The 5 Year Old Artist

This is about the extent of my birthday parties growing up. A cake (usually shared by my sister and I for our 3 day difference in birthdays) and the Zurasky girls.  There are certainly a few exceptions of a rollar skating party and a party at my house one year.  My only rule on birthday parties is that the kids have to be old enough to ask for their friends, otherwise it's just family. Aside from that, I'm all in. I love an excuse to plan a party!

While I thoroughly enjoyed Ruby's 4th birthday party, I'm busy at work and decrepid due to some crazy hip problems so when Ruby declared "art party" I thought "Not at my house". Michael's had a great birthday party arrangement so we had it there. I found some cute decoration ideas online so my mom and I made buckets of paint fall from the ceiling onto the table and arranged cupcakes on easels to look like paint splatters.

Ruby and her friends had a great time. It's fun to see the natural instincts of each kid. There were the realists and the abstract artists. The great thing is all the kids have absolute faith in their own artistic ability. It made me glad I pasted this quote from Pablo Picasso on each goodie bag.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." - Pablo Picasso

No Clean = Sad

Ruby takes after her dad in certain ways, most particularly art and cleanliness.  Recently, I got upset at Ruby because she took her drink into my room and spilled it on my carpet. I cleaned it up and went on to other things. About 10 minutes later, Ruby comes in crying and starts hanging artwork on her playhouse.  Here is the first one.

When I asked for an explanation. I was informed that Ruby wanted to clean up her mess and make me happy but I had already cleaned it up and that made her sad.  Apparently, very sad because here is the second one.

All I want for Christmas is to explode some pigs

Do you want the next thing she touches to be an expensive electronic?

Cora is fascinated with computer. Everything about them. And when she doesn't have computers, she wants your phone.

So thank goodness she doesn't talk so I don't have to explain why an iPhone and an iPad are not gifts I'm giving my 1 year old. That's right! If anyone is getting an iPAd2 in this house, its me!

So, you may ask yourself, how many stockpots does a girl need?  Well, I got three for Christmas.  I am set!  I gave one to my mom and decided to keep one. Once I found out what Jamey spent for the one he gave me, I turned that one in for an iPad2.  So Merry Christmas to me! Ruby Cora and I fight over who gets to play Angry Birds next. I have weight on my side, but Cora has the ability to wipe her snotty nose on my clothes and Ruby can talk till I just give up. It's an even and fair fight. The only real losers are the pigs, unless Cora's playing. She feels she should finger swipe the direction she wants the bird to go, which naturally sends it in another direction as it leaves the slingshot. What can I say? I didn't place slingshots high on my 1 year old present gift idea list either.

I thought we did rather well at our Christmas card this year... Jamey liked the 50's Stacy alot. I told him I would wear frivolous dresses and bake cookies everyday if he has me stay home. He decided he likes 2000s Stacy better then.

I know I am completely biased, but Ruby is the coolest 4 year old ever. And this all relates to the only time of the day when she doesn't talk, story time!  Ruby has a great attention span for her age. I decided she could handle real books.  I described the plot of Charlie and the Chocolate factory to her around her 4th birthday (last June) and she said "That sounds like an awesome story!"  Since then we have read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bunnicula and the Hobbit. I'll admit, I've never read the Hobbit because I couldn't get past the singing. Singing and books do not go along in my mind. Especially made up lyrics that require no thinking of a tune. Jamey read that one to Ruby. I would like to know how he handled the songs. If it were me, I would have sang them all to the tune of Oh Susanna.

By far the main book milage has been the Little House on the Prairie books. Reading them as an adult is a much different experience than reading it as a kid. As a kid, you get the impression that they are a family that keeps close together happily though tough times that they have no control over. As an adult, you realize Ma is passive passive and Pa can't plan his way out of a paper sack. Ma tries to shoehorn Laura into her idea of ladylike behavior which includes no laughing (even on Christmas), no crying (even when the dog dies) and no excitement of any kind (even if Pa had wolves follow him home that have surrounded the house and whoops! Pa hasn't built a door yet!).  Pa settles in Indian Territory and gets a bit miffed when they have to start over because they settled in Indian territory and have to leave.  It doesn't help that little Laura grew up to be a lier. The dog didn't die, Pa gave it away becuase they had to move. They had to move (this time) because the nice Norweigan man who sold them the sad little farm in a big hurry with a huge smile on his face neglected to tell them it was a grasshopper breeding ground. Oh well, we've started the Long Winter and I'm sure it will be more positive!  After all Almanzo, her future husband has arrived and is making eyes at her. Wait a minute, they are 10 years apart. EWWWWW She's like, 14 dude. Maybe I will quit reading Wikipedia... I do have one issue. Pa plays the fiddle. Alot!  Not a problem. The problem is there are songs in the books I don't know the tunes for. Argh! Break out the Oh Susanna tune.

Anyway, since the Hobbit is through and we went through the first 5 Little House books, Ruby got Harry Potter book 1, RedWall book 1 and the rest of the Little House books for Christmas.

I gave Cora a broom.  Hey, in Little house that would be a BIG gift, especially since it's a "boughten" broom. After all, Laura and Mary's big Christmas, they got their own tin cups!  They don't have to share anymore.  Spoiled little brats.  Laura has that doll made out of a corncob too.  Maybe Cora can get that next Christmas.

Santa and the rest of my family hasn't been reading pioneer novels, so the girl's loaded up from him and the family.

Halloween 2011

What better way to begin the night than "brains", chicken spaghetti in a bell pepper jack o lantern.  At first Ruby and Allison refused to eat it, then we told them to "dump the brains out" and they were down with that.

The Dinsmore's rocked their Halloween costumes as always.

My brohter continues the tradition of dressing his babies as food. There's probably some Greek tragedy in the making.

Cora was extremely entertained by Uncle David having the glowing spiders smack him in the head.

 I did not recognize Jamey's costume becuase I have never seen the movie.  Alison (Peek a Blue) and Ruby (Kim Possible) are in the background.

She-Ra and Katra really just needed an irish whisky to get along.

Which picture is the ladybug more frightened?  Above or below?