weekly contest - baby's got talent

i think the last one is my favorite...

i hope my kid comes out dancin too.
hold the chubby cheeks.

no, keep em.

long-winded movie review times two - cartoons!

my team says i am "wholesome"
and that may or may not be cause cc and i spend our weekends
watching charming animated films, baking our own wedding cakes,
and meeting friends at the malt shop (well, frozen yogurt)

a few weeks ago, we went to see Alice in 3D as a matinee on a Saturday.
apparently you can't see Alice in 3D as a matinee on a Saturday.

so, the stubborn 3D movie-goers that we are,
we decided to go to this:

how to train your dragon
(in 3D)

and, i have to say,
we were incredibly surprised.

i was very entertained by the 3D,
the animation was pretty great,
and i thought i would hate the viking and dragon stuff,
but alas,
i loved every minute.

it is bright and colorful, and just funny most of the time.
we left smiling, glad to have paid the few dollars for the entertainment.

side note:

my feelings on men getting married:
pretty much so they can see all of the girly movies they always wanted to see before,
but would look sort of "off" if they went without the girlfriend/wife that "made" them go...

feelings on why parents have kids:
pretty much so they can go to all of the kid flicks that they want to see
and blame it on the kids that really wanted to go...

just my thoughts...

well, we also recently saw
this movie:

the princess and the frog
(old school animation)

now, i know what you thought when you saw this preview,
i did too:

"what? old school animation?"
"Wow, Disney is a little late trying to get a black princess in the mix!"

cause i do believe both were purposefully chosen.
and i do think the animation was the only way to really say there is a black princess in the mix.
and she deserves to be there for many reasons.

however,
this throw back to classic animation days
and musical cartoons like the good ol' days...

makes me smile the whole way through.

maybe it is anika noni rose, who just wails
(one of the Dreamgirls, and played Nala in Lion King)

maybe it is that the music is catchy that i sing in the car,
maybe it is that i love the story shift from older princess movies...

this princess works her tail off to be one!

and i could never imagine another place to set the story of
princess and the frog.

it was meant to be in the bayou of the South
and with all the funk of jazzy beats and color that come with it.

like it or not,
i will probably have to own both of these flicks.

why?
uh, cause my kids.
yeah, they need them...

week in review:

g-ma had a birthday...
she's like 62!

then we played with these cuties all week because they were temporarily orphaned...

(k. this one wasn't, but we played anyway...)
no, baby mac, you are not a thug.

family dinner...

i told her you could hear the ocean in it...
not true.

future ref: bubbles = tears

what the? yeah, that's just arizona for ya...

cc took me to a brazilian place in honor of getting the job.
it was absolutely fantastic!
could give tucanos a run for its money!

(the green means "keep bringing me more grilled meat and pineapple because my skin has a few more inches of stretching capacity")

the dessert that they bring out on wheels and serve right there...

cc: holy cow, this stuff is from heaven.
mm: no dear. that would be hell. it is a satan creation:
naughty.

the classic: "someone-else-took-this-so-that's-why-we-both-look-stoned" picture.
or, maybe we just ate WAY too much...

what i found with my lunch yesterday:
and yes, you may read into it.
i always do.

my indian friend, usha, that i train with said,
"jew should dake a bicture of dat and sen it to chris."
ha!

new calling in life:

7-8yr-olds.

today as i was getting to know my new crew, amid the crazy name game,
i would ask them a question that they all answered so i could get to know them...

one was simply:
what would be your all-time favoritist candy in the whole wide world?

ryan (cute little girl): milk duds... and sweettarts
nathan: m&ms. plain.
hunter: me too.
me: you too, what?
hunter: plain m&ms. i like em, but they aren't my favorite.
me: what IS your favorite:
hunter: can you give me a minute?

me: k, kyler, what would your all-time favorite candy in the whole wide world be?
kyler: [dead-pan face] i don't like candy.
me: any candy? like nothing at all? hmm.... what would be your favorite food?
kyler: dunno.
me: so say, its your birthday and mom could make anything... what would it be?
kyler: nothing. i would ask for $20.
me: ok, what would you do with the $20, then?
kyler: invest it...... in microsoft..... that's what i do.

what is wrong with the world?

the M family - 1st attempt...

mission: to catch kennabug mid-smile
(while also sitting next to smiling parents...)

results:

close, but not quite...
might need one more outing to suffice...

goal for next time:
get bug to sit still without holding keys and/or phone.
oh, and to smile.

[happy tuesday!]

ps: thanks alisse for the tip on the location...
i guess it is a popular spot out here
and i will be returning there oft i fear...
(gay, that totally rhymed)

she's only one...

and already having second thoughts about being here...

kennabug, its a rough life, the one you live...


"hey guys... i am a little concerned with something..."

"i think someone should call PETA..."

good birthdays have lots of little friends...

"seriously... are we doing this now.... that's a lot of candles for a wittle me..."

"hey guys... does this have high volumes of high fructose corn syrup...?
cause i am not allowed to have this...."

but she figured it out...

and then got drunk on life...

then hailed the gods who made this fine food...

and when she wasn't looking....

she got robbed!

its ok kenna... some of us aren't that excited about getting older either...

thanks for letting us come to the party though- much fun!

see what i mean?

i got an email from one of my students that just said,
"hi ms. moffat, we miss you at duke."
(when she replied, she let me know that the boys did their
"ms. moffat" dance for everyone at the christmas party... awesome.)

a friend of mine who teaches at the school IMed me this morning
and said that in response to:
"who would you choose for Time's person of the year 2008?"
a student put me... even funnier....

i think it is because they love that i am part black...
as evidenced here:

(note: I am new to this editing program...
there is one profane word that i tried to cover...
get over it. $--- happens, right?)

what my kids are saying...

[after shaking it down for a minute] "damn, ms moffat. yous like white chocolate!"

[student raises hand mid-sentence on some topic about medieval history]
"can i just say something? you look like a mom."

"i'm serious, ms moffat, your downward dog is fierce... we talk about it all the time"

"when do you leave duke?"
"well i guess it is a month from today..."
"NOOOOOOOOO! what if we all wrote letters to [the principal] to give you a job here?"
"um yeah, that'll do it. get right on that..."

awesome.

what do you watch at YOUR staff meetings...

this may be one of the most inspirational
speeches you've ever seen...





maybe i cried in duke ellington's theatre
watching this.

a 10-year-old had to remind me
why i do what i do... awesome.

a few of my favorite things...

being an aunt to these irresistible things...

with these tdf smiles...


and this persistence...


and little tongues


and these cute beach bums...

and the sandy faces...


if anybody needs me, i'll be here:

(wishing i didn't look as tubbo as that picture might imply)

more pictures are posted if you want to check em out