Anatole

Other than me getting a wicked sunburn we had an excellent weekend. Seth and I went on several adventures including picnics, parkS, coffee shops with play areas, walks and even a giant puppet parade. The puppets were giant, not the parade. Some had to be held by almost a dozen handlers. Our all time favorite activity of the weekend was going to the MIA on Saturday for a puppet show of Anatole and Anatole and the Cat. In case you’re wondering these puppets were normal sized. Following the show there was a scavanger hunt to find a mouse in a painting, a craft project of making an Anatole puppet and a “french” snack. Even without a 3 year old I would have enjoyed this. But it’s nice to have a youngster around as an excuse. I would have gotten odd looks otherwise.

For those of you that don’t know who Anatole is, he’s a charming mouse living in Paris. He is the lead character in a little set of books by Eve TItus geared at the 4-8 yr old set. Anatole makes an honorable living as a cheese taster instead of stealing his food from others. It was by pure coincidence that we had brought home Anatole and the Toy Shop back in December. It had been the hubby’s book as a youngin’. I had never heard of Anatole, but now find him quite delightful. Even though the original book was written over 50 years ago they’ve held up well. There was only one marginally sexist remark in the 1st book about the fathers going out to gather the food. Why can’t the mothers provide for their family I ask you? I’ve decided to chalk it up to a possibility in the animal kingdom. Am I kidding myself because I find the rest of the story so utterly charming? It’s better than Rudolf needing to get the women folk back to safety which makes me cringe but I still let Seth watch it. I consider myself quite the feminist but will these subtle messages influence my son or will my role modeling conquer all?

A Great Weekend

My youngest sister and parents came to visit this weekend. I miss them so much. Although I’m the one that moved away I wish we could live closer. I treasure every visit. This particular one was full of fun, especially for the kids. Here’s a little run down on our doings:

• The Minnesota History Center - Seth’s favorite part was, of course, the rocket ship
• Breakfast at the Riverview Cafe
• Swimming in the hotel pool
• A quick trip to The Yarnery where I found even more knitting projects I’d like to do

The best part? When my mother presented Seth with this amazing cowboy quilt. Above is Steve holding it up for me so you can see the full affect. Below is the detail. Seth favorite part of the quilt? The green trim. His affection for the color never ceases to amaze me.

I was nervous of what his response would be when presented with my mother’s beautiful work. A 3 year old has no idea how much love goes into a project like this nor how to be gracious. I was therefore pleasantly surprises when he whispered an excited “WOW”. It’s quite busy but matches Seth’s personality perfectly. I adore the quaint retro prints and think she did a fabulous job balancing out the colors. It’s better than anything I could find in a store.

I’m now happy, tired and sad that it will again be a few months before I see them. However, I can’t end this post with out showing a few pics of Eleanor’s bathing suit debut.

What a beauty queen! So classy. The tongue especially.

The good & the bad

Our Chinese lanterns blowing in the wind

The weekend was filled with activities. Some I could have done with out, others I will cherish.

• Eleanor and I both have colds, boo.
• Temperatures plummeted below zero so we elected not to stand outside and watch a live dragon dance, instead watching a few on YouTube like this and this. Truly amazing.
• Seth & I made Chinese lanterns, which Seth insisted must be hung outside.
• Attempts at home made valentines produced less than stellar results. Seth insisted that he didn’t know how to draw valentines and couldn’t even be persuaded to scribble in red. I never push art so I dropped it for now.
• I tried a technique for valentines involving painting paper with vinegar, laying down tissue paper hearts which are removed after drying. Supposedly they will leave the tissue paper color behind. Mine did not.
• We then moved on to painting. I tried to mix up some 30+ year old powdered tempera. I had a devil of a time getting the powder & water to mix even after adding dish soap. Worse yet, when the paint dried the color just flaked off on the ground. Pooh. Is it because the powder was so old or am I doing something wrong. Any suggestions?
• We did get to the Riverview for our Choo Choo Bob’s movie event. My favorite clip was a short involving model trains & dinosaurs. The place was packed full of preschoolers & their parents. The best part was during a shot of a man walking down a railroad when a 2 or 3 year old from the audience shouted out - “Look, it’s Johny Cash!” Sure enough, it was.
• I also got in quite a bit of knitting, finishing off a dress for my daughter. Or so I thought. Unfortunately, it doesn’t fit over her head!!!!! There are two astonishing things about this: 1) I did this same thing with a sweater for my son and 2) I tried it on her just a couple weeks ago and it fit then. Apparently her head grew! Argh!!

Trains!

Entertaining small, energetic children in this weather can be challenging. Here’s a couple options I’m taking advantage of:

I’ve been driving by Choo Choo Bob’s for several years. I was under the mistaken impression it was for die hard adult model train builders. While it does have this element to it, more than half the store is actually dedicated to kids. There are 6 - count them - 6 children’s train tables set up in back. Perfect for your preschool crowd. Adequate parking is provided behind the building. There are also larger model trains to watch, a party room for hosting birthday parties and seating upfront for train themed story times. We’ve experienced each of these facets and enjoyed them all. Don’t forget to show your appreciation for the free entertainment by making a purchase, no matter how small. It’s just plain courteous. A $2 train whistle would even fit the bill. We stopped by on Saturday. Seth blew off some steam running from table to table and got a new train engineers hat. Eleanor was happy just watching the electric models go around and around.

While your there, pick up free tickets to see Thomas, Buster & others on the big screen! This special showing is at the Riverview Theater on Saturday, February 9th at 11am. Simply ask at the front desk for the number of tickets desired.

This neighborhood theater has been entertaining young and old alike for over 50 years. Don’t have kids? Check out their current listings for $2 and $3 shows. They recently put in new seats which I had the pleasure of trying out on Saturday evening with Kathryn - more about that on Wednesday.

Minnesota History Center

Museums are a great place to visit when it’s cold. If you have a group of people of varying ages and interest the Minnesota History Center is the place to go. My sister and I took my 2 children there last weekend and a great time was had by all.

My 3 year old’s favorites:

• Going in the rocket ship
• Climbing through the grain elevator
• Building a model log cabin

My favorites:

• Getting some time with my son while my sis carried my daughter around
• Reading/learning about life in Minnesota 50, 100, 200 years ago
• Taking the MN 150 quiz

Tips:

• You can get 2 free passes from the library
• There IS a children’s menu at the café, you just have to ask
• Block off the whole day, there’s plenty to explore