Our Magician

Bud has entered his magic phase.  Always latent, it blossomed into a full phase right before and then because of the Big Apple Circus.  It consists mainly of card tricks, though now he's also making coins move around.  He has a few books, follows some sites like ellusionist, and trades tricks with his friends at school; they do card tricks during indoor recess.  He even makes up some of his own.   And while I might be able to figure out some of his tricks either because I know them or the deception is not completely hidden, there have been a few card ones that absolutely stump me.  (We're teaching him not to show us again and again, which would give us a chance to figure it out.)  And he'll get smoother with his sleights of hand.  What he absolutely has down is the magician's showy, distracting banter.  "Pick a card, any card.  See I have nothing in my hand.  Now, I haven't touched the deck since you cut it.  I couldn't have done a thing . . . ."  And he just looks in your eye and smiles and moves his hands around.  And even if I know the trick, I fall for the show every time.

Poker Faces

"I know Sis has a good poker face," I said last night over dinner, in reference to something I've forgotten.  They know the song by Lady Gaga but didn't really know what the reference was.  Soon Mama and I were explaining deal, ante-up, bet, hold, raise, fold, call, bluff, tell, and poker face.  And mind you, I probably haven't played poker since I was Sis's age.

Before you know it, we had found a full deck of cards and distributed some M&Ms in place of money or chips.  And a kids' book of games which laid out all the hands and how they compared.  Then Mama pulled up some country music on the player and, of course, we listened to Kenny Rogers's "Gambler."

We played for 45 minutes or so, practicing our bluffing and figuring out all the hands.  We mostly had pairs.  But once, Mama dealt me, right off the bat, a straight.  And I won lots of M&Ms. That hand.  Bud enjoyed bluffing, every hand.  At the end, I shared my candy with him.  Sure, we didn't know exactly who starts the betting or how many times you raise.  But we knew when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.  No need to walk away.

And it's hard to not count your M&Ms when you're sitting at the table, even though there'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done.

Valentines Redux

I'm trying to avoid Valentine's mania here again this year, trying not to go overboard with the cards for the kids' class. In fact, I'd been pretty certain that I'd take them to the store and let them choose a box o'cards to sign and pass out, maybe include some playdough or stickers. But Sis beat me to the punch: she wanted to make cards again. And so today, she begged me to pull down all the pink and red and heart-shaped art supplies I could locate so she could get started on the approximately 18 valentines she'll need for school. Bud gamely played along and happily punched and stickered and markered a pile of hearts (because this year, instead of folding cards, I have just cut out a bunch of different colored hearts for them to decorate). Sis decided to paint hers and completed just a few before deciding she wanted a snack. But the ones she made are lovely. I'll want to keep them all for myself! But apparently there will also be valentines for me, Mama, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and Babysitter, too. And her stuffed bunny Amy.

We'll see if we get the full 18, plus extras. But I'm proud of her for wanting to make them. Maybe a bit . . . what's the word? . . . . justified (avenged? relieved? what is the word?) for the commotion I caused last year by having them spend days and days making cards, faking a few myself there at the end when we came up short. Apparently, it wasn't such a bad idea after all (well, faking it was a low point).

Though, it's good to start three weeks early, too! That's only one card a day most days! And if we get tired, there will still be boxes of cards and candy at the stores, I'm sure.