Tag Archives: dinosaur

on motivation

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We all exercise (and neglect exercising) for different reasons. We each run, go to Zumba, practice yoga, head to Barre class, hop on our bicycles (or neglect to run, go to Zumba, practice… ) because of what our bodies and our minds need in every single right now that we experience. Health, strength, fun, peace of mind, competition,  and being a good role model for ankle-biters all come to mind.

The Kidling, however, is motivated by less common externalities. Whilst running around the house the other day she stopped momentarily to declare, “I practice running fast so if I ever see a Ornithomimus that’s still alive, I’ll be faster than the alive Ornithomimus.”

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the fossil record

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I was reading in the nice cozy chair in Alice’s room while she entertained herself. Suddenly, she started bringing out toy after toy (after toy) and piling them up on top of me.

Hobby horse…  Super Grover…  Pillow pets…  Toy brain…  (Yes, The Kidling has a toy brain. So what.)

And then, the nonstop chatter began:

Alice: Scientists discovered these things a long, long time ago.

The Mama:How long?

Alice: About twenty-nine four years ago. It was a long time ago we found those fossils, so we need to be very careful. If they break, we can tape them.

(begins piling on more toys)

We discovered these a long, long time ago, too.

(brings out a monkey)

Those were found in China at the same age dinosaurs lived.

Sometimes I wonder if her brain and mouth are on autopilot. Seriously. The Kidling can chatter on and on with no end in sight. Some of you dear readers would say she comes by it naturally. Perhaps. But to the rest of you (who have not met The Mama), I wholeheartedly deny it.

great hair

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After spending the third quarter of the Super Bowl turning her giant toy cocker spaniel and giant-er T. Rex into super heroes, Alice finally added the finishing touch. Putting a yellow pom pon on her enormous T. Rex’s head, she declared, “If he’s a super hero, then he must have great hair!

Those are high standards, Kiddo… but I’m sure Clark Kent would approve of this criterion.

p.a.r.t.y. (aka adventures in decorating)

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So, the party. After the postapalooza that was Alice’s birthday week, I never did say anything about her big day. It was epic. Okay, maybe it was just a typical four-year old’s birthday party. But we had a blast.

For Alice, it is all about the cake. Who am I kidding? For both of us, it is all about the cake. Because cake, as you might have heard, is delicious. And festive. All-around terrific. Ummm, cake…

The Kidling originally asked The Mama to bake her ” … a castle cake with a dinosaur and a dragon and a princess that’s getting eaten.” Obviously, I did not comply. But she loves dinosaurs, so I went with that. Close enough, kiddo, and your princess-loving friends didn’t have to leave the party with PTSD. Everyone is better off this way…

Two hours mixing and baking + Three hours cooling + Five hours frosting... and this was the best I could do.

I had never (ever) before touched a star tip or any other frosting tool besides a big spreader and writing gels. Clearly this would not suffice for the dino. The cake was crumbling at 8:00 pm on Party Eve. Sh*t.

I was deciding whether to serve the crumbled (but delicious) pile of messy carrot cake goodness or go buy a sheet cake when I had a big glass of wine and decided to regroup. Long story short, I figured out what the problem was (All-butter frosting. Lesson learned: when the decoration matters, sacrifice your moral high ground. Shortening would have made the process sosososososo much easier.).

Yes, that tail is dismembered. Technically, it is un-membered. Pre-membered. Too tired to -member.

As the birthday girl, I thought Alice should have first choice of which piece she wanted. Imagine my absolute delight when I asked for her decision. The tail? Nope. A leg? Nope. The Kidling must have known what The Mama went through, because she asked for… it’s head. Coming right up, darling…

This felt really good. CHOP!

One happy customer...

But look at that face and tell me it wasn’t worth the trouble…
Happy birthday, AHR!
We love
lovelovelove
love you!*
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
*And I hope some day you don’t hate me for this blog!
(By the way, all of the good photos were taken by the fabulous ErBear. Thank you!)

49*

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Well, whaddaya know?  Someone likes us, Alice!**  The lovely Shoes on the Wrong Feet bestowed the 7×7 award upon the book of alice. Shucks. And thanks. I like you, too!

So, this award asks me to 1) tell you seven things you don’t know about me, 2) link seven of my posts to a set of seven categories, and 3) re-award the gift to seven bloggers I think are swell.

