Inflatable Christmas

So, we have this inflatable Christmas carousel in the yard. Its pretty neat, too. It has lights, is very colorful, with a bunch of characters merry-go-rounding inside.

However, this thing has a mind of it's own.

Every now and then, the characters get twisted up in a horrific mass of cold wet nylon. There is a fix, however it is not one I'd wish on my worst enemy.

Basically, while this thing is fully inflated, you have to tilt it and get directly underneath it. Once trapped between it's icy blue underbelly of nylon and the muddy lawn, you have to search for a 20inch zippered section.

This, my friends, is where you literally access the interior, or as folks in the outdoor nylon inflatable business call it: Where the air makes the magic happen.

Now I know, it sounds improbable that a grown man of 35 years could worm his way through a 20inch zippered opening and stand upright in the center of an inflatable carousel, but I am here to say that I have done it. Twice, actually.

And, it's a mess inside. In the midst of 42 degree weather, I find myself battling the electric blower, the nylon frenzy of mangled Christmas characters and wetness. A lot of bitingly cold wetness. 10 minutes I spend in this thing...carefully untwisting the center, all the while being whipped by rogue streaks of icy water and colorful nylon.

Once untwisted, the carousel characters come to life, which is good and bad. Good, because it's fully functional again. And bad, because I'm still trapped inside and quickly running out of real estate as the burgeoning mass overtakes the inflatable's innards.

Getting out was harder than getting in. I don't believe I've ever contorted my body in such an awkward manner before. But, ultimately, I slink my way out, spotted in mud, and thoroughly soaked.

I guess I should be frustrated and angry after all this, but my daughter's happy it's working again, and that's solace enough for me.

Merry Christmas!

Iceberg! Straight ahead!

School projects, you've gotta love 'em. So, my daughter had to do a lighthouse project for school. Thankfully, she picked a defunct lighthouse located at Bald Island, NC.

I say this because a functional lighthouse would have required rigging some form of operational lighting on the model she was required to build. And we all know that electricity and 4th grade building models of any nature cannot possibly be a rationally safe combination.

So, we spent the better half of a Saturday sculpting, painting, drawing and cutting all the necessary materials to ultimately assemble this reasonable facsimile of the real McCoy. Naturally, with this being her project, the teacher gave strict instruction that we were only responsible for materials purchase, some guidance and anything that involved sharp objects.

Suffice it to say, I am now a virtuoso at sculpting foam material with a serrated kitchen knife. Everything else, the spray painting, the gluing, the illustrated construction paper was 90% done by Madison.

We're actually quite proud. Especially since she not only managed to get it into the classroom without breaking it, but also got herself an A on the project. Now, the only thing left to do is to find a permanent home for this thing in our humble abode.

Hopefully, the cats won't mistake it for an elaborate scratching post.

Technology Meets Stuffedology

Madison gathered a few of her stuffies and decided to photograph them. I popped 'em into iMovie, added some effects and one of her favorite songs and VOILA! we have ourselves a little music video...

Happy Birthday to Meow

Last Thursday, Maddie decided a celebration was in order for Pickles' first birthday. As you can obviously tell from the picture, the kitten was thrilled to death at the prospect of wearing a special "birthday collar" to commemorate this occasion.

Oh, and the hat, too. Pickles literally meowed something to the extent of "I love this hat!" No, really, she did. I swear, but not on a stack of bibles.

The Saga of the Crabcake Continues...

So, it was mentioned earlier that Crabcake was missing in action. Well, he still is, but a replacement has been adopted into Maddie's Littlest Pet Shop Family. Fearing any semblance of originality, we've decided to stick with the name Crabcake Junior.

Crabcake Junior has fit in really well, as all the other lifeless, plastic toys (er, I mean cute and loving Pet Shoppers) have accepted him into the fold. However, Madison remains ever vigilant to protect this little fellow from the dark forces that took away his predecessor.

Recent evidence points to our kitten, Pickles, as having some hand (or paw, if you will) in the disappearance of our first Crabcake. Madison has made it absolutely clear that she has no doubt in her mind Pickles is guilty. In fact, she went so far as to post wanted signs throughout our house. Poor Pickles, she's so misunderstood in her murderous ways.

Here are just a handful of Maddie's favorite YouTube vids. Try to guess the theme.

Enjoy...

Missing person, well, er, Petshopper, er, whatever these things are called...

He's a Teeniest, Tiniest Littlest Pet Shop character Madison so lovingly named "Crab Cake."

And we've spent weeks looking for this little fellow. In closets, under beds, sifting through toys, etc, etc. I'm certain that our sinister kitten, Miss Pickles N'Olives, is the main suspect. Unfortunately, she's hidden the evidence well...maybe even consumed it altogether.

In any event, the search lumbers on and the vigil continues. We may even have to resort to acquiring a "Crab Cake" clone at our local WalMart or Target. We ask that if there are any sightings of the clone or the original, please keep us posted.

Evil has a new name...

We welcomed a new member of our family back in December, Miss Pickles N'Olives. She's a 4 month-old domestic short hair we rescued from the animal shelter.

Of course, she's got just the right disposition to fit right in. Since she's joined the fold, she's attempted to terrorize the other four-legged inhabitants of our humble abode. Unfortunately, only the furniture resides in abject fear of our kitten.