Languishing's Annual Holiday Gift Post

I know I can't include photos right now, but I can't bear to let you all face the holidays without Languishing's wisdom. I stand by most of my suggestions from years past, and in fact they offer many good ideas if you're stumped. Seriously. Who doesn't love pudding? (Oh, lactose intolerant people, I'm sorry). But perhaps you want STILL MORE Languid goodness. If so, here you go. Some bigger ticket items for the bigger ticket folk on your list.

1. A Hoover Windtunnel T-Series. I am not a brand-specific girl when it comes to most things. I take what I can get for free, and I use it until it falls apart. But last year for Christmas, Myra bought both Jess' house and my house new Hoover Windtunnels, because Consumer Reports rated it as high as a Dyson. That's right. A Dyson. And this model costs less than $100.

Our house only has one room with carpet, but it's the room in which we spend most of waking hours. Our old Dirt Devil did what I asked of it, on the rare occasions I asked it to, or so I thought. But once I opened the Windtunnel, I knew I'd never go back. It glides like an angel, is remarkably quiet, and picks up dirt that's been there, I assume, since before we moved in. I'm embarrassed to tell you how many times I had to empty the canister the first time I used it. But with such joy! What's not to love about a quiet, easy to use appliance that makes your house cleaner than you ever thought possible? I've totally drunk the good vacuum kool-aid, and it inspires me to clean other things. Really. I just love it so.

2. A Costco membership. Now, this doesn't make sense if there's no Costco in, say, a 75 mile radius of your home. But if there is, and if your recipient doesn't live alone or as a simply as a monk, consider a gift membership to this particular wholesale club. One just opened in West Fargo, and I love it very much. I also love the Costco business model, which pays employees a fairer wage than Sam's Club, offers much better health benefits, and their CEO makes what strikes me as a reasonable (but not obscene) amount of money. Costco offers great savings on electronics, fair savings on gas, milk, and bread, and things like an entire case of dried seaweed. You know, in case you're into that. Also, you can order your own casket, if'n you want. (Let me be clear: I am not advocating purchasing a casket for a holiday gift. That's even beyond Languishing's Code of Appropriateness).

3. An X-Box. My sister as a Wii, and I suppose she'd disagree with this, but I tell you, our X-Box is one of the most powerful electronics in our home. The one I've linked to is the Star Wars model (which we don't have, but V and I covet. A lot), but you could go simpler. You can run Netflix through it, play video games, listen to Pandora or Rhapsody, and we have a Kinect, which opens up the possibility of actually getting off our duffs and moving around.

4. V says I need to include a toy on this list. "All toys are good," she says. But she especially likes this Baby Alive, the brunette, "because she's brown and has brown hair." She's also a fan of the Lalaloopsy cult, er dolls. Just lots of love for toys in general here, I guess, is what we're getting at.

Well my loves, that's what I have for you. What's your favorite gift you've ever received? Or given?  How do you feel about your vacuum cleaner? Or about Baby Alive?

I'm baaaaack.....

So a Viking, Frida Kahlo, and Merpunzel walk into a bar.....

or at least into Robby's photography studio. We had such a lovely time at Sarah & Robby's annual Halloween bash. And it was their Cousin Ben, I believe who coined "Merpunzel:" V is both Rapunzel and a mermaid. Of course. 

On Wednesday, she chose to just be Rapunzel ('cause it's hard to walk in a  mermaid tail), and we again trick or treated in my hometown with V's cousins. Luckily, Hendrum is still generous with the candy.

All three Johnson cousins wore sweatshirts I'd embellished for them. They can spell WEV, or EWV, or VEW, but I love them any which way.

So much fun for our wacky little Mer/Rapunzel, Iron Man, and Supergirl.

Hope your Halloween was happy, gentle readers. As you can see, I found my camera, so let's see what happens next, shall we?

EEE

Eagles: I so often wonder how we would view eagles if Ben Franklin had gotten his way with installing turkeys as our national bird. I don't think we'd eat them (an eagducken doesn't sound so good), but I don't think they'd be so revered, either. I like to see eagles in the wild, but I also love hawks and herons and flamingos. (Damn. I need to do this A to Z challenge all about birds, obviously). And turkeys, too, come to think of it. And unlike turkeys, eagles mostly eat carrion: we condemn vultures for this, but in the beloved eagle, we just pretend they only eat fresh fish and defend freedom in their spare time. (Apparently I have eagle angst. Hm).

Easter: He is risen indeed. Well, not yet, because it's Maundy Thursday, but pretty soon...I really loved the drama of this holiday in our little Lutheran church. On Good Friday, we strip the alter bare, in acknowledgement of the solemnity of the crucifixion, and we sing sad, mournful songs. On Sunday, the white cloths come out (which I think my family donated after my Grandpa Art died), and the festivities begin. I no longer worship with this or any congregation, but the many years I did left several moving memories behind, and this is one of them. Easter also meant the annual cousins' Easter Egg Hunt, in which the girl cousin and boy cousin who found the most eggs each won a prize. I was at a clear advantage, as I was the eldest of the second round of girl cousins, and Dawn, Jess, Kristen, and Logan never really had much of a chance. There is something thrilling about a search for colorful hardboiled eggs when 10 other kids you've known your whole life are trying to beat you to them. In related news, at least once a year (usually around now) Shaun and I try to watch Jesus Christ Superstar, because we both love it so.

Ether: Did you know that the use of ether as an anaesthetic during childbirth first came into popularity with Queen Victoria, who was knocked out with it in 1853 for the birth of her 8th child, and recommended it? Of course this led to the medicalization of childbirth, and, well, I can't get into all of that here. But the idea of a queen setting such a trend is ... unsettling to me.

May your eagles, Easters, and ether all be administered in appropriate ways, gentle readers. And may the eggs in your basket always outnumber your cousins'.

Adventures in Gift Making

The 6 year old girl child asked only for Rapunzel-based gifts this year. She received many other things, but she really, really wanted a dress like Rapunzel's. "It doesn't even have to be exact, Mama, so long as it's purple." For you non-Tangled viewers, here's Disney's Rapunzel, in costume:

Such a dress can be purchased, of course, but without special ordering, most stop at size 6x. My 6 year old girl child is in the 90+percentile for both height and weight in her age category, so she has long since outgrown such a thing. Besides, store bought Disney dresses are always made from cheap, crappy satin that runs/deteriorates faster than the child learns to fasten the velcro. So I went to the fabric store and bought 2 yards of lavender knit. "Use a pattern, Jenny!" my mother implored. But why would I listen to her?

 Lace from my immense fabric stash, sewn on the hem of the dress. (I actually attached the lace, then flipped it and topstitched it to make the hem. Because sometimes in sewing, lazy=professional looking).

My sewing machine would like to recieve full credit for this project.

 For the bodice, I chose a dark purple velour from my stash. I would've made the whole dress out of this if I'd had enough. Rapunzel's sleeves have contrasting ribbon sewn on, so I sewed on contrasting ribbon.

 Above, hemming the sleeve (with a gap to insert elastic, which will help the sleeve be appropriately poufy).

 Rapunzel's corset caused me a bit of a headache. 6 year olds don't really need sweetheart necklines, and I'm not crazy about a lacing that can get caught on stuff while she plays/swings/runs around like a crazy princess. My research led to lots of good places (that one there has photos of how the store-bought dresses wear out, along with a thorough how-to) and one of them (I can't find it, but this shows the same concept) showed the ribbons as just stitched down. I went with that. No grommets (which are fun, of course), no fuss. Well, some fuss. I made the top based on a Simplicity top I've made her a half dozen times. Then I sewed on the skirt, made from a rectangle sewn into a loop, pinning a lot.

