger head; he wears a school uniform and beanie, and is an elf from outer space. His best friend is Yamagoo, a floating, bespectacled sea creature. In Book One: Big Fun! Meno searches for Yamagoo, finds him, talks about breakfast:

We enjoy moo juice and dough with hole.

then announces it is time for big fun. I won’t spoil the joke, but Meno’s idea of fun was very funny to my 3 and 6yo boys.

In Wet Friend! Yamagoo wants a sea-faring companion, and several are offered, including one that’s clearly a shout-out joke to parents, as is the fractured English.

My 3 and 6yo boys laughed a great deal at the pictures, the silly language, and the jokes. These books are so simple they don’t even have a story, but they nonetheless got picked again and again at bedtime by my boys. We found them bizarre, but entertaining. Public reaction varies widely in the customer reviews at amazon.com, though the editorial reviews are full of praise. Many criticize their lack of story, poor English grammar and toddler humor. Others, as we did, find them weird but funny.

You can check out the artwork and style at PlanetMeno.com. Tony DiTerlizzi is the author and illustrator of the Spiderwick Chronicles, but this is for a much younger audience, and was inspired by the couples 2yo daughter.

On a recent Saturday night, my husband G. Grod and I sat down to watch the Doctor Who David Tennant finale, “The End of Time part two.” We’d not been thrilled with part 1, so were hoping for a strong finish. We got what we felt was a stronger, yet not really a strong, finish. The scenes with Wilf were worth the price of admission, though, especially the final scene. As we knew would happen in the end, David Tennant began to glow and writhe, and suddenly there was a new guy standing there, apparently disappointed he wasn’t a redhead. (Videos here.)

I’m still not ginger.

G and I switched off the television, expressed our mild disappointment, voiced hope for Matt Smith, the new Dr. Who, and the new show runner, Steven Moffat, then I got up to go upstairs. I rounded the corner, and nearly fell over in surprise.

There was 6you Drake, staring at me with wide eyes. (For those who have seen Drake, you know he has huge eyes to begin with.)

“You scared the daylights out of me! What are you doing up?” I said, startled and displeased.

Drake held up his hand as if to ward off a scolding. “Mom, what was all that light coming out of that guy’s head? And why was there a different guy there?”

I put my hand to my forehead. G. asked, “How long have you been there?” but we both knew it had probably been for nearly the entire not-6yo-appropriate show. G chastised himself for not checking; he’d heard a noise earlier, and thought Drake had run downstairs to get a book or toy. I gave G a wave meant to convey, “no use now; let’s just get on with it” and herded Drake upstairs.

“It was energy coming out of his head,” I told him, “and the new guy was a different body, not a different person.” Drake seemed placated by this. When he put his head down on the pillow, he shot right back up again.

“I can see him!” he said, excitedly.

“Who?” I asked, pun unintended.

“The guy with the light in his head!” Drake continued to put his head down, pop it up and count till finally G and I left, as Drake didn’t seem much bothered by THE SCARY IMAGE SEARED UPON HIS BRAIN. The next day he told me he’d seen the face 31 times.

I’m not sure if it makes it more or less annoying, and more or less amusing, but Drake did the same thing a year and a half ago, for one of the season finale episodes with the Daleks. He snuck down, hid for most of the show, was discovered at the end, and pestered us with questions about the weird machines with the weird voices.

Please remind me to keep an eye out for him at the end of Season 5. I think he’s gaining his geek bona fides, though.