Ponyo Noodles

The new favorite "show" in our house is not actually a show at all, but a movie that we happened upon as we searched through our Netflix recommendations. That trusty list has brought us "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Bones" and "Psych" and now, "Ponyo". An oddly named movie with a curious image and an all-star cast, "Ponyo" kept floating to the top of that list which has, to this point, only produced wonderful things (see list above). I have come to trust the Netflix recommended list blindly, it hasn't failed me yet.

So we start watching Ponyo one afternoon and instantly Hen is hooked. He's gotten to the age where he can follow a plot line well enough to stick with a movie for the full eighty minutes or so. I remember a year ago being asked "What is Henry's favorite movie?? Cars? Toy Story? Monsters Inc.?"  At  the time I was so surprised by the question that I had no answer at all--he could barely sit still for 10 minutes of Fireman Sam (different post altogether--terrifying kids program), how was he going to watch, relate to, and communicate interest in a movie?

At three years old, however, Hen is a true film aficionado. Opinionated and unapologetic, he will tell you immediately if he likes or dislikes something. Ponyo certainly falls into the "like" pile. 

Ponyo is a refreshing shift from Pixar-mania--which, I love, don't get me wrong, but after a while you  end up with John Ratzenberger's voice lodged in your brain. This film is also kind of trippy. Ponyo is a fish-girl (but not a mermaid) with a human father who protects the ocean and a mother who is the goddess of the sea (or maybe is the sea herself? that part is pretty vague). She breaks free from her strict father's sunken ship/bubble/home under the sea and makes her way to the surface. Souske (pronounced "So-skay") is a curious little boy who finds Ponyo when she washes up to shore and keeps her as his pet. Within the first two minutes of the main characters meeting, Ponyo licks blood from a cut on Souske's finger and the cut heals instantly. That's when you know that the business is about to get ca-raaazy.  And it does. It gets super crazy.  I won't say anything further, but do recommend checking this movie out. We are kind of in love with it, especially in love with its weirdness, also appreciating the relevance of its message in our world today.

Now, the thing about the three-year-old movie-goer is that the movie can never just happen on the screen. You have to experience it in real life as well. Mimicking the actions of the characters, or adopting their signature phrases and repeating them ad nauseum for the next two days, even requesting to eat or drink the same things that the characters do--for a three-year-old, watching a movie requires active participation.  One of the cutest scenes in "Ponyo" is the scene that finds Ponyo and Souske eat ramen cooked by Souske's mother (note: at this point Ponyo has turned into a girl, and NO ONE seems to question it...from fish one moment to girl the next...nope, not weird, totally acceptable). Ponyo and Souske dine on noodles, ham, green onions, hard boiled eggs--this ramen is the real deal. Now, as I've probably mentioned before, one of our most favorite spots in Carlisle (or, in the whole world) is Issei Noodle. Ohhh Issei, you fill our bellies with Vermicelli Noodle Salad, Yaki Udon, Chaushu Ramen and you fill our hearts with love. Thanks to Issei, Hen has had his fair share of Miso Udon and when he asked for "Ponyo Noodles" last night, we knew he wouldn't just eat them, he would LOVE them.  Instead of hitting up our fav noodle shop for the regular, we decided to make our version of the Ponyo recipe at home.

Ramen, ham, zucchini, mushrooms, hard-boiled egg in broth

Ponyo and Souske faah-reaking out over their ramen. What? Have they never seen food before? Oh, wait, that's right, Ponyo was a fish five minutes ago...

Ramen for everyone! (except for Alice...who is in the background chewing on a bath towel)

Ponyo ramen without the mushrooms (for me)

The noodles were delicious and the experience of eating exactly what Ponyo and Souske ate made the movie even more magical for Hen.

If you're in the mood for a good, light, slightly odd children's movie, you should really watch "Ponyo", and if you want to take it to the max, dine on some Ponyo ramen and sip hot tea and be just like the characters you see in the movie. Ahh. A three-year-old's heaven.