 I should take one of it on a hanger, but here she is, all dressed up (with a scarf for Rapunzel's hair) in a dress 3 sizes too big. I'll take it in a few inches at the waist, shortening the skirt and the top, as soon as she lets me take it to the basement for a few minutes.

She's wearing it to Grandma's tonight. It was worth staying up past my bedtime for my dear little Rapunzel. Now I need to make a Flynn Rider and Mother Goethel costume for Shaun and me. Yee-haw.

Holiday Lights

Once you give up trying to control photographing holiday lights, it becomes a lot more fun and Spirograph-like. The first photo is from some house on 8th Street; the last is street, tail, & stop lights on our way home. The three in the middle come from an annual display in Lindenwood park. We're not sure why Santa is riding on a brontosaurus, but we don't dislike it.

Vintage Top Nine List

From the print issue of Languishing, a topical top 9 list. This one is from Issue 5, Volume 4...so around 2000? Somewhere in there. It's not that I don't have new ideas; I just like sharing my old ideas with the internets, hey. V's in public school for the first time, now, and she comes home and says things  like "Why doesn't Suzette celebrate Christmas?" And I'm like, "Suzette? Well, she's probably French..." "No, she's brown." Oh, well, okay. Anyway, I don't know why Suzette doesn't celebrate Christmas, or why she's brown and/or French. But I can offer you this.

Top 9 things to Not Say to Your Atheist Friends During the Holidays

9. Does it bother you that you’re going to hell?

8. Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

7. That’s okay; the pickles are kosher.

6. You know, they used to burn people like you.

5. What’s your problem?

4. How many presents do you get with your no-god having ways?

3. Man, your childhood must’ve been awful.

2. Atheist? So, like, do you eat eggs and stuff?

1. Well then, Happy Kwanzaa.

Annual Gift Ideas Post

Unlike previous years, when I would barf ideas for gifts up on the page, this year I swear I'm going to be clear and organized and intentional. Stop snickering at me. It's unbecoming.

Gift ideas for your bestest friends:  You shouldn't even be reading this. They're YOUR bestest friends, people: what could I possibly say to guide you? Oh, okay. i'll try.

• Do something different. If you always buy them a new coffee table book, mix it up. Buy them a new coffee table (check thrift stores. V and I found several funky ones just last week), or some Sanka or something. Is Sanka still a real thing?
• Buy them a beer sampler (Leinenkugel's has some tasty ones this time of year) and refuse to drink from it. Buy two, if you can't help yourself.
• Consider purchasing something you can do together. A pedicure or massage, for example, as opposed to an ob/gyn appointment.  Tenessa has, over the years, gifted me things like my 1/2 of the hotel room cost when we go away for a weekend, or paying for us to go away to a meditation retreat. This ends up sort of like a gift card, though, so make sure you follow through and book that trip together.
• Something matchy. This doesn't work as well if you work together, or if your bestie has fashion rules beyond what this allows, but if you live in different cities & aren't out in public together constantly, having identical scarves or mittens can be a warm reminder of your affection for one another.

Gift ideas for your neighbors whom you don't wish to piss off but don't really care about all that much:

• Cookies or sweetbreads. You can't really go wrong with baked goods, because it seems like a tremendous effort, so even if they hate your cookies, they will still think you like them well enough. Wrap it up pretty and present it in person!
• Liquor: Provided your neighbor is at least 21, liquor is often a welcome gift, unless you know they're in recovery or ought to be. A nice bottle of red wine or sparkling wine says "I thought of you. Not a whole bunch, but I did think of you."

Gift ideas for your in-laws or out-laws:  Like your best friend, I don't know your in-laws or out-laws. I will make some assumptions, but please forgive me if I'm totally off-base.  In-law/out-law relationships can be really varied. For example, you may totally adore your mother-in-law but find your cousin's wife repulsive. In this case, they may better fall into other categories (bestest friends and tolerated neighbors, respectively). You have to help me out here, people.

