Our Cat's First CD Release

We're all about themed birthday parties in our family. So far birthdays in our house are a family affair, I'm sure the day will come when they ask to invite friends, but right now we usually have a special family dinner. Over the years we've celebrated with mermaids, rainbows, dinosaurs, fairies and Candy Land, but this year my daughter requested a cat cake. Since I usually tie the party to the cake request, her party will be all about cats.

My daughter loves our cat, Sushi. So I thought she might appreciate a present from her favorite feline. The cat and I spoke and decided that an album full of cat songs would be purr-fect. But it was really important to Sushi that it to look like a real CD. Sushi tried to he helpful, but her claws just kept getting in the way, so I actually made the CD by myself. It took some time, but I think the result was well worth it. (And Sushi approves.)

I began by measuring the artwork on the front of a CD. (4.75 inches by 4.75 inches.) Using photoshop, I created an image twice that size. (In my first attempt I made it the exact size I wanted but it was pixelated when I printed it. Making my image larger solved that problem.) I edited out the background of a photo of the cat, added a colored background, added the text and I was done. After getting Sushi's O.K., it was just a matter of inserting the image into Word, sizing it to 4.75 X 4.75, printing it out on card stock and trimming the edges.

The back was a little more complicated. For my first attempt I didn't measure - I just assumed it should be the same size as the front. Not a good idea. The back of a CD case is larger than the front so I had to go back and redo it. The back artwork (which goes inside the case) is 5.875 inches wide by 4.75 inches tall. The hardest part was making sure the titles for the ends of the CD were placed so they would show up when they were folded and inserted into the case. I just winged that part. I placed them where I thought they would work and then printed a tester. Then I just adjusted the placement until I was pleased, and printed my final copy on the card stock.

We already had a few cat songs in our music library, but it would have been a very short CD. An hour or two on iTunes and Sushi and I finalized the play list:

A Cat Had a Birthday - Kingston Livingston & The Party Animals
The Siamese Cat Song - Peggy Lee & Friends
Cat and the Fiddle - Heather Alexander
Alley Cat - Sherwood
The Cat Came Back - Laurie Berkner
The Cat in the Window - The Turtles
Felix the Cat - TV Theme Players
I've Got a Dog & My Dog's Name is Cat - Barry Louis Polisar
Smelly Cat Medley - Phoebe Buffay & Friends
The In and Out Song - Garrison Keillor & Friends
Smiley Cat - Parry Gripp
What's New Pussycat - Tom Jones
My Cat Can Fly - Joe McDermott
The Cat's Meow - Barbi

An odd collection I know, but Sushi wanted her first CD needed to reflect her wide musical palate. We went back and forth about including Cat Scratch Fever, Cat in the Cradle, and The Stray Cat Strut, but in the end Sushi thought my daughter would enjoy the other tunes more. Besides, Sushi assures me she's already working on her second album...

Like Butter

My mom knit this sweater for my son more than two years ago. It finally fits and he loves it! I tell you it is the softest sweater ever. So soft! It looks like yarn, but it feels like it was knit from strips of fleece - I tell you it's like butta!

You should have seen his face when he discovered the pouch pocket in the front. He got this big grin and started stuffing in the treasures. I love how the pouch is hidden; it doesn't pop right out at you. I also love how it was actually warm enough on Mackinac Island yesterday to be outside in just a sweater. He was out for much of the afternoon and didn't complain about being cold. Perhaps spring really is here.

Thanks Mom.
He loves it.

I can't wait to see what's next...

(Yes, I suppose that was a hint. Wink wink.)

Homemade Hallway Theater

We had so much fun this past weekend with our new theater. The kids had a blast putting on "shows." (Which brought up great memories of my friends and I putting on shows for our parents all those eons ago.)

First up was The Tick Tock Crock, starring Crocky the crocodile in his acting debut.

Next, I was treated to The Jammy Show, starring my daughter and every pair of clean pajamas she could find.

The final performance was an untitled work in progress about a snake, a wizard-princess, and a pajama-wearing kitten. (I gave it a standing ovation.) In this show my son wanted to change the way the curtains looked, so he decided to tape them to the wall. I kind of like the effect.

Putting the theater together was easy - I just strolled through the home area at Meijer. Armed with the width of my hallway (46 inches) I knew which of the three shower curtain tension rods to purchase and which curtains to buy. Sure I could have made all the fabric pieces myself, but I couldn't have bought the fabric for the price of the finished curtains. (Not to mention the value of my time!) If I had been willing to compromise on the color, I could have gotten curtains on clearance for $4.00 each. But I had to have red curtains; there's just something about them that made it look more like a real theater to me. Crazy, I know.

