The Goose is five!

I need to start doing shorter posts. Usually, after the kids are in bed, I sit down with the laptop and a glass of wine and upload 78 gazillion pictures. Sometimes I make it until the end of the automatic download, sometimes not. But inevitably I'll conk out before I get to actually write anything.

One day, I went to pick up The Goose at preschool and found this huge display of snowflakes.

 

And guess who taught everyone how to make snowflakes? 

What's funny is that last year, they would have asked me to come in and "help" teach the class. Since they are big kids this year, she just did it on her own, and I didn't even know about it until I saw the display.  

She makes great snowflakes, all right. She also makes a good pirate. 

Oscar is taking an art class at the rec dept. (No money for schools in CA means no art classes for 4th graders. Zip. Nada. So we pay 40-50 bucks every quarter for a six-week class.) Here's the gargoyle he sculpted -- it's being fired this weekend and I'll show pictures of the finished project later. 

 

Saturday mornings (after copious amounts of TV and pancakes, not at the same time) means something gets pulled out and assembled on the dining room table. Today it was our Polar Express Lionel Train. 

 

This is why I like having a huge dining room with a tiny seating nook instead of a mid-sized living room with a cramped dining nook. (We do have the Valhalla Den of the Norse Gods, so we do have somewhere else to spread out and lounge.)

When that got tiring for everybody but Arlo, we pulled out some of the craft kits that the kids got for Christmas. Smart parents know to whisk those kits away the moment they are opened and to not leave them where the kids can open them, strew them all over the house, and then move on to the next toy. We sometimes remember to do that.

Arlo had a potholder loom (which Oscar scampered off with), The Goose had a pillow to decorate, and Oscar had a solar robot kit that he promptly lost the instructions for.  

 

Evan and Arlo have a semi-regular hike date every weekend. 

 

 

  

January 23! It's The Goose's birthday! Happy Birthday, Goosling!

Evan and Goose took the day off from work and school and headed south on the 5 to make their way to The Happiest Place on Earth. 

This is always the first picture you have on your phone when you visit The Happiest Place on Earth. 

Here's a super happy birthday girl!

 

To the teacups!

 

 

See that "It's My Birthday" button? That meant that every single Disney employee said "Happy birthday, Lucy!"

Evan and The Goose went to Toontown. I don't know why we never went before. Evan said the design was a lot of fun. 

But we all know what The Goose was here for. 

 

Autograph secured!

Jasmine was looking like a big turquoise Kardashian. 

The Goose always loved Tiana. 

She even gave Mr. Toad a smooch just in case. 

One more princess before The Goose is pooped. 

At home, I hauled out our birthday banner and spent an embarrassing amount of time putting some pretty paper rosettes together. It was a craft set that I got on super-clearance that said "Ages 8 and up." I took HOURS to put those suckers together. 

Dinner time!

On the Goose-designed menu: Mac and Cheese (Trader Joe's frozen. She hates the stuff I make with expensive Gruyere but loves the EXACT SAME THING with I nuke the box from TJ's.)

 

Roasted tomatoes and brussels sprouts (parents-only) and "apple spaghetti" -- apples peeled by our apple peeler. Best $20 I ever spent.

Plus chocolate milk in fancy glasses!

Check out our new fancy plates! Gretta gave me a new set of plates for Christmas to replace the 12+ year-old set from our wedding. We were down to 4 plates, one bowl, and 5 salad plates.  They new ones are beautiful!

Time to blow out the candles!

Trick sparkly candles! 

 

Chocolate mousse cake for my darling girl. 

Arlo happily hoovered up all the icing. 

 

The next day I took her out for a belated girls' birthday lunch. 

 

And then, back to normal life. My car died. 

 

But! It died while I was two blocks from home and NOT ON THE FREEWAY. 

I called AAA, Evan showed up in ten minutes to ferry The Goose to school and the tow truck showed up ten minutes later. The tow truck suggested a place in North Hollywood. I checked the car in, called Evan to pick me up, and happily waited in the pouring rain under a tiny busted Barbie umbrella. Because I didn't break down ON THE FREEWAY. 

Plus! Our new mechanic is near Circus Liquor!

 

Because Scary Neon Clown = Fun! With Liquor!

It was career day at school. Here's Oscar dressed as a scientist. (He's holding his ID badge from Pokemon Institutes, something I spent entirely too long designing that morning.) His friend is an astronaut. The Goose was a giant hambone that can't bear a picture being taken in her vicinity without her in it. 

Here's The Goose, my little jungle girl. Even though it looks like we are in a lush botanical garden, she's outside a power plant three blocks from our house.

 

 Happy birthday to my Goose.