• If you are new to their family, consider a safe but luxurious option. Plush towels, for example, are often a welcome addition (unless your in-laws have OCD about matching things, in which case, good luck with all that). My mother-in-law once received a cashmere sweater (not from me), which raised the bar all to hell, I tell you what. It was a very inspiring gift.
• Along those lines, a luxurious throw that matches their couch is a lovely option, especially if their house is cold and you have to wear three pairs of pants at once to get through a family evening without shivering. Sort of a gift for yourself disguised as for them deal.
• Food. Especially if your in-laws are hosting holiday get-together time, they will appreciate any addition to their larders. I mean, don't buy them a case of green beans (unless that's how they roll), but something that can be added to the food offerings of the weekend might be especially helpful. Consider summersausage, really great cheese, things that taste amazing on crackers. A nice whiskey or brandy or package of licorice is often a welcome offering to the patriarch, again, if'n he's not in recovery. And don't expect him to share: he might, but he might not, and that's the point of a gift, really.
• Paper products: okay, bear with me here. You may not want to give only toilet paper to your in-laws, but if you're going there to visit, bringing over a 4 pack of TP will be a welcomed thing. Think about it: you and your brood is always going to their house on the holidays, always eating their food, always pooping in their bathroom. Who buys that toilet paper? They do. And it does not grow on trees. (well, you know what I mean). 

Gift ideas for those people you're expected to buy a gift for but just can't think of anything because you don't really know them that well or whathaveyou:We all have these people in our lives, from the mail carrier who knows about your poodle fetish, to your hairstylist who consistently talks you off the ledge every six weeks, to your child's teacher(s) & therapist(s). If you have a go-to gift in this department, I'd love to hear it, because this one tends to stump me. But here's what I know.

• If you're gonna give a gift card, consider the broadest possible options. My sister, who used to teach pre-school, got a lot of use out of West Acres gift cards, which could be used anywhere in the mall. She got a lot less use out of the Starbucks gift cards. Which is not to say she didn't appreciate them: she just doesn't drink coffee, and it seemed like a bit of an effort was necessary to get herself over to a Starbucks not knowing if they'd have anything she'd really like.
• At the same time, I'm all for supporting small & local businesses. A Target gift card will certainly get used, but a gift card to Zandbroz will be more memorable.
• Another gift-card based option is an online one. Etsy's got great stuff, and a lot of etsy shops offer gift cards. Check out these places I like to drool over: a Minnesota jewelry maker, a North Dakota girl, or this shop, from Oregon, that sells prints of animals in suits. Lots of unique,  beautiful gift suggestions just in those three spots. Order soon!
• As a teacher myself, once in awhile I do get gifts from students. Sometimes it's from an entire class (a Hello Kitty coffee maker!) or individuals (a giant tin of popcorn, a Coke and a small bag of Doritos; delicious holiday treats, food from an international student's homeland, WonderWoman socks). Because I teach college, I never expect a gift, but they are always very appreciated. In fact, I think I just listed every gift I've ever received from a student, in 12+years of teaching. So they're very rare, too.  Which means they're heartfelt. I think.
• Because I've mentioned it in the other categories, liquor. It might seem a little awkward to present your preschooler's teacher with a bottle of rum, but seriously, if you spent all your working hours surrounded by toddlers, wouldn't you want a drink?

Gift ideas for your favorite blogger, who has an inordinate fondness for sideshows and murder ballads: Truly, I don't need anything. I'm just honored you thought of me.

• I already have this, but I highly recommend it for people who can stomach creepy music and horrific lyrics. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Murder Ballads was a gift from my friend Dan, and I can't stop playing it, even though it's the most haunting set of songs I have ever heard.
• If you really want to give me a gift, do some of your holiday shopping through my link at the bottom of the page here. Anything you buy at Amazon by clicking through the link on my page gives me a tiny bit of money. Ever since I put the link up four years ago, I've been raking it in: just under $2 total to date. Amazon won't even let me have the money until it gets to $10. So if you plan to shop through Amazon anyway, why not help me reach my goal?