May 8-14: Walk of Shame

Seven days.  Yes, it's been seven days.  I'll spare you the excuses and just say that I've been very busy NOT being busy.  It's been pretty spectacular and the break from busy was much needed.

I knew it'd been a little while since I'd written a post, but was kindly reminded earlier this week via a post on my facebook wall:

"as we approach the one week anniversary of the last time you updated your blog, I'd like to pause and reflect on all of the poor college students who should've spent countless minutes procrastinating and reading your blog instead. you single handedly might have increased the overall GPA of the Dickinson Community but no doubt left us without the h-core wit of yo blog. get on it molly bo bo!"

This is Teddy's idea of a gentle reminder.  I was honestly shocked that he didn't  come to my office to feed me a dose of guilt trip every day that I failed to update--and he is one of the last people who actually needs updates on my life.  I see him five days of the week!  Sooo---Teddy, here you go, you're welcome.  To anyone else who happened upon this site in the last week and wondered why they heard crickets, my apologies.

In short, this was a great week, including a very special day in our house--Mike's 34th Birthdaaaay!!  Love celebrating that guy.  Here are a few photos from the week:

Mother's Day present from Henbot 3000.  Mother's Day was such a lovely day with  my guys and my gal.  Note in this photo--Henry is wearing his old winter hat.  No weather-related need to wear it, he just likes this hat a lot.  Reminds me of that washing machine commercial with the boy who has the favorite blue & white hat that he wears everywhere.  Except that his mom washes his hat after a day of wear and tear.  This mom just sprays stuff with Febreeze.

Mike's #1 birthday wish--Dinner out at Issei Noodle.  BEST.FOOD.EVER.  We are die hard Issei fans and with two kids, don't often get out to eat.  Hen is chowing down (with one chopstick) on his order of Miso Udon.  He loves the fish cakes and gets a real kick out of the fact that there are hard-boiled eggs in his soup.  After an Issei-amazing dinner (always puts us in the best mood), we went home to sing the bday song and eat Mike's dessert request--Oreo Truffles.

Henry at 6:15am.  He's been getting up at around 5:45am lately and I just can't understand WHY I have to be awake when the first number on the clock is anything below a 6.  Honestly Hen.  Of course, I get up, but will try my damndest to get Henry to focus on something other than sitting on the bed saying "Mommy!!!  It's WAAAKE UP TIME!!!!!  I WANT CEEEREAAAAL!!!"  Usually I end up moving into his room and lying, awake but resting, while he plays with his toys.  On this particular morning he built a few tracks on his train table. 

Thursday morning activities--accomplishing so much before 6am.

Oh my wordness.  Alice's legs could not be any chunkier.  They are so cute, SHE is so cute.  Dressing her in warmer weather has been beyond fun for me.  You'll see her in a little plaid skirt above (with bloomers)...

...and then, in no bottoms at all.  It took me a few minutes to squeeze her into that skirt (it's sized 9 months, so it should fit her).  After realizing that trying to contain the chubbiness was not only silly, but near impossible, I released her from the confines of clothing.

There you have it.  A quick week-in-the-life.  There are a lot of other things going on (some work changes, last week of daycare for my cherubs who will be off for the summer with dad, family activities, volunteer-work-related commitments), but the few things mentioned above are those that are most dear to me.  I'll get back into the groove and will put something up tomorrow.  We're hamster-sitting for my sister and I have a whole photo-shoot planned for Porgy the Teddy Bear Hamster.  Look forward to it. 


P.S. Again, a little tale about the post title.  I recently explained to my mom what the phrase "walk of shame" meant.  She was aware of it, and got the concept in general.  Some of the folks in her office were using it in reference to the walk from the candy jar back to their desks...appropriate usage, and pretty cute, if you ask me.  While visiting her at work, I overheard someone mention that they were doing the candy walk of shame. Of course, being the good daughter that I am, I DID take the opportunity to share with my mom what the "college" walk of shame meant.  She screamed, covered her mouth and laughed, and then just said "Oh!  Molly!!"  :)  Love that mom of mine.