JSL is going to be two in just over a month. For as long as we can remember he has loved wearing hats. If he finds a winter hat in the middle of the summer he puts it on and goes around chanting "hat" over and over again. His love of hats goes even further. He always notices hats on characters. Super Grover’s hat has become a favorite, along with the one on Goofy.
We have not bought JSL a birthday gift yet. Since we will be in Disney World for his big day, we figured we would look for something there. Talk about a hat paradise. We know that there will be plenty of items to pick from that he will love. Whether he wants Goofy ears, Mickey Ears, or any of the other items that Disney now makes they will be there.
The other night JSL found a hat that NHL received at nursery school. Once he placed it on his head he immediately became a lion. Here is my little lion in action:
So my question to you. Do you have any suggestions on where to get more fun hats just in case he does not end up loving the items at Disney World? We would love to have different ones for imaginary play.
I admit it, I am a bird person. Growing up I always had a pet bird. We started out with a parakeet named Pretty Boy. He passed away when my brother was born. We bought a cockatiel and also named him Pretty Boy. My parents had him for over 20 years, very rare for a cockatiel. Along with Pretty boy at one time or another we had two parakeets (Ninja and Teddy), three cockatiels (Baby, Wild Thing and Cinnamon), and two cockatoos (Moose and Whiskers). Only Whiskers remains these days and certainly makes her presence known.
Apparently, I need to further explain that statement. Although I appreciate wild birds, I do so when they are outside of my house. Yesterday was a wild day (pun intended). While I went downstairs to put laundry into the dryer I heard something crash behind me in the basement. Let me clarify that I was alone, JSL was upstairs and no other human was in the house with us.
I turned around to see what was going on. Over by the bottom of the chimney, near the furnace, I saw something move. It must have seen me and stopped for a minute. At a quick glance, I was able to identify that the very dirty animal had feathers. Then it moved across the basement floor. What did I do? I screamed and ran up the stairs of course!
I immediately called JL and was in tears. He started to make phone calls. First was Animal Control where he left a message and nobody has returned it. Then he called DEC where a woman gave him the names of people to call who take injured birds to rehabilitate them. JL gave me the numbers. Out of six or more that I called, I got a hold of one woman and left a message for another who was at work. Nobody was able to assist me, so JL called the Humane Society for more ideasa. He started a loop of calls and found a wild life hotline and left a message.
While waiting for calls my father came over with a box and gloves, armed to assist me in finding the bird. We went into the basement with a flashlight and saw nothing. There were too many hiding places for a small frightened and injured bird. I put the rest of the laundry in to dry and we left the basement.
The woman from the hotline called me back when we went upstairs. She would not be able to make it to our house until the evening. I told her our new problem. She said she would call before coming over to check on the status.
Fast forward to JL getting home from work at 5:00. He went into the basement and looked around. He came up at the same time as the woman from the hotline called back. JL informed me that he thought he found the bird and it was definitely nom alive. He wanted me to go into the basement to make sure that it was what I had seen. I told the woman and she told me not to fret that we did the right thing and tried, but it was not meant to be.
I went into the basement. Sure enough there was the small bird by our dryer. I had noticed something there earlier, but thought nothing of it. The poor thing had definitely come in via our chimney, which connects with our furnace. The bird was in rough shape and I am shocked given the condition that it was able to move from one side of the basement to the other. JL packed up the bird to dispose of it and I returned another call from a rescue person that was coming today. I thanked her and told her that it was no long needed.
As soon as it is safe to get up by the chimney this spring, we will be putting up a vermin guard. Had I not been in the basement when this bird got in I probably never would have known about it until we smelled it.
Now I leave you with this Family Guy segment as a tribute to the bird.
Admit it, you are curious what a cow-duck is. Or perhaps you are frightened to find out. Either way, there is nothing to worry about. A cow-duck is a creation made my my little guy. A little over a year ago JSL received the Leap Frog Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set.
At first JSL just liked to look at it on the refridgerator. Then he thought it was neat to take the magnets on and off and run around the house with them. Recently, he finally figured out how to get the toy to make music. He now can make new animals and listen to funny songs.
The little guy will often just stand there for long periods of time playing with toy. He sings and dances to the original tunes that the toy plays. The other day I decided to capture him quietly singing along. Here he is:
As you can see it is very interactive and he enjoys it a lot. It will keep him busy in the kitchen while JL or I are working in there. Of course there is a small down side. After listening to the same song a dozen or more time in a row, it does get on the parental nerves a tad. Now if only we could get JSL to make something beside the cow-duck to change up the song for a little while.
1. Have you ever ridden a horse? .Sure, if you count the horse seen below that JSL is riding:
2. Have you ever run out of gas? No, but I have gotten way too close for comfort when on long trips and waited for another gas station.
3. How many different schools did you attend growing up? 1 elementary school (K-6), 1 middle school (7-8), 1 high school (9-12) and then off to college. Went to first college for 2 1/2 years, left and took a few courses at a community college until I could restart in the fall to become a teacher. I received my undergrad and masters degree at that school.
4. Do you have, and use, a library card? Yes, we use our local library all the time. Growing up I loved going and used to go on outings with my friend there all the time.
5. Hand-wash or dishwasher? Dishwasher – thank goodness!
6. Does your alarm clock beep or play music? Technically the radio goes off, but usually a little boy beats it to the punch!
7. Do you know how to roller skate? It has been way too many years.
8. What would you consider one of your biggest accomplishments? Being married to an amazing man for almost eight years and having two wonderful little boys.
Do not forget to head over to Golden Goodness to participate.
It is still hard for me to believe that my little boy is in kindergarten. You are already reading, writing, and doing more and more each day. Last night you blew me away with your recall on a song. A song that you have only heard a few times with Nana and Papa. When I said "Mama Mia" about something you suddenly started to sing the chorus of the song. Of course, I had to capture this moment on video and you were your sweet self and agreed to ham it up for my camera.
Thank you for being such a wonderful kiddo and making me smile with your charm.
