Post Christmas Sleep

Quick picture from the drive home on Dec 26 from my parents' house in Iowa.  Yes, I was driving and snapping photos at the same time!

Icetration

Icetration, n. i-STRAY-shun:  When you go ice skating and you keep falling down and get mad.

- From the Rory Lustberg Dictionary

Out of the blue, she came to us a couple weeks ago and asked if we knew what "icetration" was.  We said no, and she explained.  Now it's becoming a bit of a game, making up new words.  LOVE IT!

The Dancer(s)

First, let me thank Jen for the amazing ballet recital dresses her daughter retired and gave to Rory!  As you can all see, Rory adores them.  This is the last of SIX videos I shot like this of Rory.  I think she stood in front of this mirror and flitted about for half an hour.  BTW - this was shot on my phone, which is why it's grainy.

Trip to Texas

For a weekend away, my Houston friend Iska and I went to a Manic Mommies Escape.  It's a weekend away with a bunch of other working moms escaping their children.  The Escape was in San Antonio and we had a great time being together.  Not only did we have fun in San Antonio, I got to make a quick stop in Houston at a couple favorite spots, including Iska's house!

And the magic number is ... 96!

Yes, THAT is how many pieces of candy she had when she got home.  And yes, she counted all of them.

Here is our Little Mermaid, bowing after a performance of "Part of Your World":

We apparently didn't get any pics of Daddy in his costume (it kept falling off), but he was very creative as Charlie Brown Trick or Treating, complete with paper bag with rocks in it, and ghost costume with multiple holes cut all over... "I had a little trouble with the scissors."  Here is Mommy's costume, thanks to her friend, Erin.  All night adults would say "And what are YOU?" with a puzzled look.

I'm DOPEY, dammit!  DOPEY!  You know, 7 dwarfs!  DOPEY!  I loved it and so did Rory.  She kept asking to see my hands, like Snow Whites asks the dwarfs in the movie, and loved it when I would put my hands behind my back and shake my head No.


Even Mimi and Poppy pulled on a few accessories and trick or treated with us.

Halloween Prep

This year, I went a little domestic.  I offered to MAKE Rory's costume.  So, thank you to Rebecca for loaning me her sewing machine!  My kid had a unique mermaid tail that she loved.  What more can you ask for?  I'll post pics of her costume soon.

Jason and Rory (read: Jason) carved a pumpkin.  Rory thought it was pretty boring, except for getting to put her hand inside.

Rory also got mail this Halloween, which for any 4 year old, is thrilling!  Thanks to Grandma and to Aunt Leslie for the packages.  You can see Rory tearing through this one and salivating at the candy.

Pumpkin Patch

Here are a couple of pictures from Rory's annual class trip to the Pumpkin Patch!  Jason went with them and they had a PERFECT weather day for it.

Princess in Training

Watch out, Ariel Voice Lady.  There's a new girl in town.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GILMORE GIRLS!

The first episode of Gilmore Girls aired 10 years ago today.  Why do I care enough to add that to my family blog?  Because, in case you've never seen Gilmore Girls (though I doubt that applies to anyone reading this because I wouldn't be friends with you), the daughter's name is Rory.  Yes, this is where we got Ro's name.

And Jas, thanks for being the nice person I get to hang out with until we drop dead!  I love you.

So, for fellow fans of the frantic-dialogue comedy, here is the piece from CNN today:

'Gilmore Girls' turns 10

“Please, Luke. Please, please, please.”
And with that very first line of dialogue, the premiere episode of “Gilmore Girls” aired exactly 10 years ago today. Our heroine, Lorelai Gilmore was - as she often did throughout the series’ seven-year run – begging for coffee.
Although “Gilmore Girls” ended in 2007, it still experiences renaissances on a continuous loop due to daily airings of re-runs on ABC Family and SOAPnet. With DVD and iTunes sales going strong, it’s no wonder there’s so much buzz about a possible “Gilmore Girls” movie and demand among fans for an eighth season.

I've waxed poetic about the brilliance of the "Gilmore Girls" before,  so I’ll try to stop gushing so much. But earlier today, I spoke to actress Keiko Agena, who played Rory’s BFF Lane Kim.
On shooting the pilot, Agena recalled “being away from home and so excited and loving the script and just filled with hope that everybody would love it as much as we did. We knew it was good but that doesn’t always mean that everybody’s going to like it and that it will be a successful show."
It turns out they filmed in Toronto, "which was just beautiful and really, actually cold instead of the balmy southern California weather which is how we shot the rest of the episodes," Agena said. "That was the only time we had real cold air, the rest of the time it was just snow machines.”
As for what she’s up to these days, the actress said, “Today I’m actually at NASA. We are filming ‘Transformers 3’ and I get to play Frances McDormand’s assistant so that’s been a lot of fun.” She's also apparently channeling her inner Jim Henson, and is taking puppetry classes at Puppet School and gearing up for a December show. Calling it her “new obsession,” Agena said she’s “crazy in love” with puppetry.
I also had a chance to speak to Aaron Berman, author of the upcoming book “The Gilmore Girls Companion,” which is an unauthorized behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show and features 40 interviews with cast and crew members.
“Lauren Graham was the last one to be cast,” said Berman. (At the time, she was contractually obligated to a series called “MYOB” which wound up not getting picked up.)
According to Berman, a “light day” for the main actors was 14 hours. “Sometimes cast members were on-set for as long as 21 hours, and the crew even longer.” Sleep was so scarce that when crew members had an hour to themselves, they ran to the sets that had beds (Lorelai’s room was a favorite).
Berman also provided some other fantastic details:
● The character of Kirk was inspired by Amy's father, Don Sherman, who used to turn up on “Gimme a Break” (and occasionally “Barney Miller”) because he was friends with the producers. He would play a different character each time.
● Most of the jewelry you see Emily Gilmore wearing is Kelly Bishop's own, in particular the gold necklace she often wears. The actress is allergic to costume jewelry and bought the necklace herself for the role. She's only worn it twice since “Gilmore,” both times in stage plays.
● Though "Gilmore Girls" is known for its fast delivery of dialogue ("Life's Short. Talk Fast" being the strapline for the show), a lot of that speed is a result of the editing. As one of the editors said, "if there was a breath of air between Luke saying 'Tomorrow' and Lauren saying 'I’ll be here,' I would take it out."
● Warner Brothers studios' proximity to Burbank Airport resulted in having to halt the taping of scenes so as not to record the sound of passing planes.
● The motor oil that Gypsy deals with on set (and occasionally gets on her) is steak sauce.
“In the end,” said Berman, "‘Gilmore Girls’ remains beloved the world over today because it addresses the absurdities of life, and the imperfections in our relationships with one another, with humor and an understanding of what it is to be human.
There are stereotypes, certainly - Kirk's cluelessness, Taylor's scheming, Emily's disapproving - but every character is also presented as decidedly human. As Lorelai observes of Kirk, ‘it's all any of us wants - to find a nice person to hang out with 'til we drop dead. Not a lot to ask." Amen.

Sydney's Bat Mitzvah

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY TO THE WORLD'S MOST EVIL CAT!  I know you all wish her lots of joy and happiness.  Jason asked if he could buy her a big, big dog as a present, but I nixed that idea.

L'Chaim! (google it if you don't speak Hebrew)

House updates

The last week or so has included a few house updates.  We definitely aren't done, but I wanted to share a couple pics of the work!  First, we painted our entryway purple!!  We have a LOT of things to hang on that wall, so it looks VERY purple right now, but I'll post another picture when everything is hung. 

Secondly, we finally changed out the lights in the dining room!  Thank you to our friend Leslie who did an AMAZING job making our vision of this lighting happen.  He is a lighting master, so if anyone needs a referral, call me.  It's hard to get pictures of lighting, but here is the "lovely" chandelier that was up when we moved in... (ok, it's sideways and I can't get it to turn for some reason... sorry):

And here is the new lighting.  We'll be adding a couple more spotlights to the track soon. 

Rain, Rain, Stick Around!

Sometimes, you just have to embrace the rain and go have some fun!

Playdate

Rory had her friend, Hana, over for a playdate.  We baked scones, and of course, they dressed as princesses. 

First Day of The Last Year of Preschool

Here's Ro on her first day of school yesterday. 

A few notes about what she's up to these days.

• She took swim lessons all summer and LOVED it.  She can float on her tummy and her back, and swim about 5 feet by herself.
• She started gymnastics last week and the world is a joyous place when she goes to gymnastics!  She's happy all night, just glowing!
• Her favorite thing to do right now is puzzles.  She's up to 150 pieces.
• Ariel is her favorite princess.  Ro's voice is being worn out by singing "Part of That World" at the top of her lungs.
• I'm always suspicious when it's too quiet in her room, but usually what I find is Rory pulling stacks of books off her shelves to read.  She's reading on her own.

Aimee Thomas - Awesome Zombie Food!

My friend Aimee is famous!  Below is a link for the commercial she starred in for the SXSW Film Festival.  The commercial aired over and over at the festival, so Aimee was a celebrity, with people spotting her in the grocery store, etc!  The commercial is on the bottom of the page (click on the play button under the flower). It's about a minute and a half.  Way to go, Aimee!!!

NOTE:  DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK WITH KIDS IN THE ROOM, AS IT'S A BIT GORY.  FUNNY, BUT TRAUMATIZING TO A PRESCHOOLER, FOR SURE.

What could there possibly be to say for this picture??

School Musical

Ro's school has an annual musical.  This year's theme had to do with nature, so Rory's class had to dress as gardeners.  Poppy was just hoping for a shout-out in the middle of the performance, like he got last year!

Rory and Addison

Rory and her friend, Addison, at a playdate at Addison's house.

 

Rory gets the camera

Here's an evening at our house from Rory's point of view: