How big is Kristianna? Soooo Big!

I think I look like I'm dropping? This is not a full profile, which would be even more impressive, probably. I find myself spending a lot of time gawking at my bigness in the mirror lately. Amazing there is yet another human about to emerge pretty much whenever he's ready to get on the daylight side of things. I personally need a couple more days to get presents finished and wrapped/shipped, and I want to be sure to see Bunny's class do their Christmas program Wednesday. After that, bring it on, I say... well, until like the 24th thru the 25th. The 26th? Again, bring it on. ;)

Why, oh why do I do this?

More Cards, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Here are our friends and family cards for this year... well three of them. :)

I got the idea from the December edition of Family Fun magazine (good magazine if you're a mom with older than baby kids and are ready to slit your wrists at the idea of ONE MORE article about baby skin issues or developmental stages for the first year... they really just regurgitate all the topics year after year, I swear). Anyway, Family Fun has things to do and make and stuff like that which if you're a wee bit craftsy like we are, is a wonderful find (a doctor's office find, no less!).

These are a family of reindeer, one print per member who can breathe air outside my womb (Bunny suggested a teeny print for Cole, but it feels jinxy to me). I did mine first, then basically played amateur fingerprint taker for the kids and Paul, bless his impatient heart, sucked it up for 3-5 mins to appease me and put his thumb to paper about 40 times. I glued on the eyes and Bunny put on the noses, fretting much about who to make 'Rudolph' on each card (strangely, she seems to be Rudy a LOT, hmmmmmm!). Then I let it all dry and now I am putting on antlers (varying sizes, of course, since a fawn of Carter's size would only have weeny beginner antlers and Paul's are obviously more developed--yes, I spend time and brain energy thinking about these things). Since they're homemade, I have to actually write in them, so that's the slow going part, as Carter likes to crawl onto me and scream "I draw!" and grab at things every time I think I have a moment to do a card. Then I spend time figuring something he *can* draw and somehow I only get one or two finished a day. Where does the time go? Oh yeah... kids.

I love home made cards, since it seems everyone else is more wise to the expedience of photo cards (which are great, too), but they just are not as nice on the mantle as the real deal cards. Then I can enclose a photo of the kids for those who'd actually appreciate one and those who really could give a crap about owning some strange child's photo has a real card to enjoy.

But this is time consuming, I tell you. I always think something will be so much simpler than it is and bite off too much. It would take me a day to make these were it not for, oh, those kids and being a million weeks pregnant. ;)

Feeling the Power of the Light Side

Watching the Empire Strikes Back, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Verdict is in: our kids love Star Wars. Thankfully it's On Demand, as the 'live' showing started at 7 last night, and no way were the kids staying up until after 9, no matter how cool Yoda is. :) Plus Bunny can watch and ask her 1,000,000 questions clarifying who exactly is bad and not. Weird thing is, while we all found out Darth Vader was Luke's father way back whenever (1980??) Bunny already knew it, since to her the series runs in a different order than it does to me and every child of the 70s (or their elders). Carter? He just likes the action and seems to believe he's watching himself whenever Luke is onscreen. Took us a while to figure out why he kept hollering "Cartert!" at the screen and then became upset when Luke was not in the scene.

Anyway... finally something we all like and not just something the adults merely find un-terrible. ;) Since they could not stay up to watch the second half, and it's yucky weather this weekend, I foresee much 'force feeling' in the immediate future.

An Inconvenient Possibility

2007SantaPhoto, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Sometimes it's easy to forget the girlchild in this photo above (cute Santa photo, no?) is only 5. And a half, she'd have me say, of course, since that 'a half' is a big half.

Bunny has such an advanced vocabulary that you forget it's still very 5 yr old sensibilities inside, no matter how well spoken she is.

For example: I'm talking to my dad today and he jokes about how would we deal if I were to go into labor on the 24th or 25th. The 25th would be better, since it'd probably mean even if I were uncomfy, I'd be able to see Christmas morning, whereas the 24th would make me miss that, and as much as having a baby would be the perfect salve for such a thing, I'd still be very bummed to not see their eyes, hear them on that morning--ya know.

Then my dad tells me that he talked with Bunny about what she thought about if that were to happen. She said, "That would be very inconvenient for me and I would not like it at all." Then she went on about the general worries a child has about how the man in red can find a child who's not at home on Christmas morning.

All sounds so rational, and like she'd be better at dealing than me in the end were that to happen! But at the same time, Bun has been spending a WHOLE lot of time observing the different chimneys in our neighborhood, marvelling at how Santa can fit down them, once she realized the 'circle part' (flue) is really the part that is the chimney itself and the bricks are not how wide a chimney actually is. She also noticed a lot of people have covers (spark arrestors) on top. How then does Santa get down?? Magic, I say, over and over (and over). Note to self: thank Norbert for that tip: Magic is the answer to all Santa questions. It works.

So, she's not growing up too fast after all. She just talks a good talk.

Parent-Teacher Conference Time...

It was Tuesday morning, but I am just getting to sitting down and hopefully writing all about it (Carter is napping, so some of this depends on him cooperating by staying unconscious!).

Mrs. Cline started off by saying she hoped I realized what a special child I have, that she really adores Bunny. :) She loves how good her manners are, and also how well spoken she is. Told me that on day 2 or 3 there was an assignment to color in a picture of an apple, and Bunny hesitantly, but very deliberately told her, "Excuse me, but I don't color; I create. Can I draw an apple?" Which is totally Bunny to a 'T'. That child knows her mind, I can attest to that.

Mrs. Cline went on to say that Bunny seems to enjoy playing with a variety of classmates and taking leadership positions, such as being a class Safety Marshal. (For what it's worth, I named her House Safety Marshall, too, haha.) With regard to 'standards' for her grade, she's exceeding most concepts and meeting some others (not a big fan of writing in all lower case, but that is typical of her age). Her spatial awareness, ability to predict and reason are precocious, and she is a great listener (good to hear she listens at school haha, since she mainly excels at interrupting at home, heehee).