Now I will be frank. The generous Shoes gave me this award exactly one month after I started the book of alice. This means part 2) will be pretty difficult. Although I have been posting pretty much every other hour since I started blogging, it is still only one month of material. I’ll do my best. Part 3) will be a bit easier, but I am still finding all of the great bloggers out there… Finally, since I swore up and down (to myself, which means I can absolutely break the promise if I change my mind) that this blog would notnotnotnotnot be about me, I’m doing a bit of tweaking regarding part 1). Enjoy, and thanks again, Shoes!***

Part 1

  1. Under no circumstances does Alice introduce herself as “Alice.” It is always (always) her full name. First, middle, and last.
  2. Alice is a contralto. Imagine how much cuter every. single. thing. I type would sound coming from a husky four-year old.
  3. For her third birthday, Alice asked for a white cake with “moons and circles and numbers and a picture of a flat iron” on it. I think I spent too much time grooming that year, no?
  4. For her fourth birthday, Alice told me, “I want a castle cake with a dinosaur and a dragon and a princess getting eaten.” Really.
  5. Alice rarely pronounces an initial “s”. It leads to some very interesting words/phrases/looks from people. For example, “I have a scar from when I fell on my scooter.”
  6. Have you ever seen that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine dances? You know, that bizarre kick with thumbs pointing outward with random hip motions? That’s how Alice dances. It is fabulous.
  7. Alice is positively amazing. But you already knew that one…

Part 2

  1. Most Surprisingly Successful: My Brain.
  2. Most Underrated: I honestly am not sure how to answer this. So I won’t. Sorry. How do I know what you all think of what you are reading? I don’t have the “rate this” on my page precisely because I don’t want anyone sullying the illusion that you love every word I write. Duh.
  3. Most Popular: Science. My all-time favorite Alice story. I smiled when I saw it was the most popular post.
  4. Most Beautiful: I am not a “beautiful” writer. I am a silly writer. A wry writer. A frank writer. But not beautiful. That said, I’m just going to pick the post with my favorite writing: Commercial Interruption.
  5. Most Helpful: Musical Interlude. Let’s face it. None of my posts are helpful. The event described in this one, however, was positively enlightening for me to witness as it unfolded. It showed me the differences in the way children and adults think. I believe children see things as they are, devoid of categories. Alice didn’t know that she was combining three songs; she only knew that these words all went with the same tune. I thought about her little brain differently after this day.
  6. Most Controversial: Yuck. Because adults are never (ever) supposed to admit to picking their noses.
  7. Most Pride-Worthy: Dear. Pride-worthy for the facts, not the writing. It is a beautiful thing to watch a child express gratitude in her own honest, quirky way. I loved this note.

Part 3

  1. Piles of Laundry in the Holy Land: This is probably my favorite blog. Great writing, a terrific narrative voice, and the awe of knowing she has a daily home yoga practice. It is sosososo hard to have a daily home-based yoga practice. Put me in a studio and I am great, but home is a different story. Brava, YogaMama. You are pretty swell.
  2. Becoming Cliche: My Journey to Becoming My Mother: Because even if it weren’t a great blog (which it is), it would deserve an award just for the name.
  3. The Sugared Beauty Blog: More for her unbelievable product than anything, but the blog is a good source of information on natural beauty products and Sarah’s all-around good cheer. Because she is amazing!
  4. Indulge-Travel, Adventure, & New Experiences: Lesley Carter has probably gotten approximately four gazillion awards for this terrific travel and lifestyle blog, but here she is again! Bonus points for the Oxford Comma in the title…
  5. Tyler Coulson: If you haven’t heard about Tyler, you should check out his blog. Along with his dog Mabel, Tyler quit his job at a big law firm and trekked across the United States. Okay, Mabel didn’t quit the big law job, but I bet you knew what I meant…
  6. Nell’s Dish Du’Jour: Beautiful photography, good writing… an all-around great blog. It makes me want to be Nell’s friend.
  7. Paltry Meanderings of a Taller Than Average Woman: I confess I just found this blog today. But it is f.u.n.n.y. And everyone knows if you take the time to put a “.” between each letter of a word, than it must be extra of, well… that word. Thus, Paltry Meanderings is extra funny.

* 49 = 7×7. As in the name of the award. Get it? I am just so, so clever…

** Okay, I get that it isn’t really me that she likes. I’m no fool. But Alice is, after all, half me, so I am going to take a wee bit of credit.

*** Did I mention that this award comes from Shoes on the Wrong Feet? Oh, I did? Just checking…

predators

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I’m finding that the words Alice makes up can be far, far better than the appropriate word. Such was the case Saturday night when we were doing some dinosaur role-play whilst Alice was bathing. She handed me a garden trowel loaded up with animal floaty toys and declared, “You are the meat-eater dinosaur, and that is the meat for you to predat on.”

Brilliant, no? I mean, really, why don’t predators predat? Sellers sell. Teachers teach. Buuuuuut, I managed to eff it all up by teaching her the word “prey.” Now I’ll never hear that clever little creation again…

the fourteenth day of christmas, final edition

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Indeed, the jumbo T. Rex arrived Tuesday as indicated by that oh-so-heartbreaking tracking update. We acted positively shocked to see it in the house, and I pretended that it was half-wrapped because the paper must have fallen off when it fell out of the sleigh, rather than… well… that was just all of the paper I had left.

Alice opened the box, pulled the monstrous theropod out and exclaimed, “It’s a meat eater! Just like I wanted!”

**sigh** Christmas is saved. Alice has her technicolored, carnivorous, Jurassic dinosaur and all is right in the world.

The End.