Gifts for your favorite blogger's partner, who has anxiety issues and cardiomyopathy: Um, yeah. I don't know what to get him. You can't really buy Xanax over the counter (yet), and he's the kind of guy who just buys himself what he wants. Don't you hate that? I mostly farm out the basics (socks, underwear) to our family...which leaves me having to think of something exciting. My ideas so far (Shaun, you should totally not read this part):

• Fancy salt-free potato chips. These actually exist. I don't pretend to understand them, but he really enjoys having junk food that won't hurt his heart immediately (as opposed to the long-term).
• A hilarious picture of V. This is sort of a go-to gift for me to him, because she makes him laugh, and he rarely takes pictures of her. I think he's got 4 frames already on his nightstand. Hm. Maybe I need to think of something else.
• A microwave-safe bowl just for him. We have lots of these, but he eats leftovers almost everyday, and some of our bowls get hot. Would this be a good gift? Or the kind of thing he'd lump in with the shop vac I got him for Father's Day that year? It's so hard to know.

When in doubt, ask for a gift list. Or get a book. Just wandering around a bookstore can often offer you all kinds of inspiration: they totally have books for everyone. Or the aforementioned liquor.

I know you can do it, Languishers! Think different, heartfelt, and lovely. Happy shopping.

What we do after Halloween

Because I'm a sucker for a good sale, I really believe everyone in my family ought to celebrate holidays 3-5 days late. (For proof of this long-standing belief of mine, see this post).  Halloween, for instance, can be had for a pittance on November 3 or 4th. And if you wait until November 8th, you can get cool stuff at 90% off.

 So on Shaun's actually birthday, this past Wednesday, he and I and V put together this cool graveyard, which we got at Target for 99 cents the day before. Above, Shaun's putting a gingerbread tree together. Below, I made a semblance of a skeleton out of frosting (it's harder than it looks on the box, people).

 Creative play+candy+both her parents=Happy V.

 See how scared he is? He's never worked this much with frosting before.

 It took three frosting packets, three gummy spiders, two sugar skulls, four sugar pumpkins, and a bunch of other sugar-based stuff to make this magic happen.

 Ah! Spider and bats in our tree!

Our finished cemetery. The stone on the right says "RIP" or some semblance therein. What we've learned, I think, is my life's work will not be in tombstone engraving. At least not in frosting.

It was the best 99 cents we've spent in years. Now if I can just get everyone excited about  November 9th all hallow's eve....

Yum. (a Shaun-free post)

1/2 cup pineapple juice: $.17

1/2 of a frozen pineapple from a fresh one I bought two weeks ago: $1.42

4 Tablespoons low-fat vanilla yogurt: $.32

3 frozen strawberries: $ .12

big shot of coconut cream: $.35

4 ice cubes: $.01?

 Two tall, spooky tumblers, Target Halloween clearance: $1.78

Crazy good spooky smoothies with V: Total: $4.09! (plus we can use the glasses again and again and again.) I would say "priceless," but that's overdone. Then again, stuffing my kid with fruit while making her think it's a huge treat is pretty priceless, I guess. Okay, you talked me into it.

Our smoothie obsession started here, in case you were wondering. My obsession for Target Halloween clearance started a long time before the internet was invented. So there you go.

Birthday Boy

I swear I'll stop posting about $haun's birthday after this. Seriously. But this picture merits some discussion.

1. Huge bunny. I hear this was from Uncle Bill, and that makes perfect sense for me. What are uncles for, if not large, ridiculous toys that your parents would never purchase for you?
2. Fantastic early-to-mid-'70s disposable tablecloth with creepy, creepy, creepy clowns. I wish they'd saved that for me.
3. How cute is Shaun G a n y o here? V is always a little surprised when she sees pictures of me or Shaun as kids; she can't believe we were ever little. Look at him! Aw....