All in all, she's doing wonderfully, and I am proud--and so is Bunny! This is the teacher comment on her report card:

Bunny is an excellent student and her love for school is obvious! She is creative, confident, and polite. Bunny excels with listening, following directions, and classroom behavior. It is always interesting to hear her share in front of the class because her language is very sophisticated. Bunny knows all letter names and all letter sounds and is beginning to read simple words. Our focus the next trimester will be writing numbers and lower case letters. During choice time Bunny enjoys going to the art center. Bunny is a joy to have in class!

Eye bleach please. PLEASE?!?

Do I really need to say anything here?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

He was just checking... honest!

Today Desmond and Luke came over to play and Gretchen and Heidi stayed the whole time to visit. It was nice to sit and chat... anyway at some point Luke began to make quite a stink, literally, but did not admit to needing a new diaper. Heidi was lying on the floor on her stomach, as Luke ran this way and that... we figured eventually he'd decide he did want to be clean after all. Carter was really enjoying hearing the word poop so much, and at one point I checked him to make sure he was not contributing to the 'odeur' in the air. Anyway, a few moments later Heidi is gasping in shock -- Carter has pulled her waistband away from her rear end and checked her for poop! First time a male has been that fresh with her in quite some time. ;)

Thankfully Heidi is indeed potty trained, and was clean. Or so she claims!

Carter & His Lovey

100_4983, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

My sweet boy has an odd lovey. Mama's big belly. I kid you not, the child loves this belly of mine. He will walk up, raise my shirt a little, say, "Hello! Baby Be-yee!" and wave at well, my belly button (the best part, it seems). He loves to rub his cheek on it, rest his head on it. If big sister comes up and wants to use my belly as a pillow, too, he will try to pull my stomach towards him (not so comfortable) and scream, "Mine!" He will also tell 'the belly' "Bye bye!" and wave at it then cover it back over.

Too bad it's a temporary thing. Well, for him. Personally, I won't mind forgetting I can't fit in tight spaces or bonking myself with doors, or my favorite, as I go around a corner. (Yes, I am very graceful.) Plus, it's the baby boy who is making it this size, and he's set to debut sometime in about 6-8 weeks (my due date is kind of fluid and may change as I never agreed with the Jan 12 date to begin with, haha).

Monkey Cake for the Little Monkey Boy

Monkey Cake for the Little Monkey Boy, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

The birthday party is over and was all in all a success. I didn't realize when I set the date that it was also the return to standard time, so by all of 5:30, the little boys were stumbling tired (it feeling like all of 6:30, haha). I have to admit, the cake was really yummy. Chocolate with chocolate butter cream. Took me forever to get those dang ears on, and I was not ready with the rest of the food by the time our guests were here, but it was only Desi's and Luke's families, so not someone who I have to be perfect for. ;)

Carter had a great time, actually ATE some of his cake (unlike the ice cream from his birthday), and is now pooped. As are we all!

Tee Shirt Factory

Tee Shirt Factory, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Stumped as to what to give the kids for favors for Carter's birthday party, I settled on making tee shirts. Well, Hanes made them. But I dyed them and did the rest. I always get a little grumpy when buying loot bags for kids, as it's just something you do because you're supposed to, and then it's all in the trash or on its way there before dusk settles that day.

Now these were fun! I have a feeling the boys will like theirs well enough (and hey, they're boys; they care a lot less)... the girls? I have no clue if Lily and Anika will wear them. Bunny asked me to make her an extra one: the top left one... and lemme tell you, she wanted about 10x more hearts on it. We're really still trying to get this whole less is more concept, haha. Bunny has said she'll wear hers with her name on it when she has a substitute teacher. Now that's using your noodle! ;)

Oh yes I di'id!

Oct 29 2007, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

I just have to show off this one. Mini bagel mummies! Today I very innocently asked Bunny, who brings the best or coolest snacks to school? I was pretty sure, since kids always are stinkers, she'd say, well someone else. But she said she did. Aww yeah. Sad to say it, but these little things are what make it fun. She said lots of kids have the same snack everyday and hers is always fun to see when she opens it. Yay me. :)

Tomorrow's is already in the works. I made 'faux' pumpkin custard... okay, it's sugar free instant vanilla pudding mixed with pumpkin and the pie spices, but it tastes pretty dead on, and I needed to figure something that would fit in the box cups without melting in an oven). I ate one of them (it made like 4 servings) and it was really pretty damn good, if I don't say so myself.

Happy Birthday My Sweet Boy.

I intend to do a better birthday open letter to my precious boy later. I'm a tad bit distracted by the earthquake we just had, even though it was nothing to write well, anywhere about, haha. But I still have that adrenaline from scooting everyone into the hallway. :) It was a 5.6 and decently close, but just a rumbler.

Happy Birthday Carter!

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Is Halloween over yet?

Glazed Expressions Courtesy Candy, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

While I suppose it's nice that costumes get a lot more use these days, it's out of CONTROL how much Halloween has changed from a one night, put on a sheet or something lame that resembles a trash bag with a very dangerous mask having itty eyeholes, into a month long extravaganza. Our first H'ween party was September 29!!! Eeesh.

Anway, here are the kidlets, in their sugar-induced states from Friday when we went TOTing downtown. I must admit they're super cute kids. ;) Little Carter was mystified by it all, but he certainly 'got' that people were being really nice and giving away candy to him, and all he had to do was hold out a big pumpkin bucket!

Was it wrong that I ate a Reece's cup out of his bucket that very night? Hey, he doesn't even like peanut butter (though I guess adding chocolate to the equation may have changed it a bit).