The back panel is slightly wider than the hallway - 54 inches if I remember correctly, but it works perfectly. Each red curtain is 42 inches wide - wide enough to still be gathered when they are closed. Before I bought them, I used the hanging samples in the store to make sure the rod pockets were large enough to hold a shower curtain rod. It was close, so I just used the bottom hem as the pocket. It was quite big, and it's loose enough for the kids to open and close them on their own. Looking back, I probably didn't need the big rods - smaller rods would have fit the bill just fine - probably would have been less expensive too. Oh well, live and learn.

All the costumes, A.K.A. our dress-up clothes, get stashed behind the back curtain - ready and waiting for the numerous costume changes involved in a good show. Perhaps sometime in the near future we'll have more scenic backdrops and a sign, but this will do for now.

I also could have done this cheaper by buying shorter curtains. I wanted the 84 inch long panels so my husband and I could open the curtains and walk through. That way the theater can stay up for several days at a time and my husband and I don't have to bend over every time we want to walk down that hallway.

What do you think? Should I save you a seat for tomorrow night's show?

Cousins

We spent the beginning of our spring break at the Potawatomi Inn in Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana. If you haven't been there, it's well worth the visit.*

There are miles of wooded trails through the park. Luckily Grandma came prepared; she brought each of the five grandchildren a new pair of hiking boots. After our mornings of geocaching, they were well used.

As we walked through the park one morning, it was clear someone had beaten us out that day. We weren't sure who or what those prints belonged to,

but we didn't have to wait long to find out.

The kids loved exploring the woods,

the nature center,

and the other areas of the park. My daughter, the little fish, enjoyed the pool the most, but I never seemed to have my camera out while we were swimming. Imagine that. We also did a little early birthday celebration for a little girl who will be turning five soon. Where did those years go?

S and K only get to see their cousins a few times a year. I'm so thankful that all five of them (5th grade, 4th grade, kindergarten and two in pre-school) get along so well and genuinely look forward to the time they spend together. I know it may not last forever, especially as we delve into the teenage years, but that's OK. They'll have years of memories to sustain them until they leave the hormones behind and return to sanity in their early twenties. Hopefully the bond they shared as children will still be there - waiting to be rekindled...

* If you do stay at the Potawatomi Inn, I suggest avoiding the main dining room. The service was just plain awful every time we sat down to a meal. There are many restaurants six or seven miles away; save yourself the frustration and just eat out. To be fair however, in every other regard, I do highly recommend the Inn.

Spring is Here

Today was the day - the First Day of Boats 2011! That means it is officially spring on Mackinac Island. As usual for this time of the year, it was an icy trip across the Straits.

Lots of people went outside to watch the boat break through the thick ice in the St. Ignace harbor. Some of the ice was still more than a foot thick.

After seeing the boat out yesterday afternoon working on breaking a path through the ice, we had an inkling that they might start today.

It was a perfect day to come home from spring break: beautiful sunshine, calm waters and a running ferry. Not even the mile and a half walk home could dampen my spirits. The kids, use to riding snowmobiles all winter, have been balking at all the walking lately. Today all it took was a reminder that once the dray delivered our groceries to the house, the Doritos would be there and they could have a special snack. (I only buy Doritos about three times a year, so they are a really special snack in our house.) Surprisingly, there were no more complaints...

Isolation

Yesterday was the rare kind of day that makes
Mackinac Island feel isolated.

No ice.
No boats.
No planes.

Just fog
and quiet.

The mainland might as well
be a million miles away...

I Wonder...

The other day while my daughter and I were walking to school, she suddenly stopped mid-sentence and asked, "I wonder what those pretend ducks are doing?"

"Pretend ducks?" was my reply because I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"Those pretend ducks, Mama. Up there." She pointed to the electric lines running above the road. "What are they doing up there?"

I just love how she asks questions about everything. It pains me when I hear parents say things like, "Stop asking so many questions," or answer, "It just IS," in response to, "Why?" (even when it is the fifth "why" in the last three minutes.) Good thinkers wonder about the world, and so often we - unintentionally in our busy adult lives - squash that sense of wonder in our little ones. I want to do everything I can to encourage that sense of wonder in my children. I won't always know the answer, but that's O.K.

My daughter now knows that those shapes are there to keep the wires from touching because that would be very dangerous, but she still calls them the pretend ducks. Who am I to argue - they really do have a very ducky shape. Of course, being the complete and total geek that I am, I had to know what they're really called. So I phoned a friend of ours who works for the island electric company. He tells me they're called "spacers," but somehow I like "pretend ducks" better...

