Super Star Polar Bears

It's been a big week in the Lag Liv house! First, I found a matching holiday princess nightgown for Claire and nothing in Cora's life has ever been so exciting.

And even bigger news- a multi-week mystery has been solved! Cora compliments our clothes every day, "Oh mom, I love your dress!" or "Daddy, you look so nice!" But periodically over the last few weeks she has intermittently and cheerfully told James and me "I like your polar bear!" And since we haven't been in possession of any polar bears we've just thanked her and moved on. But finally, yesterday, James figured it out. Polar Bear = Pullover. Isn't that just the best? If you're lucky enough to be wearing a pullover right now, do you not feel happier knowing a 3-year-old wearing a princess dress likes your polar bear? We are never correcting that. Compliment a polar bear today.

In other big events this week, Claire was able to perform in the talent show! She stayed home from school all day, was diagnosed with a cold after she and James spent 2 hours at the pediatrician, and took a 3 hour nap. When I got home from work she said she really wanted to perform and her temperature was normal, so I spackled on a little under-eye concealer, added a dash of blush, and some tinted chapstick and she looked almost like herself!

She had a moment of stage fright before the program began, suddenly telling me, "well maybe I don't feel so good..." But after we talked about it, she concluded that actually she felt okay, she was just a little nervous. and then I reminded her she'd already performed for the whole school on Friday and an auditorium of parents was actually going to be a much smaller audience and we were all just so excited to see our kids perform. She decided the show could go on after that.

And go on it did!

When she got to the talent show try-outs, she found out another little girl was going to sing her same song, so the teacher-coordinator suggested they perform together. It turns out, her new partner was actually in Landon's class and I was friends with her mom so it worked out perfectly! And Sofie certainly knew her way around a microphone!

They did so great and I loved the display of confidence and girl power up on the stage.

(And Claire woke up on Tuesday fever-free and ready to conquer the day, so unlike the Spelling Bee, the talent show does not cause Mycoplasma.)

And now, Landon! After getting 2nd in the Science Fair and Final Six in the Spelling Bee, this week he was up for Battle of the Books!

BOB is an awesome competition that began in our district last year. It starts in the 3rd grade and all the students read the same 7 award-winning books, take the standard AR tests, and then the students in each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade class with the highest composite scores on the tests become that class's team. Each team has a captain - Landon was his - and selects a name.

Each grade competes separately, so we were there for the 3rd grade round. The moderator read a question about one of the books out loud - something about the plot, main theme, etc. (i.e., "in which book did the main character learn that humor can make tough times easier?") - and then the students have 10 seconds to confer among themselves until the bell dings and then the captain must hold up the placard with the name of the book as their answer.

It was SO fun. None of the teams can see each other, so while the answer was announced after each question, they had no idea what they other teams had answered or where they stood. At the end of Round 1, Landon's team was tied for first with his best friend's team! So just those two teams went on to Round 2. After about a dozen more questions, they were still tied, so we went on to a sudden-death Round 3. The first team to get a question wrong was out and the one with the right answer was the winner who would go on to Districts at TCU in May to compete with another 30+ schools!

It was so tense! Of course James and I hadn't read any of the books (or even knew the names; Landon handles these things on his own) so unlike the spelling bee, we never knew if they were right until the answer was announced. Finally, after maybe another 12 rounds, the other team held up one book name and Landon, after fleetingly picking up the same name, shook his head and grabbed another placard just as the bell ding'd. James and I were gripping each other's arm- what if he'd vetoed his team to the wrong choice! The other team looked so confident.

But they won!! It was so exciting. All of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes were in the auditorium watching and I just LOVE when reading (like spelling) gets to be the COOLEST for just a little while.

As a reward for winning they got little trophies and a new list of 9 longer, harder books to read by May! We can't wait. What a fun competition.

On the grown-up side of things, James closed the swim school for the week (and until January 9th), so it is delightful to have him home before 7 p.m. He's getting the kids from school, so we had Tara come at 5 yesterday so he could meet me downtown and we could pretend to be two crazy kids heading to a happy hour after work, something we've never been since I started my legal career with a 1-year-old. We tried out a new restaurant with a great happy hour menu and it was so fun! Three margaritas, barbacoa nachos, chicken sopes, a salsa trio, and taco platter for less than $50? Yes please!

And then we were all done with our bill paid by 6:30 and had no idea what to do with ourselves. So we went home and watched Home Alone 2 with the kids. It was kind of a perfect night.

Also perfect? These leggings I accidentally purchased when I went to yoga yesterday. I did revolved dancer and sugar cane for the first time and felt the occasion should be commemorated, but mostly, I'm just weak for plaid. Expect to see them in future Christmas pictures.

I hope you are all enjoying a fun, festive, and plaid-filled few days leading to Christmas, and if you're not, that you make the mulled wine recipe I linked to Sunday, and can give yourself a little time to sip it in a quiet place. Like your bathroom or parked car in the driveway. Yetis were made for this.

Or be like Cora and grab a karaoke purse that sings your favorite Frozen song (and ONLY your favorite Frozen song) and a spot on the couch. Wear your favorite princess nightdress and sing your favorite song over and over and over again like an old man at a bar, yelling at anyone who tries to join you. Whatever you need to recharge.

Happy Holidays everyone!