Wednesdays with Wild Thing

My life has been ridiculously busy and hectic lately and I have fallen WAY behind in keeping you up to date in this blog. I almost don't know where to start...hmmmmm...well, the first thing that comes to mind is my Wednesdays with Wild Thing.

Viliamu is 6 years old now and just about to finish kindergarten. At the beginning of May it became my job to pick him up from school on Wednesdays. I was eager to take this job on - spending some quality time 1-1 with my favorite 6 year old? Wonderful! We have been having a great time. '

Our schedule goes something like this...I pick him up from school at 11:40. (It's really something to be at an elementary school again with all those kids!) After school he is usually ravenously hungry so we go get something to eat. His favorite spot is a restaurant just down the hill from the school called Clementine's. Everyone there knows him by name and they don't even bring him a menu because they know what he wants! The rule is that he has to eat a salad BEFORE he gets his grilled cheese sandwich and fries. After lunch we might go to the park - there is a lovely little park close by that is perfect for riding his scooter and burning off a little energy!

could this kid be any cooler?!

look at the view - it's a beautiful park

Depending on what's showing, we might then go to a movie. So far on our Wednesdays, we have seen Oz the Great and Powerful, The Croods and this week we went to see Epic. By Wild Thing's standards, the movie this week was NOT so epic. I was looking forward to this movie because it is based on a book by one of my favorite children's authors William Joyce. I've told you about several of his other books here. The book is called The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs (1996). It's another one of Mr. Joyce's sweet stories filled with his beautiful illustrations.

the book

the movie

Somehow, when it came time to translate this book into an animated movie, it became Epic. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I have become spoiled by Pixar animation and this Blue Sky production just doesn't compete with the likes of the Toy Story movies and Monsters, Inc. for me. It wasn't terrible by any means, it just wasn't as good. The movie did not pass the Wild Thing test because 3/4 of the way through it, Viliamu leaned over to me and asked if the movie was almost over! That's the kiss of death for us! Mind you, this is a kid that loves super heroes and video games, but he is only 6 years old! So, I do recommend this movie for preschoolers although the villains in it are a little scary.

Finally, I want to share a quick story. Last week, Viliamu and I were killing time after seeing another movie (The Croods - not good by the way) and we had decided to write and draw our own comic book. He would be the super hero - Fire Ninja with a sidekick named Blue Flash. He was so  excited and really worked on the illustrations while I worked on the title page. At one point he says to me, "Yawa (that's what he has called me since he was a baby), I don't know what I'd do without you!" I was stunned into silence for a minute. "Really, Baby?" I asked while trying to nonchalantly swallow the lump in my throat. "Yeah," he sighed. "I just don't know what I'd do."

Boy, does this kid have my number!