P.S. Carter is a monkey, but he refuses to put up the hoodie part. Stinker!

A nice, laid back weekend. Pshaw!

Is October over yet? Is it?? Please?? In our house, we jokingly call fall 'birthday season' since there are a damn lot of birthdays mid-Sept thru early November, but October is by far the pinnacle. Of course, I didn't make things any easier by having a child the day before Halloween, did I? (Going with the theme, I fully expect to do into labor at, oh, 3 a.m. on Christmas morning or something magically impossible like that... I imagine myself trying to breathe through early labor while hurrying the kids through the "Santa Came!" portion and hightailing it to the hospital to deliver, but I digress.)

Anyway, counting that one party was for twins (which means it's double the fun and I count this as two), there are/were 8 birthdays in October. Plus: Bunny won that award, so we had to go to that thing. And there are Halloween festivities to get to. I was going to have C's birthday party this weekend, but another friend is having a party for a playgroup I am in, and we wanted to go, so I pushed his back a weekend. Which is a great thing, since we're going to be going trick or treating downtown this evening after the park playtime. Then tomorrow Bunny really wants to go to Lakeshore Learning to make a craft tomorrow morning. then tomorrow afternoon we have a birthday party at a pumpkin patch (please, let it be in the shade, said the pregnant lady).

Sunday I need to make my menus for next week and grocery shop in the a.m. so I can prepare a side dish for that afternoon's halloween party, which I truly am looking forward to... as long as I can sit a lot, haha. I would call Monday a day off, but really I need to finish up the tee shirts I am making as favors for C's party and probably bake a small cake for C's 'real' birthday. maybe I'll just get cupcakes. Oh, and I really should wrap his presents. Oh, and I at sometime in the intervening few days need to buy his tricycle/helmet that Mama & Daddy are giving him. Then Tuesday is his birthday. Wednesday is Halloween! I did already buy candy. Give me the strength to not eat all the Reece's cups. ;) Bun needs to wear her costume to school, and at 12:45 I need to get there for her parade and party. So much for Mr. Man's nap.

Paul is *so* taking the kids around for a few blocks of trick or treating while I hand out candy that evening. but, but, but, then I don't get to see C holding out his pumpkin bucket begging for candy! Or maybe hiding because he's not as adventurous as his big sister. I guess I can live with that, right? I will pass out candy at home, and Paul would love to see it all, anyway. He can carry C on his shoulders, it will be okay to miss it (this is me convincing myself to *not* do something here).

And then on Thursday? Rest! Unless something comes up. Oh, and Paul just told me to not overdo it tonight. Bwahaha. As if I have a choice. ;) I da mama!

I really don't need a new hobby/obsession.

Oct 23 2007, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

But I am being sucked into it, bit by bit. Bento appeals to my anal inner core, and I always used to love going to Miyake for lunch back when I was a working woman. All those neat little compartments, with stuff all perfectly tucked inside.

I have a depraved fascination with Japanese culture, as they have such a sense of order and yet also are completely, utterly insane at times (I used to collect--and use--Japanese kiddie stationery because it cracked me up how weird it was, but also how well thought out at the same time. My favorite set of stationery, which I still have a couple of sheets to, is one called "Animal Donut" with the words "This taste has warmed up our mind as well as our body." (Yay Engrish!) on the top of the sheets, and it's decorated with some odd hamster on a donut, and what look a lot like crullers which are shaped like animal heads. I never could figure: were the donuts made OF, FOR, or BY animals??

Anyway. I now seem to be morphing into a bento kiddie lunch maker. I bought all these Lock & Lock containers back at the beginning of the school year, but when they have all 4 inner compartments in them, as neat as they seem in theory, I never could figure how to use them for a lunch in toto and Bun is only 5; she eats with gusto, but it'd be overkill to give her 4 snacks and a sandwich. Then I saw an example of how someone removed two compartments and VOILA! perfect kiddie bento for the mom not wanting to buy much to start out.

Though, as addicting as playing with food is, I am sure I'll buy 'her' a couple for Christmas. ;)

My Little Award Winner

Bunny_Kinder, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

We found out today Bunny won 2nd place for a habitat preservation awareness diorama she built for class! Hers was about helping sharks, and I had to juggle her very full birthday party attending schedule so she can go get her award this coming Saturday. She's invited to a party at Blush (makeover place) with pizza at Round Table afterwards, but we're going to the wildlife preservation center at 10 and just making it to the pizza and cake part, which hopefully gives her a 2.5 hrs to go and show off her creation and get her major award. She's been to those makeover places a few times for parties anyway, and she's over it, plus then I don't have to scrub glitter out of her hair for the next week.

I'm very proud of her, and hope it's not a lamp shaped like a leg or anything. ;)

No, Pat No! Don't Sit on That!

So Carter has been enjoying a little self exploration whenever he's afforded the chance. Quite normal, though his gravelly way of saying, "I touch," is a bit odd when I am changing his diapers. Whatever.

Anyway, Paul was changing him today and noticed he was a bit red, so we decided to let him 'air out' in the back yard for a while. Usually we let him be a shirtcocker (shirt and no pants -- Burning Man phrase that cracks me up to no end), but today he was au naturel, as we were thinking he'd want to put on his swim diaper and get in the hot tub if we got in. He was running around, arching his back, trying out the sensations of 'touching' everything he can. Again, whatever. Up to a metal chair, arch back, said "touch"... and so forth.

Until: He decides to try out a lavender plant. They are kind of prickly this time of the year, since they are planted in beds that are native plants and able to handle the 5-6 mos of dryness. Up to lavender plant, arch back, says "Owwwwww." All I could think of was that line from Hop on Pop. ;)

And Many Moooore!

