Swim Lessons

Last night we had our second session of swim lessons.  Having arrived early I was hoping the extra time my son had to watch others in the pool would encourage him a little more to get in.  We sat on the bleachers and observed the junior high swimmers do laps, he cheered and laughed when we got splashed, and I spent a few minutes giving a pep talk.  By the time his class arrived he was still in his street clothes, and no matter of convincing from me was going to change that.  Ten minutes into class he was finally ready to put on his swim shorts...

...but then happily sat back watching while munching a bag full of goldfish.  Ten more minutes and he was nearly persuaded to get in by one of the little girls in class.  She took his hand and talked sweetly to him, and he followed her all the way to the edge of the pool... but it was a no sell.  I had to give her props for getting him as far as she did; once he reached the edge, she jumped in and he ran back to mommy.  By this time, class was up.  Ahh well, maybe next time.

...although he did manage to dip his toes in for a moment.

Play Series : Hot Wheels

It may sound crazy but I really enjoy playing toys with my son. Being the oldest of 5, and the only girl, I didn't have massive amounts of Barbie's to play with, I had massive amounts of my brothers hot wheels. We spent hours building little towns and cities out of whatever materials we could find to create roads and landscape (usually lots of crayons and blankets for terrain) until I eventually requested my mom bring home a large appliance box that we could draw a permanent city on. Those moments were some of the best times I had with my brothers during play, letting our imaginations run with scenarios full of action and drama. My son loves hot wheels beyond most of his toys, and as I play with him in the afternoons I can nearly recall what it felt like to be so young and imaginative, with a feeling of contentment like no other. Which gets me to thinking about other toys on the market and what he might enjoy beyond the things he plays with now. His interests are changing at a rapid pace and I have to admit I may be just as excited as he is about the selection of toys out there, and just in time for the holidays.

Lullaby Substitute

For the last week or so my son has been asking me to sing him to sleep at bedtime. He stopped enjoying the traditional lullabies I would sing to him as a baby when he hit about two years old, so coming up with material has been a challenge. I don't know a lot of songs by heart, just bits here and there, and a whole bunch of Christmas numbers. Not wanting to flood him with holiday music quite yet (he'll hear plenty when it starts everywhere, like in a week) I scoured my memory for the songs of my youth, with that being the last time I spent hours belting out lyrics while driving my car or riding with friends. I couldn't get enough of this lovely lady back then, and if I listened to the albums today could possibly recall nearly every song by heart. This and one other stuck out in my mind, and before five minutes was up, I had my son snoozing the night away.

Runway Inspired Halloween Makeup

 

 INSPIRATION

About 2pm yesterday I suddenly decided I wanted some sort of a costume to wear while taking my son trick-or-treating. I love Halloween, and have had a lot of fun with costumes over the years (a favorite being Phyllis Nefler from Troop Beverly Hills) but since the birth of my son I have to admit my costume priorities have been on the back burner. Not to mention my terrible penchant for procrastination, something I really hope to improve on over the years. But it's of this procrastination that an idea I hadn't even considered until now was born. I didn't have any sort of costume in mind or planned, but did have two makeup cases full of cosmetics from my years in the industry (I occasionally still do weddings). Something fun and creative on the face was better than nothing. So I googled chic Halloween makeup and uncovered a plethora of ideas from runway photos. How perfect! After considering each one, Call of the Wild became the ideal choice, since I could pair the look with a fur-trimmed coat hanging in my closet. This may just become my go-to solution for what to be each year from here on. Check out some of the other images I found interesting below.

INTERPRETATION

Safe and Sane Trick or Treating for Kids

 

I love the tag line for promoting the Halloween event in our neighborhood.  There's no question it's safe, with all the streets blocked off, friendly police officer presence, and store keepers handing out the treats.  Sane?  That would be another story...  it's a very popular event in an award-winning neighborhood in our city, with children in costume coming from all over.  We saw plenty of princesses, goblins and ghouls, along with a little Sherlock Holmes and his assistant father dressed as Watson; a Subway sandwich; and my personal favorite, a moving box.  Our little pirate was a little shy getting started, but soon warmed up to all that was going on.  He had his 'Dinosaur Daddy' (what he began to call him after seeing his skeleton face paint) by his side and eventually began mustering up the courage to say trick or treat.  All in all the three of us had a lot of fun, and got back just in time for the door-to-door treat-ers in our neighborhood.

 he felt comfortable with Napoleon Dynamite

 

an inspiration to all aspiring little pirates 

'dinosaur daddy'

~Happy Halloween 2011~