Weekend Fun

Ours was a very full weekend, jam-packed with good times. On Saturday, we spent the morning at IKEA, having decided it was (finally!) time to get the kids out of their toddler beds. (BJ is 5 going on 6, after all, and though he loves to sleep in fetal position, it was clear he could use some more room to slumber comfortably!)

We ended up purchasing a low bunk bed which we'd had our eye on for a while. The bottom bed is actually right on the floor, making a cozy nest, and the upper bunk has an attachable bed tent. The Kids Love It!
BJ is up top and BB is on the bottom, and I'm not lying awake all night worrying that somebody might fall out. So it's all good.
At kindergarten drop-off this morning, BJ told everybody who would listen about his new bunk bed. It was very cute. Their room is definitely a work in progress at the moment, since the old beds are being broken down and the stuff being stored under the old beds is currently all over the place, but once all the arrangements are set up, it will be really nice.

On Saturday night, S and I got a date night! Our old reliable: slices at Pizza My Heart in Palo Alto, then a double feature at the Stanford Theater. We saw "The More the Merrier" and "King's Row." The first was an oddly charming comedy, set in Washington DC during WWII when the capitol was horribly overcrowded. It's a sort of inverted Three's Company: Young girl (a lovely Jean Arthur) ends up living with two men, and in the process falls in love with the younger, thanks to the madcap help of the older man who plays matchmaker.

"King's Row" was the first Ronald Reagan film I'd ever seen -- and it was certainly memorable! Women (who may or may not be crazy) locked up in upstairs bedrooms, early psychiatry, sadistic doctors... murder, morality, and plot points involving real estate development. (Which provided a strange coincidental link to the first film, which had a subplot about building homes to ease the overcrowding in DC!) As S said, if "King's Row" had been in color, the wallpaper would have been yellow. It was pretty over the top. S and I spent the last half of the movie making tasteless, whispered asides to each other (MST style) wondering what large object might crush the remaining members of the cast. ("Watch out for that piano!") That kind of movie. But excellent fun, and wonderful to be out with my sweetie for the evening.

On Sunday morning, BB and I went over to A Work of Heart Studio in San Jose for their Craft Swap, and we had a fantastic time finding treasures in the items other folks had donated. BB had been nervous about going -- I had to take her with me because both kids had birthday parties scheduled later in the morning, and hers was in the vicinity of A Work of Heart, so if I was going to be able to make the swap she had to accompany me before her party. It took her a little while to figure it out, but once she realized that we were allowed to look through the tables and take whatever we might want or need, she got into the spirit of things and helped me fill our bag. I got rid of some fabric and beads I didn't need, and we came home with lots of stickers (especially popular with BB), some brocades, new markers, and a lot of nifty odds and ends that we'll use for collage or something else really fun. She's still talking about what fun we had together!

After the swap, we went to her party -- a ballerina party at a local dance studio. After our disastrous attempt at dance class a little more than a year ago, I wasn't quite sure how this would go. BB was excited, enjoyed shopping for a ballet leotard to wear earlier in the week, and especially enjoyed putting it on that morning. (All pink, naturally!)
I'm delighted to say that she had a fantastic time! The party was for one of her preschool friends (J is really the only one in the class so far that she considers a friend) and many of the other girls in her class were there as well. I was glad to see that BB seemed at ease and excited to see so many familiar faces. The teacher was very sweet, gentle, and welcoming. And perhaps most importantly, the music was quiet, classical music. As we left, BB told me that she really liked the music -- "Not like the loud place before, Mommy!" (So clearly she had some recollection of the last time we tried out a dance class!)

The teacher started off with some ballet positions and fun movement activities.

Later, the girls donned wings and crowns and grabbed wands to become fairies.
BB was really in her element!





After the party, I talked with J's mom, who had suggested having BB join J's class after the holidays, and the teacher confirmed that there would be a space available. Only one space was guaranteed, and when that was gone we'd have to be on a wait list, so I signed BB up right then and there! She'll begin in January. I am confident she'll really enjoy it, and I would bet that it will help her continuing transition into preschool by being in class with at least two of her preschool peers (perhaps more).

I didn't get nearly as much crafting time as I probably should have this weekend, considering I have another craft show coming up on Sunday! It's the San Jose Holiday Craft Boutique at Napredak Hall, and I really ought to be working on inventory... so if it's a quiet week here at the blog, you can guess what I'm up to!