KRISTIANNA___BABY_ELEANOR_1_78, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

My sister is 30 today! Which makes me going on 35. Dang.

I feel like it's only been a short while since we were these little kids.

A well-balanced meal

It's taken me a couple of weeks to get around to sending this photo from my phone. This is my dessert from a playgroup family get together--berry pie with super sugary crust and a chocolate-chocolate macaroon sandwich cookie.

The baby kicked for about 3 hours after this little treat. Me? I was semi-comatose. ;)

Warning: This Boy WILL Feed You a Booger

100_4668, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Carter's newest way to torture mama: pick his nose (which has been full of 'nose picking gold' lately), and offer a booger to Mama. He likes to pick his nose, then hold a miniscule (or NOT) boogie up to my face ane then after saying "Booger!" a few times, say, "Wan Bite?"

His sister never did this.

The Much Coveted Buggy

100_4773, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Carter was very happy to play with this decrepit broken stroller frame at the park today. It's Luke's and usually Luke is not wanting anyone else to use it. No matter which child plays with it, they look like a very small elderly man using a walker.

But it's a very beloved toy, nevertheless.

We get so hung up, worrying what will be the perfect present or addition to the brightly colored plastic arsenal of toys, that we forget they like what they like. And they likey the the buggy!

Holy MouthFire, Batman!

I love the palak paneer from Trader Joe's and last weekend picked up a package of punjab choley to mix it up as a lunch for me. Made some rice and this for lunch today and OMG my mouth is on FIRE.

And I like spicy food, too. I can't say I dislike this, but I am having to take 'breathing thru my open mouth' breaks to handle it, LOL.

Yes, random blog entry, but I am eating it right now as I mess around on the computer, and my nose is even running, LOL! They mean it when they say it's 'richly spiced'!

I'm off to put some sour cream in this.

On having an obstetrical appointment with a poodle on my chest.

So, I'm waiting in the exam room, having had my BP, doppler, and weight done by the nurse, when my OB opens the door, and is hunkered over, coaxing some little wiggly thing whose shadow I see before the actual dog.

It's doing that sideways nervous shimmy thing with a lot of tail wagging, which makes me think a puppy is on the way, but my OB said, "No, she's a full grown adult pregnant with two puppies in her!" The a teeny-tiny teacup toy poodle is suddenly on my chest, LOL! Nancy (my OB) asks me to be mindful she has claws, and then proceeds to measure my belly and check out my calf, as I am having varicose vein 'issues'. All with a dog that can't be more than 4 lbs with two puppies in her on my chest, haha!

She had to bring her dog in to keep her under watch, since she could go into labor anytime and needs to deliver the 2nd puppy within a certain amount of time after the first or she'll need an emergency c-section. Carter thought it was the best part of the day by far and was telling everyone about the dog (not that anyone knows 'ga' = dog in Carter-speak).

Me so big

23 wk belly, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

This was at 23 weeks more or less. Only getting bigger! We're having another son! Two boys 2 years apart. I think I need a Tums just thinking about it.

Monkey, monkey...

Okay, the title is supposed to be sung a la the 'funky, funky... bidee bidde BOP' line in Cantaloop by Flip Fantasia.

Carter's wee little #2 birthday party is on, with a Cheeky Monkey theme. The house will be Halloween central, because Mama is not giving up her annual excuse to put up the glittery pumpkin Bun made a couple of years back, and of course my black table cloth with the ghosts! Plus, it's a perfect opportunity to take off a week for cobweb dusting! It's not dirt -- it's atmosphere. ;)

However, the back yard will be a monkey theme. I'm taking the monkey party ideas from good Old Martha and going from there. Found bouncy balls at Target with a monkey in them, and I'm going to make tee shirts with a monkey on the front (hope Paul Frank doesn't hunt me down and sue me for daring to put a monkey on something)... it'll be my own sad sack design. I can lay various color of ovals over each other in MS Paint and print it onto iron-on transfer paper like a mofo. I have delusions of crocheting something monkey to wear, too. Maybe the hat I have been meaning to do for about a year now, but never could find the exact yarns for.

Since Carter's two whole 2 yr old guests also have big sisters Bun's age, I still need to figure out what to make/give them to not leave them out.

Ugh, must go and change a poopy diaper. Carter is going through a phase where he is a Poop Denier. So, I also must chase him down. Being a Dirty Diaper Denier is not as bad as a holocaust denier, but it still stinks. ;)

Pizza Crustless Quiche. Mmmm!

Before in oven. Fresh from oven. Yum!

This is the second time I have made this and it's really quite good, especially for those who don't do crusts or doughs in their diets. The idea was Paul's; the recipe, mine.

Crustless Pizza Quiche
serves 4-6

• 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 T pancetta cubes (Trader Joes sells them pre-diced and cheap!)
• 5-6 basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
• 1 T flour
• 5 eggs
• 1 c milk
• 1 t Italian seasoning
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/3 of a 5 oz package of thinly sliced pepperoni
• 2 small tomatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick, and allowed to sit on paper towels to absorb some of the moisture for 10 mins or so
• more mozzarella to top (maybe another 1/2 c?)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a bowl, toss basil, pancetta and cheese with flour, then place that mixture into bottom of nonstick skillet which has been sprayed with canola or olive oil spray.
3. In same bowl (less to clean!) combine eggs with milk and herbs/spices and mix well.
4. Pour that mixture slowly over the cheese mixture in the pan-don't dump fast or the cheese and whatnot might move around and not make every slice the same.
5. Top with tomatoes, pepperoni, and a little more cheese.
6. Place in oven and bake about 35-40 mins, or until a knife inserted in middle comes out clean and top is nicely browned. Allow to cool a few minutes, then slice into pizza/pie wedges.

