Video fun

Talk about losing track of time! I went to the Apple store today for another lesson on imovie. It inspired me to sit down and put together a little compilation video. Check it out.

Two cuties, now and then

These were taken at my parents' house. I think the curtains are the same!

Worm Farm

Seeing how October is here, I decided it would be a good time to pull the tomato plants out of their little front yard garden plot, thus providing a nice little patch of dirt, perfect for digging and playing. I uncovered several worms while weeding in the backyard, and we decided to relocate some to the front yard, which seemed to be worm-deficient. The kids were really helpful with all the digging and worm-moving, and we had a good time getting dirty. Miles built a "worm house" from dirt, sticks, and leaves, to welcome the worms to their new home. Ruby made "sand castles" in the dirt. She quickly got over some initial squeamishness about handling the worms and yesterday when we were digging and playing she pulled one apart, making a wiggly worm pair. These, she decided, would be happy living in the sandbox.
Of course we also had to bring some critters in the house (don't ask me why) so Miles filled a stryofoam cup with dirt, worms and a roly-poly. We covered it with plastic so they wouldn't escape and punched holes in the plastic top so they could breathe. Well, wouldn't you know it--I found a roly-poly near this cup a few days later. Turns out those "air holes" were also perfect escape routes! Time for our "pets" to return to the wild!
After playing and working hard all week, we had a family "movie" night last night. It was especially rewarding for me because both kids watched and liked the videos, and they were favorites of mine as well. This doesn't happen often with a four-year-old and two-year-old. We watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "Close Shave" with Wallace and Gromit. Miles caught on to some of the Peanuts humor this time, and was talking about how poor Charlie Brown only got rocks in his treat bag. Ruby sat in rapt attention the whole time, and was mostly quiet!

Background Music

This video is from Labor Day weekend, about 4 weeks ago. Ruby now provides background noise to our daily lives, with her constant chatter. It only stops when she's watching a video or sleeping. She manages to talk and eat at the same time, though we try to discourage this! When she's not narrating her activities, she's bossing someone around, or generally making her wishes known. Tonight she told her doll to stand up, even though the poor thing is really meant to be held and cuddled. She told it, "Stand up, boy! Stand up!"
George tried to explain to her that she could talk more softly, but she insists that "Ruby is loud." I wonder if this will be a life-long trait?

Sometimes it pays to own a mini-van...

We kicked off Labor Day weekend with an outdoor movie in the front yard. George made up the invite, I printed them, and Ruby helped me deliver them up and down the street. We had a great turnout, with about 15 kids on the grass and a porch-full or parents. We showed the Iron Giant, using the side of the van, covered in a blanket, as a screen. It worked out so well that we did it again last weekend, with Cars as the feature film. Popcorn, pizza, neighbors, and a few drinks...we really do have an awesome street!

Pittsburgh Welcomes the World

Pittsburgh is gearing up for the G-20. In that welcoming spirit, I thought I'd share some Pittsburgh photos (from Mt. Washington and the Hot Metal Bridge) in an attempt to entice any readers out there who'd like to come visit. (After the G-20 chaos is over, of course!)
There have been some crazy rumors floating around, warning the locals to be aware of violent protesters swarming the city, smashing windows and flattening tires. Kind of reminds me of people being so concerned about the Swine Flu when it first hit that they ran to the ER with a headache. Let's hope these rumors are as overblown as I think they are! (And that Pittsburgh's police force doesn't bungle things too badly. See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113108920)

School Days

Miles has been going to PreK now for about 2 weeks. He is not loving it but seems to be adjusting. He misses his friends from preschool and hasn't made a new best buddy yet. He did give his teacher a big hug and kissed her hand when it was time to leave yesterday. He always loves the teachers, if not the school experience. He doesn't tell us too much about his day, just that he is "nervous" to go to school. The teachers told them not to take their shoes off during naptime, because they sometimes have to leave the building quickly, in the event of a fire drill. This made Miles especially nervous, as he half-expected a fire to break out every day during naptime. Once they had the fire drill, he seemed less worried about fires. And he told me they only have one per season so it will be a long time before another one. Whew! He told me that the stools in the cafeteria are attached to the table...wondering why that was...and that an officer visited their room and had handcuffs. He's also mentioned the school janitor and what his job is...but not so much about the other kids in his class or what they do during circle time.
He is definitely learning about the big, wide, world of public school!