Winter Festival

Somehow I missed posting about Mackinac Island's Winter Festival this year. So, while this is sadly a month late, here are some of the weekend's highlights. We spent our time:

bowling with frozen poultry,

getting our faces painted,

hunting for eggs,

voting for calendar photos,

bidding,

sledding,


fishing for prizes,

lunching,

munching,

and brunching.

Such a fun weekend.

Thanks MIRD; you guys rock!

(MIRD stands for Mackinac Island Recreational Development.
They're the group that organizes the Winter Festival.)

Saying Goodbye

Mackinac Island remembered the life of Bobby Roach this past Saturday night. My husband and I didn't make it to the street hockey game or the memorial ride around the island, but we did manage to stop by the bonfire to pay our respects. I didn't know Bobby well, but after listening to numerous "Roach Stories" at the fire, it's clear that he will be sorely missed by those who did...

Homemade Fossils

Ready for some dinorific fun?

Let's make sure we have everything we need:

Books to read?

Check!

Sample fossils to explore?

Check!

A dinosaur snack?

Check!

Pages to color if there's extra time?

Check!

Rock dough?

Check!


Shells and model dinosaurs to use for impressions?

Check!

Who knew learning about fossils could be so much fun!

Fossil Dough Recipe

1 cup used coffee grounds (they don't have to be dry)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup cold coffee

Stir the together the coffee grounds, flour, and salt until they are well mixed. Then pour in the coffee a little at a time and mix until you have a soft dough. (You may not use all the coffee.) Work the dough on wax paper, freezer paper, etc. and then allow to dry for a day or two. We used sea shells, leaves, and model dinosaurs to create examples of impression fossils.

I actually made a double batch of the dough; one following the recipe above and a second batch where I used instant coffee instead of used coffee grounds. It yielded a much darker brown and smoother dough. When I kneaded the two together I got some very interesting patterns ; to me it looked more rock-like than just the plain dough. Not that the kids really cared, they just had a lot of fun playing around with science. I did too...

More Costumes

I decided to dress as a Roman woman for dress-up day. Except for the blue ribbon, I had everything on hand. Luckily the pattern pieces (McCall's 2895) fit between the holes on the old sheet! (I knew it would come in handy.) I was also glad that I remembered I had leftovers from my daughter's 2009 Halloween costume that worked perfectly for the shoulder drape.

I can't wait to see what creative things my students come up with...

Background Roman ruins image can be found here.

Future Pharaoh

Wednesday is Ancient Times Dress-up Day at school. Of course, given our family connection to Egypt, my son decided he wanted to dress as a pharaoh. (Sorry about the pixelated face, but I don't put the faces of my children on-line.) All I needed was a little help from mom (who purchased the supplies and shipped them to me), Simplicity pattern 2329, and about four hours of sewing time. Stitching the lining in the curved neck of the outfit was quite a challenge, but a good learning experience. I opted to leave off the cuffs and cape included in the pattern for a more masculine look. Men in ancient Egypt didn't usually wear shirts, but I couldn't see how I could send him to school that way - especially this time of year. I brought the headpiece home after my visit to the Pharaonic Village (in Cairo) back in 2009.

As you can see, my photo editing skills are getting better. I had a lot of fun editing myself out of that pyramid photo and then pasting my son in; so much better than my earlier attempts.

I just love dress-up days...

Captain Caveman

Is this a fabulous caveman costume or what! I have to tell you I was simply in awe of some of the super creative costumes I saw at school today. Every year as part of our March is Reading Month celebration at the Mackinac Island Public School we have dress-up days; today was Caveman Day. (Sexist, I know but little ones just wouldn't get "Homo Habilis Day.")

Our theme this year is Time Out for Reading, so all of our activities will revolve around reading and time: timed tasks, time periods, telling time, times tables, etc. The kids are all looking forward to our weekly Minute to Win it! games. I've never seen the show, but it sounds like a hoot.

My son's costume wasn't nearly as creative as the first one, but S loved wearing his "saber tooth tiger skin." He takes after his mother so being able to dress-up made him happy despite the fact that I wouldn't let him paint our baseball bat brown and bring it to school with him.

I was pretty proud of that little tunic. It may not have taken top honors for creativity, but I did whip it up without a pattern. I was inspired by the tiger strip material; when I saw it in Joann's, I knew it had to come home with me. They had a giraffe and zebra print too, but the tiger just spoke to me. In fact, I was humming The Flintstones theme song as I stood in line at the cutting counter.

I did have a pattern for my outfit (McCall's 2895.) It went together quickly, though I discovered that it runs a bit big. I had planned on wearing it over pants and a shirt, but even over clothing I had lots of room. I think I'm going to use the same pattern for next week's costume for Ancient Times Day, though I'll make it one size smaller. I've already dug out an old white sheet that will be prefect.

(Student photo above used with permission.)