We usually have this kind of meal with a salad, though it is technically nutritionally complete as is. Really good leftovers. I also like to put some parmesan on it, just like I would pizza.
Mange! :)

Trip to the Egyptian Museum

100_4747, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Bun's been wanting to go to this museum for months, and she had today off for school, so off we went. I only took a few photos from outside because of the no-flash rules inside, but it was as nice inside as out -- and the outside was very impressive. Bun's favorites were the mummies. Carter was fond of screeching and trying to touch things he should not (everything). We had fun, and I think we will return again.

Nerd Alert!

Gingerbread_Man_083007, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Bunny made this in school, and it's cute, no?

I had it up on the fridge for a few days, then decided to catch up on scanning and it wasn't until I looked at the cutout bit of cheekiness as a cautionary tale that I realized my daughter has put the details of the Eye of Ra on hers. Those highly stylized eyelashes? Eye of Ra. I smile proudly and also cringe inwardly for the time when she decides to suppress her nerdiness because, well, putting the Eye of Ra on your gingerbreadman is no where hear as cool as turning your own eyelids inside out or something stupid like that.

News Flash: Boys Like Dirty, Yucky Things

100_4654, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

This is from the beach about 1.5 weeks ago, a last 'hurrah' for the playgroup before the older kids have to go to Kindergarten (gasp!) everyday. A great time was had by all, and Luke and Carter found a TREASURE. Yes, a partially burnt piece of wood from someone's fire the night before was quite the find. Luke found it; Carter coveted it. Both became filthy from soot. Heidi and I looked on with disgusted faces, but, meh... we let 'em play with it anyway, cuz... um... it was easier than not letting them play with it. ;)

The Tomatoes Worry Me

The Tomatoes Worry Me, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

This is 3 tomato plants. They're bearing ripe fruit, and growing what appears to be a foot every other day. At the rate of 8-12 ripe tomatoes daily, we should be buried in a week or two.

I need to get a'freezing! On the good side, the romas are awesome in soups and sauces. One big batch of bolognese was gobbled down, and another dozen roma went into a soup for Paul-Food yesterday. The beefsteak are being eaten at almost a rate of parity, keeping in mind the biggest yields are looming in a week or two.

He loves Jay Jay <---this---> much.

Carter is obsessed with Jay Jay the Jet Plane. Big time. Thank goodness for on demand programming, because I don't know when it's on 'for real'. Though he does not get his way all the time, he *does* ask for Jay Jay about 10 times a day. In reality, he gets to see it in the morning when he wakes before Mama has had her coffee, or when Bunny and Daddy are in the pool and he's 'not allowed' because it's Bunny-Daddy-ONLY time (which royally POs Carter, who loves to be in on anytime Paul's in the pool).

Last night Carter was having some intense dreams at about 4 a.m. and kept fussing awake, crying. I pulled him into our bed and was holding him to help him go fully back to sleep. As he drifted off, he said over and over, "I yuv (love) Jay Jay," kind of how Dorothy muttered about no place being like home in The Wizard of Oz. The kid really loves that plane.

The Deer Drawing

DeerWaterfall_082007, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Figured while I'm still up may as well scan.

Don't laugh too hard -- she was actually watching Bob Ross on PBS when she did this, but *gasp* used NO titanium white. She's a big fan of Bob Ross now. Meh, I'll enjoy that on the TV more than I'll ever enjoy Caillou.

My favorite recent thing Bun's done

Watercolor_Flower_Bugs, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

She drew with crayon, then used water colors. I have to scan one of deer by a waterfall which I also like, but this one is just so happy it makes me smile.

The thing about cravings

You gotta satisfy, because they burrow in deep. For some reason, this is why tuna casserole *had* to made yesterday. I've made it exactly once before, since it's not really the kind of food I make much. But the thought of tuna casserole was like a siren song to me for days. So I made it. And loved it!

Now I just want to chuck out the leftovers. What was I thinking? I guess I wanted protein?

One of those moments.

fairyland 016, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

So we went to Fairyland the other day with a few other friends from playgroup. It was okay, but Bunny and I agreed, all things equal, that we like Happy Hollow better.

I took dozens of photos, but this is one of my favorites. It's not the typical happy child at an amusement park photo; quite the opposite. In this, Carter's obviously unhappy. But why?

Well, it's one of those typical, hard toddler moments. Moments before Carter was on the ferris wheel with Bunny. For about 10 seconds. He climbed in, and sat down, then the person operating the ride closed and locked the door. No mamas allowed b/c there is a height restriction of about 4 feet. Carter immediately began to cry, and they opened the door right away to let him off.

But Carter didn't want to get off the ride. He wanted, I suppose, to sit on my lap. He probably didn't understand at all why Mama wasn't getting in. I finally had to pick him up and 'help' him off the ride so that it wasn't held up any longer than it already had been.

Which is when I took this photo. Carter is experiencing that frustrating desire to do what he's just not ready to do. Bunny, at the same age, would have had the same inability to go on the ride alone (and she did--we had a few rides at the boardwalk have to be stopped as soon as she started to move)... but she got mad. Carter appears to be feeling the loss as he watches Bunny go up and enjoy her ride. He so badly wants to be a big boy, but he's still got a lot of baby in him.

So, for those reasons, for the way it touches the heart of a mama, this is one of my favorite photos from that day.

I'm in trouble with this kid.

So today I went in for my 16 wk appt. The nurse tried and tried (and tried!) to get the heartbeat with the doppler, but never could get it. I joked I would feel a little anxious, except I felt like there was a trout flipping around in my belly th ebaby was moving so much to get out of the way of the doppler. They did get the 'echo' of the HB at a nice 152, but never the thunky-whooshy noise you learn to listen for by your 3rd pregnancy.

This kid is already giving us grownups a hard time, I tell you.

Other than that, I'm doing well, and have gained 7 lbs (all that ice cream last week paid off, LOL). I had my blood drawn for the AFP test. Hmmm, that's about it.

Nimble Feet

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Oops, I ate the cake that shrinks people.

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Okay, I must make this.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/?q=video/jello-melon-balls

There is no 'recipe', unless you consider cutting a melon in half (the kind of melon with a cavity), and putting jello into it to set, then slicing into wedges.

But damn it looks goo-ood. I'm thinking cantaloupe (I don't enjoy honeydow), and some red jello. Or that new melon mix jello! But maybe that's not a contrasting enough flavor.

Anyway, I have to schlep over to Safeway today, so I think melon and jello is on the list. After I check to see what jello I have stashed away already from my jello egg making frenzy this spring.

I wonder...

...if my sore throat is related to the fogging for mosquitoes they did last night. It was supposedly an insecticide derived from chrysanthemums--sounds harmless, right? Flowers!! But it kills the skeeter, so maybe... Or maybe I'm jsut getting sick again. Bah. Boo.

Oh well, at least Big Brother's on tonight. I like that show too much. ;) I hope Kail goes home just out of principle that we viewers all know she's a liar and that she did lie to Dick.

When it rains, it gushes (onto the floor).

Ran a bajillion errands today, varying from returning some camping gear to friends, to the post office (always fun with two cranky, tired kids in tow, as I did that one near the end of 4 hrs out), to exchanging some sunglasses DH didn't notice were scratched when he bought them, to picking up our co-op veggies, to buying 4 gallons of milk (we drink a lot of milk), and the list went on...

All was fine, we were back home and I was finally going to be able to rest, as DH was home and said he'd put C on his back in the Ergo. But while I was getting the last of the stuff from the co-op on the counter, Carter climbed up somehow and pulled a gallon of milk onto the floor. And wouldn't you know it, the circular indentation the container had on each side *popped* on both sides. Instant gallon of milk gushed out, mostly onto the kitchen floor, but a goos quart or so flowed onto the carpet before I could do anything.

Yay! About 6 bath towels and 30 mins with the steam cleaner later, and I'm now sitting to finally veg out.

Oh, and wouldn't it figure I'd already mopped the kitchen floor this morning because Carter helped his sister by taking her juice glass to the kitchen and throwing it over the gate so it shattered?? I guess the silver lining is that I'd vacuumed that place on the carpet where the milk poured, so it was ready to be steam cleaned.

Bunny's New Canvas

100_4323, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

So yesterday Bun decides Carter is some exotic king, which was convenient, since she wanted to cover him with wet chalk. Both seemed to enjoy it, and as it dried, it did remind me a lot of the chalky appearance of some native peoples you see roaming the jungles in Africa or SE Asia. A quick dip in the pool removed all war paint, though.

Surprisingly (not) Bunny didn't get much on *herself*.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Aw yeah.... West Nile in da Hood.

So the birds that were found lst week with WNV led to mosquitoes being found with WNV. Now they're fogging after 11 p.m. next Wednesday. And the choices of Off! and the like re somewhat limited at Target.

But I'm spraying my legs and arms before bed until further notice. And the kids're wearing hazmat suits to bed.

Long Overdue Update

Been a while!

Hmmm. Bun's about to start Kindergarten in 6 weeks, much to her dismay.
Carter's busy. BUSY. And finally talking more. And, did I mention busy?
Oh, and we have another baby on the way, due in Jan.

Out of the mouths of babes.

This morning Bun was sitting practicing writing the alphabet, singing the song to help herself. She said, "Hey Mom, what's a 'ameno'?" Huh? I ask her to ask again, and oh, of course... LMNOP = L-Ameno-P to her. Reminded me of how I thought it was "Lemon-O-P" when I was her same age.

Boys and Girls are Different

I just killed a spider. I know... I don't like to kill them, but we get bitey ones and if you invade my home, well, you may not live to tell the tale.

Anyway, Carter was DELIGHTED by my smacking the poor arachnid. Giggled with glee, tried to hit its smushed body and squealed when I flicked it away.

Bunny would have just run and hid from the spider.

Squibble Squabbles

Bunny: No Carter, that's mine!
Carter: Cadah! (point at chest)
Bunny: No! (grabs toy, pushes brother away)
Carter: Wan dat! Mo!

So forth until one or both are running to me screaming about the injustices of life.

I hit the trifecta!

Carter is teething, growing AND has a cold. Yippee! The kids have swollen glands, and I do, too. Tomorrow we may get to go get cultures. Another YIPPEE! (Bah.)

They are in relatively good spirits today, so I am not worried really. Mostly I just want to avoid a re-do of last night; Carter woke at 3:30 and stayed up until 5:30.

Me so tired.

Inconceivable!

It's simply impossible that I am going to pick up the Kindergarten registration packet for my baby girl today. She was just learning to walk a day or so ago for goodness sakes.

Future plans

More thinking about the future for Bunny.

She loves ancient Egypt and last night we watched a rerun of the Nova episode about how Rameses I was in a tacky museum in Niagara Falls without anyone realizing it for about 100 years.

Bunny plans to be an egyptologist now. But she only wants to examine the mummies OUTSIDE the 'cargophagus' because when they are inside them it makes her 'feel all squiggly like spiders'. The mummy itself doesn't skeeve her out--the mummy IN a coffin does. I told her I am sure she could work around that. And that we would go to a museum and see real mummies sometime.

Boy do I not like being around mummies. The humanity of them gets me and has since I was 9. Though I far prefer mummies to those godawful 'art' exhibits that involve laquered corpses or thinly cut cross sections of people. *shudder*

More future plans

Bunny has been thinking about the future. She's going to come home every night for dinner even when she's a mommy because she can't use the stove and it's dangerous.

Also, we're both going to be lifeguards together. So we can hang out, but also so if a large man needs saving I can help her.

I don't know where she gets this stuff. :)

It's a matter of perspective

Bunny, Carter and I walk to her school most days unless I have to run an errand with the car, and I usually push them in the BOB. Recently we were walking and Bunny told me she knew how to get to school and would tell me the directions.

Now, it's literally three turns to school, including our street. So I said, sure, tell me what to do.

First she tells me to turn right at the end of our street, which is right. Then she says you turn at the 'star house'. What?? Star house?

I'll be damned. While it is not a place you actually turn, she is right, I always cross the street to be going against traffic on the adjacent street, and the house by where I cross has a blue star on it. I'd never noticed!

Note to self

Do NOT allow Carter to put his finger in your mouth. Unless you like boogers.

He disagrees.

The tree is up, and everytime Carter touches it, he gets a nice "Not for Carter!" from whoever is on the scene. He's really so good about listening, too... but he's starting to disagree. The last two times I said, "Not for Carter," he turned, grinned at me and signed 'more'. He still obeys, but he *really* wants to touch the lights that're blinking at his level.

It's pretty cute.

Is this not?

The sweetest photo? Not that I'm biased.

Dada's a Boob

Apparently Carter has decided my boobs are called "dada". He points authoritatively at them and says that, so it must be.

A Life's Work

I'm nearly done reading A Life's Work, by Rachel Cusk. If I were to begin underlining passages I poifind that speak to me, the whole dang book would be underlined. Which as I recall, negates the whole point highlighting, or underlining.

Must write more on this when I have digested it further. At the moment I'll leave it at this: well worth reading by every mother. And probably not able to be understood by anyone who is not a mother.

Mercury, I have seen you.

Today I got to see Mercury passing the sun. Very cool. In a geeky, astronomy club way. They were lined up at the park when we got there to have a playdate with one of Bun's schoolmates, and I knew what they were up to, but we were late, so we hustled over to the 'big kid' playground. About 2 hrs later I stopped with the kids and we looked at one of those slit viewers. Yup, little black speck to the right edge of a large lit orb. There were a whole slew of telescopes set up, and we also peered through a couple to see it in 'technicolor'. I can't recall exactly why, but the coolest one was red, and it was something about seeing only the hydrogen burning because of a filter. Bunny loved it, and it was the first thing she reported to Daddy upon his arrival home.

We also went to the Mommy and Me day at a mall, which was 'meh'. Bunny got a balloon flower by one of those freaky balloon artists (who you know also like to dress up as clowns [ick]). She also decorated a paper crown. I guess it was better than sitting at home, but not as good as some other things. I'd initially thought about going to The Jungle or Discovery Museum, but with the sky clearing, I wanted to make sure we kept our date with Anna at the park, and those two places take more time, if you're going to 'do it right'.

In other news, Bunny has named her toes. I'm trying very hard to not learn their names.

Civic Duty? Check.

Another election day, and this time I went to the polls. Usually I vote via absentee ballot, because I like to take my time and read the voter info guide while I vote... walk away from it and think about things, etc. But this year I figured, heck, it's on the street adjacent to me, why not just walk there and vote? I strapped Carter on my back and we enjoyed a nice stroll. I did have to rock and sway while I voted to keep Mr Sillymon from squawking too much, but hey, who said democracy was perfect?

Mostly I wanted to vote for Ahnuld and against a few propositions. I was surprised I didn't get to vote for mayor. I guess we 'county' San Jose residents don't get that. WHatever. As long as our esteemed Gonzales is out. Though it is nice to have a mayor who's so well known, it's not so great that it's for corruption, bribery, conspiracy and falsifying records. ;)

Carter at 12 Months

Carter's on the MOVE. I have to chase him constantly. Today I was putting some things into the stroller for a project at Bun's school, and he walked 20 yards down a path, making his way to the back parking lot apparently. He will follow a path anywhere. He also climbs a lot. Right as I type, he's trying to climb onto his work bench he got for his birthday. He really wants to climb to the top of the big kid slide and becomes angry when I don't let him. Yet, he does not like swings very much. I've only recently gotten him to tolerate 2-3 mins in the bucket swings, and I can't swing too fast or he'll become scared. He loves being pushed in the Little Tikes car (coupe or whatever it's called). He loves sorting things, and taking toys out of and putting back into containers.

Verbally, he's not as far along. He is constantly making noises of all kinds, but so far he only says mama, dada, dat (cat), chz (cheese), mimi (milk), niss (nurse), Cahtah (Carter). He's a little confused about who I am. Sometimes he very authoritatively points to me and says "dada!". Hmmm. I am learning a few baby signs and we're integrating those in and trying to nail down that you shake your head only for 'no', not for everything. ;) He likes to make weird noises, too. Trills and clicks with his tongue that make my mouth feel tickly when I try to mimic it (which I guess is why he does it? feels neat?).

He has 7 teeth and is threatening to teeth some more. His 12 mo checkup is next week, a little late to space for his 2nd dose of the flu vaccine.

Personality-wise, he's a neat little guy. Very easy going in general, though he can become angry if I remove him from something he wants to do (like put something in the toilet). Then he'll arch his back, screech, go limp noodle, and if possible, throw himself back and maybe hit his head on something behind him in the process. Poor guy; I just tell him *he* did that and to calm down.

He's very affectionate and loves Bunny, despite her torment. He seems to have a sense of humor for the ridiculous. He loves being chased and tries to entice us to chase him down the hall, and if we do not follow, he will peek around the corner to try and egg us on.

He still gets lots of 'sling' time in Daddy's pouch sling and also will snuggle with Daddy a lot. Me? I'm good for some snuggles, but please make the boob accessible, thanksmuch. In some ways I look forward to weaning so that we can snuggle *for real*.

Happy Birthday... a day early.