I'm also finding it amusing to be married to a 40 year old man. Never mind that I'm 38 myself: 40 is old.

Thanks, gentle readers, for letting me indulge in a little Shaun-centric blogging this week. May we all still be here for Shaun's 80th.

Last night's party portrait: Skol, pop star!

At the Kjos-Njos Halloween Bash last night, V and I had our portrait taken by Robby, who's, like, a real photographer. (Uncle Shaun has a bad cold, and doesn't feel like dressing up when he's sick, so he stayed home).

As a Viking, I always hoped my daughter would grow up to also be a Viking. Since she aspires to be a popstar, I scowl even more than usual.

I made both of these costumes, completely, with the exception of V's microphone and my helmet, both of which we borrowed from my sister's family. I tell you this not to impress you, but to explain any sloppiness.

(And I know that historically, Vikings didn't really wear horned helmets. But it's the easiest way to identify oneself as a Viking today, so I went with it.)

I'll do a more detailed post on V's costume after tomorrow, when she presents the second version of her pop star self.  Stay tuned!

Ye Halloween Costumes of Old

You know, it's that time of year again: spookier things than usual show up in the neighbor's yard, my niece resumes her candy corn addiction, and our friend Carla plans a giant pumpkin carving party. As this week's public service Languishing article, I'd like to inspire (or disgust) you with costumes from my past. (In the interest of historical accuracy, these are not in chronological order. I know you folks are into details like that). Enjoy!

• An awesome inflatable head alien that my cousin Nathan had worn a few years earlier. This is the only costume I remember from when I was a kid. It was mid-October, and I didn’t have a costume yet, so I went over to my aunt Beverly’s house to see if she had any ideas. This goofy, inflatable alien head was my favorite in her costume box. It was made out of the same material as a beach ball, and as such wasn’t all that comfortable, but I loved that I had a head on top of my own head. I saw one kind of like this at the thrift store a few weeks ago, and I felt this tug of nostalgia for a plastic hat.

• Saloon Girl: in purple satin with black lace. This was the first major costume I sewed for myself, and I got to use a grommet maker for the corset part. I made the mistake of wearing it to work one year, and discovered it’s just a tad disconcerting to have college freshmen catcalling their English instructor.
• Medusa: I put my hair up and stuck little plastic snakes all over. It made me laugh, anyway, and made for one of my favorite blog post titles.
• Rosie the Riveter: my favorite of all. I found a denim shirt and a red bandana at the thrift store, and made my own backdrop out of yellow, white, and blue poster board. And put a monkey wrench in my pocket, AND I was happy to see you.

Jesus, Supergirl, & Rosie the Riveter walk into a Halloween party...

• Fortuneteller. The go-to easy last-minute costume, from upper elementary until today. A long skirt, a flowy shirt, some shiny earrings, and a Romanian accent, I can offend Gypsies near and far. I've actually been a variation of this costume twice in the last six years. But I wasn’t trying to offend anyone: I was a Fortune Teller. I even studied a little palm reading and tarot. I’m all about authenticity, you know.
• A separated conjoined twin: My friend Bayard and I, who looked nothing alike, except that we’re both white and we both had long brown hair, drew scars on each other’s sides, then pulled down our t-shirts and went out. This was a lovely costume, but it took too long to explain it to the bartenders who kept accusing us of not having costumes.  Later in the evening, when we got separated into different bars, it just got funnier. At least to me.

Consider yourselves inspired. Now I'm off to figure out what I'm doing this year....

Mask master

Just making two masks is never enough, of course, so I made some more. Then I stuck the kids on a swingset and made them model. The designs are my own, but inspired by lots of online images of animal masks, and by Aunt Shirley's suggestions on the original post.

 Emmy the owl, above, and Emmy the crooked bird, below.

 Will the cat. With a sucker in his mouth. (Yes, the cat is inspired by Peter Criss).

 Will as a burgundy owl.

 Emmy Frankenstein:

 Emmy in action as the cat:

And Will the Triceratops. This was his favorite mask, but it is by far the least ... wearable? Correct? Right? It's just all kittywumpus, but I like it in theory, and the boy likes it in practice.

 A fox mask that I'm particularly proud of.





And the girls, finally, in a cardinal mask and a carnival mask. With suckers.

So we're set for Halloween and then some. Now how do we narrow down the choices?



Rejects from the Annual Christmas Card Photo Shoot

I know that you, like so many Languishing devotees, look forward to our family's holiday card for months every year. And I don't blame you. In fact, here's a little teaser of what might show up if you're a good boy or girl.

Unlike healthy, well-rounded families, we don't actually have an annual Christmas Card Photo Shoot. We just toss the camera to an unsuspecting family member once a year or so and demand they take our picture while Shaun makes faces and rude gestures and the rest of us try to play along.

Above: Shaun in the early stages of making a rude gesture.

 This one coulda been a contender, if it weren't for that pesky, adorable niece. She fits right in, though, doesn't she?

Shaun and Rocket have quite an affinity for one another, but this doesn't really include either V or myself. I'm just enough of a traditionalist to say a holiday photo should include at least 50% of any given family.

That's all I can show you for now. Perhaps I've already revealed too much. Maybe this year we'll go to Wal-Mart and choose a special winter wonderland background for all of us. Maybe.

What constitutes a good holiday photo, in your world?

Birthday Post 2011!

Despite V's insistence for the last year that she definitely, certainly, surely wanted a Star Wars birthday this year, two weeks ago she switched her vote to Phineas and Ferb. I was not going to allow this, until Shaun pointed out it is not MY birthday. Phineas and Ferb Birthday, here we come.

There was a jumpy thing (Thanks Jenn B!). And a wagon full of presents.

 The clothesline, which is practical and beloved in everyday life here, but not very pretty, was transformed into Dr. Doofenschmirtz's Mazinator of Doom with a dozen sheets, strategically placed.

 There were platypus bills and Secret Agent hats. Here's Shaun modeling with V's good friend Parker.

 We played "Pin the Heart on Candace," because she's always mooning over her beau, and Candace is V's favorite. Here's me, spinning dear Tilda, who's grown up so much from last year.

 And here's Dana, with whom I graduated 20 years ago, and who was in Texas last year but this year could bring her beautiful daughters right over the river to see us.

 Candace with all her hearts:

The theme song includes the line "Giving a monkey a shower!" so we did. (I drew that monkey! Freehand! Looking at a picture from the show, but still...)

The water balloons were a huge hit, not the least of which because some of them would not break, so the kids got to pick them up and throw them again and again, and even stomp on a couple. They played until the monkey fell down, and the balloons were all popped. Whee!

 Emmy got bored, so she went in the house to find something to play with. She was the only one, though, I think, so I call that a success.

WD, post waterballoons.

I bought these plastic fedoras at Loopy's Dollar Store, because they are the exact color of Perry the Platypus himself, and the exact shape of his fedora, and I like the idea of alternate party hats. We put out pipe cleaners and straws and ribbon and stickers and a hole punch and scissors for decorating, and the kids did cool stuff.

Here's Oscar's hat, as decorated for his little sister.

We also played "where's Perry?" with little Perries strategically placed all around the backyard. I think there are still a few in the trees yet.  And there was food, of course! Good food that we couldn't take the time to photograph because the wasps swarmed immediately after we brought it out. But we had tacos in a bag (the best. food. invention.ever) and the accompanying cheesey goodness, grapes, olives, and curly cheesey poufs. We also had cupcakes: strawberry and spice, both with pink frostings. (I am forever indebted to my sister for bringing the food back in before the wasps carried us all away).

It was really a lovely party, I think, because afterward I took a desperately needed three hour nap.  Most importanly, V said she had fun, and I hope she will remember it fondly. And hopefully next year we can just go to a movie or something.