Surprise!

Yesterday was the Bug's first pre-school performance. She had no idea it was coming up; all week, when asked if she was excited for her concert, she'd ask, "What concert are we going to, Mommy?" Joker and I picked up the Bunny at her babysitter's house and filed into the school with the other parents... followed by my mother! Mima actually flew all the way from Colorado so she wouldn't miss her granddaughter's big day. She might have been a little disappointed that the Bug just stood there with her fingers in her nose, but if that is the case she's not letting on.

Sleepy sleepy

Is it possible that the Bunny is already teething? She's been a total slobber monster lately, constantly cramming her entire fist into her mouth and gnawing. Combine that with her newly-discovered rolling skills (full-on back-to-tummy) and she is really not sleeping well. Plus, she's loud. So in an effort to keep her roommate (the Bug) in the land of nod, Joker and I are there to cater to her every whim. All this is leaving me very sleepy, indeed.

Como Zoo - Beardsley Zoo

Mima and Boppie visited Aunt Jessie a week or so ago, and were joined by our aunts, an uncle and some cousins on their visit to the Twin Cities. Among other things, they visited St. Paul's Como Zoo, from which they sent postcards to the Bug and the Bunny.


The following weekend, we took the girls to our local Beardsley Zoo. We love it there - it's small and easy to navigate and we visit often.

Of note this trip: (1) They're trying to mate our two tigers (no mood lighting and Barry White while we were there, but they were in the same pen). And (2) our condor died... at the age of 80! I had no idea those birds lived so long. I'd thought he was looking a bit ragged around the edges, but turns out he was just old.

Valentine

On Sunday afternoon, we spent quite a bit of time on an art project: making St. Patrick's Day cards to send to Mima and Boppie, aunts, uncles and the cousins.

The first one the Bug made, though, was for her baby sister Bunny:

She got a little confused on our mission, presumably because the last time we'd had out the sequins and glue and construction paper and scissors for a project, we made Valentines for everyone. When she finished she asked, "Mommy, can we make more St. Project's Day Valentines tomorrow?"

Kafka on the Shore

Kafka on the Shore is another excellent book by Haruki Murakami, author of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. Despite being cerebral and dream-like, it is a compelling page turner. Murakami is at the top of his craft, and I'm looking forward to reading more. (Coincidentally, his latest book, which is currently being published in Japan and scheduled for publication in English next year, is 1Q84. Which I learned about just after I finished reading 1984 and decided to read Kafka next.)

The book tells the stories of two very different characters in alternating chapters. Kafka Tamura is a 15-year-old runaway attempting to escape an Oedipal curse. His father is a famous sculptor; he has no memory of his mother and sister, who left when he was a toddler. He takes a bus 10 hours to Takamatsu, which is separated from mainland Japan by the Inland Sea. After spending a couple of days there, he finds his way to the Komura Memorial Library, where he finds a comfortable place to while away the time and eventually a place to stay. There he befriends the androgynous hemophiliac Oshima and the lovely head librarian Miss Saeki.

Satoru Nakata is a 60-something-year-old man who lost the abilities to read and to remember things in a mysterious accident during a childhood mushroom gathering trip. He simultaneously gained the ability to converse with cats, however, which he has put to use as a part-time searcher for lost house cats. One such search puts him on a path that takes him far from home, with 21-year-old trucker Hoshino as his companion/disciple.

The paths of the two characters converge in the physical world as their stories unfold. Meanwhile, strange things are afoot in the spirit world: sex, revelations and even murder. While many authors have tried to depict dreamscapes, Murakami's talent is so great you actually believe they are your own visions. The book is a puzzle - one character might be Kafka's mother, another might be his sister, one spirit appears to be frozen in time decades prior while another exists in the present. Murakami himself says the riddle can only unfold with multiple readings. Though I can't promise to make that commitment, the book is a mind-bender and a pleasure to read, even if I never quite figure everything out.

Next up: Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Ken's always been a player

Remember when you were a kid and you had like a million Barbies but only one Ken? So you would have Ken get married to each of the Barbies in turn, or take them each on a date in the convertible. Somehow this never caused catfights in the mansion, and you never dwelled on it because you were, well, a kid.

Apparently Mattel has gotten wise to that whole trend. Enter the Mad Men line of Barbies. What better inspiration for the pre-teen set than Don Draper, philanderer extraordinaire. Don't get me wrong: love the styles (even without cigs and martinis), love Joanie and love-love-LOVE Don and Roger. Extra bonus: they're enough man to date your entire Barbie collection, and won't forget to pick up flowers for the wife on the way home.

First haircut

While it may seem surprising that the Bug still hadn't had a real haircut at 2 years, 8 months, I can assure you that anyone who knew me as a toddler is equally surprised she's already needed one.

Regardless of your perspective, it was a big day for the little Bug. We went to Cindy & Eddie's, a nearby barbershop, at the suggestion of our friends at Fairfield County Child. It's certainly a no-frills kind of place, but they have a bunch of toys that set the Bug at ease immediately. And Cindy not only knows how to give a kid a cut without freaking her out, she gives the kid a good cut, too.

Plus, they gave the Bug a lollipop and this nifty certificate: