College Bound
“Is college after kindergarten?” was the question I heard from the back seat of the car while we were driving through the campus at the University of New Mexico. I take him there often; to feed the ducks at the duck pond, to go to swim class and to attend different events they host throughout the year. Today we are here for a Star Wars display. “No,” I answered with a small laugh of encouragement, so he could finish his thought.
The next question from my five year-old, as we drove past the dorms, “Are those hotel rooms?” I said, “Kind of, they are called dorms and that is where the college students live. They are more like little apartments. Daddy lived in these dorms when he went to school here.”
He continued, “The greatest thing about college is you get to stay up as long as you want. I’m going to stay up and watch TV on my phone.”
“Yeah?” Letting him continue.
“At the dooms, they know you get uncomfortable with girls, so girls have girl roommates and boys have boy roommates.” I responded, “You’re right! Boys live with boys and girls live with girls.” I didn’t correct his “doom” instead of “dorm” talk — I thought it was cute, and really, a more accurate description of life in the dorms.
“Do you get breakfast, lunch and dinner in college?” he asked, his thoughts turning to food. “Yes,” I answered. “You can eat in the cafeteria when you go to college.”
He was on a roll with the college talk. “The good thing about college is you can do what you want after school. You can just roll around outside or go to your doom.”
“Yeah, you have a lot of freedom to do want you want.” I continued to explain who went to college in our family, and who had Bachelor, Graduate and Doctorate degrees.
“I’m going to get one! After Pre-school I’m going to start practicing instead of playing!”
Trying to talk him down a little bit, I looked at him in the rear view mirror and gave him a little wink and said, “Don’t worry you have plenty of time.”
Now, Revenge of the Sixth!
Surrendering to The Dark Side
I have become quite the Stars Wars Geek these days, and like most of the recent changes in my life, I have my five year-old to thank or blame, I’m not sure which.
A long time ago (about three years) in a galaxy far, far away (Gram’s house) …
Azul found her Star Wars DVD collection and was immediately hooked. We started with the 1970’s and 1980’s originals, now recognized as Episodes IV, V, and VI, and then moved on to the entire set of movies.
One by one, Azul brought the movies home and watched them from morning to night. All of them! Over and over! He would wake up at 6:00 a.m., turn on the TV and DVD player, insert the movie and that was how he started his day. My day began at the same time with the blaring Star Wars symphony floating to my bedroom from the living room, it was better than any alarm clock I have ever had. Then after dinner he would pick up where he left off and Star Wars was on again. The Force definitely had a grasp on him and I was okay with it. We talked about the violence and how he felt about it, and like with most things I was impressed by his ability to grasp the concept of sci-fi and the difference between that and reality, so we were good and the movies continued. He knew the character’s names and would quote his favorite lines. He developed a kinship with the “bad guys” and had a striking resemblance to the young Anakin Skywalker from The Phantom Menace.
But the movies were only a gateway drug; we moved on to Legos and action figures, books and sticker books, and every character dictionary and encyclopedia we could find. The day he received a Light Saber from his Auntie Mari and Uncle Roger, he said in amazement, “I never thought I would have my own Light Saber, this is the best day of my life.” Oh, we were in deep. And I truly believe I know more about this topic than any I studied in grad school and have also, “Learned to talk like Yoda, I have!”
Finally, after months of being into our Star Wars way of life, I realized the Empire must be stopped!
The moment of enlightenment came the morning I woke up from probably the third night in a row of dreaming of Attack of the Clones fighting side by side with Queen Amidala. Now, I love Natalie Portman and Amidala, but once she entered my unconscious dream state, I was done. No more Star Wars for a while, I had had enough. There really is such a thing as too much of a good thing and we had peaked.
The break was a small one and Star Wars is still a constant in our lives, and our knowledge continues to grow, only now it is applied with some moderation.
So, in celebration of this weekend, and to my fellow Star Wars Geeks and all others, May the Fourth be With You!
p.s. Yes, in all our geekdom, we will also be celebrating The Revenge of The Sixth as well.
Best Kids Valentine’s Day Cards Ever!
Super easy and super cool, in five steps.
Step 1 – Take a picture of your child holding their arm out and their hand in a fist.
If you would like to choose a theme it will add to the card. We chose Star Wars, of course. Print the pictures in 5×7 landscape style. Print as many pictures as you need cards. Yay! That was cheap and easy.
Step 2 – Gather all of your supplies. You will need:
The pictures
Sharpies
A hole punch
Lollipop sticks
Small plastic bags
Twist ties
Cookie cutters
And the ingredients for the Rice Crispy Treats (Rice Crispies, marshmallows and butter)
Done and done!
Step 3 – Prepare the cards.
Write your child’s Valentine greeting on the 5×7 picture or let them write it if they can or some combination of both. Then punch two holes in the card, one above the hand and one below. Whew! Everyone was able to do something on this step.
Step 4 – Make the Rice Crispy Treats and let cool completely in the pan. Butter the cookie cutters and cut out the shapes. We used our Millennium Falcon and X-wing Fighter cookie cutters. Let the shapes cool in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Next, melt one marshmallow, place the tip of a stick into the melted marshmallow, then immediately insert the sticky tip into the Treat, and repeat. Once all the Treats have their sticks firmly in place, individually put them in a bag and twist tie it closed. Don’t forget to eat the leftover pieces!
Step 5 – Finish the cards! Slide the stick from the Treat through the holes in the card, in the top hole and out the bottom hole and you have the Best Kids Valentine’s Day Cards Ever! May the Force be with you!
Carmelina Hart 