Martha Stewart Days, Jedi training, drums

Happy Valentine's Day. Raaaargh!

Didn't get a chance to post around Valentine's Day, when we got all DIY. But here's a photo of Dan's shoebox Valentine's Day mailbox (you remember those, right?). They were supposed to make them at home and bring them to school. The only rule was no violence. And of course we made the Valentine's cards as well--little foam hearts with glowstick arrows. Okay, honestly? RT and I did most of the work. I'm sure Dan would have been happy to slap a couple of stickers on the box and buy and distribute a chintzy little $3.00 pack of Valentines from Walgreens. But I wanted to do the project and Dan let me. I own that--it's all about me and my need to make stuff from scratch. But hey, it was fun family time.

Sith Lord Darth Dan vs. Emily
Each pair in the class choreographed a routine--and each time, it was the Sith who won.

Then I made Dan a Jedi robe. First time I've ever used the sewing machine that RT got me for my birthday eight years ago. But what a great way to break it in. I measured Dan, drew the pattern on taped-together pieces of tissue paper (the packing kind, not Kleenex), had him help me design the neck fastener, the whole nine yards. My intent is to make one for Johnny before he grows into Dan's.

Dan wore the robe this week to his final "LED Lightsaber Combat" class--essentially a stage combat class that he's taking through Parks and Rec. The teacher is a fencing/martial arts guy as well as (I assume) a Star Wars fan--he's built tons of awesome LED lightsabers and a couple of blasters as well.We've hired him to do Dan's birthday party in a few weeks, so stay tuned for news and photos.



Oh, yeah. One final thing. I caved and we bought Dan a full drum set on craigslist. $200 for the entire thing, which is a bargain even I couldn't pass up. It's not a quality set--billed as "great for beginning drummers", and already dented, and the cymbals, according to reviews online, are awful. But everything works and it makes tons of noise--what more could a 7-year-old rock star wannabe want?