Yesterday we had a little halloween party for some playgroup friends and also had Carter's birthday cake cutting. I wanted to do something fancier, but we ended up going out with the DiMicelis to Campbell shops trick or treating and, well, I'm happy we enjoyed ourselves. The cake was yummy, even if it was not something fancy. :)

Carter got into it. :)

Rememberies of a Geisha

Bunny loved the pretty kimonos in Memoirs of a Geisha so much that she decided she wanted to be a 'real Geisha' for Halloween. Mama did her best with the makeup, but discovered that watching a movie and expertly applying makeup are different, haha. But anyway, the point was made.

If at first you don't succeed.

Frog and frog again. It took me four tries to get this 'skull' skull cap to something like what I'd envisioned when I decided I wanted to make it. Couldn't find a pattern, so I graphed the skull from a SnB pattern for sweater--and had to use a different scale alltogether. I learned that you can't get the same straight sides working in rounds that you can on a flat piece, even on the tube part just because the stitches end up staggered, not in a grid. So, I did a straight piece for the skull section, joined it and completed with decreasing rounds. All in all I am happy considering I was making it up as I went along. Paul wants one in his size. :)

Running Commentary

Having a child who's learning to speak means one must--if one desires their child actually learn speech, cadence, etc--have a constant running commentary on one's extremely dull goings on.

I don't simply pour a sippy of milk. No, that would be too efficient. I must explain the sippy comes out of the cupboard empty, but that we go to the fridge and get the big bottle of milk, then put some into the sippy--then put the big bottle back!

It's all well and good, but there are times when you wonder if it's getting in while a nearly 12 month old stares at you. You wonder, "Is he processing this? Is he just thirsty and waiting for me to hand him the damn sippy? Or is he thinking his mama's a bit loony?"

There have been (rare) times that I have caught myself talking to myself, I am so used to the 'color commentary' of my day to day existence. I was in Trader Joe's and asked no one in particular, "What kind of juice should we got today?" I blushed when I realized why someone was looking at me funny. Maybe they thought I had a mouse in my pocket, and that's who 'we' was, haha.

Then there are the times when it pays off. Yesterday was a working day at the co-op preschool, and Heidi watched Carter for me (saint that she is). When I picked him up, she told me he really like a Pooh toy and they played with it for a while, Heidi asking where the nose, eyes, etc were and Carter pointed them out! I guess all that telling him what things are and what I am doing sinks in after all.

Carry on. Carry on, crazy woman who asks invisible people questions in the store.

The Little Duckling

Bunny chose The Little Duckl for her bedtime story tonight. We've read that book about Henry's birth, babyhood, and eventual return to the pond to find true love many times. I recall reading it when I was a child, so it's also a nice memory for me, too.

Last night Bunny asked about the egg in the grass at the end. Would the boy get it and put it in an incubator? We agreed maybe, but probably the duck and his 'special friend', the girl duck, would be its mommy and daddy and it would hatch by the pond.

Then Bunny asked if the ducks got married. We laughed a lot thinking about the ducks dressed in tuxedo and wedding gown. Possibly they invited the hen, rabbit, and goat to the ceremony. It was a nice giggly way to end the day.

School Photo Day

Today Bunny has her school pictures. Fingers crossed my hard playing girlie actually kept out of the paint/dirt long enough to look presentable! I think I used a whole can of hair spray trying to tame her crazy Einstein hair, LOL. But it was darn cute. I am giving myself extra points for braiding yarn bows that matched her outfit.

This is what I get for being ambitious

I so rocked my after bed routine tonight. Did it all, baby. Decided I'd go for the brownie points and even set up the coffee maker to go off tomorrow morning, which I have been skipping lately.

About 15 mins later, Paul asks, "Did you mean to brew a pot of coffee?"

Shit. I pushed the on button instead of timer. So much for that. Well, Paul had a good idea to put it in a pticher and tomorrow afternoon I'll have iced coffee waiting for me.

Well, that sucked.

So this morning was interesting! After I feed the kids breakfast, I go into my room to dress, since no way do I dress to the shoes before I have a LOT of coffee. ;) As I am in the room, I hear an odd noise. It's water pouring down the outside of the bedroom window. Hmmm. That's odd, I think. Seeing as it's sunny out and we do have adequate eaves. Pop open the sliding door and, OMG... the hose that goes from the pool filter to the booster pump for the sweep has busted off and there is a not-so-mini Old Faithful going on outside my house. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to not step in the water and I was able to reach the breaker box and shut off the power instantly.

I'm calling the pool guy about it, as Paul calls to me that it's puddling inside the bedroom--it caused a flood. Sheep dip. About a 10X5 foot area is soaked to the padding. Long story short, the carpet is now pulled up and draped over something to get air to the padding while a MASSIVE fan rented from Home Depot is running in my bedroom to dry the padding. It may take 48-72 hours to dry. YAY!

At least I caught it. That could have been a lot worse than it was if I were not home and didn't happen to walk in when I did.

It's all a matter of perspective

Isn't it weird how perception changes your reaction to the same thing almost instantly?

Yesterday at Bun's school there were men excavating outside. I was pretty sure at first they must be working on the electrical problem the building has been having, where the breaker trips if, say, the coffee pot and the fridge are on at the same time. Seemed reasonable to me.

Went inside and the place reeked of onions. As we were in line up, waiting for Bunny to get her nametag, I joked maybe they were serving just a big pile of onions for snack today. Then Skyler's dad said he thought it might be the sewage line they were working on and that's what the smell was. He sounded authoritative. Instantly, I began to feel woozy, since, well, onion-poo is a bad smell! I was going to deal with it, but ugh. It was not good, and I could see I was not the only parent going green in the face.

Then, it turned out potstickers was part of a snack the cook mom brought for the working parents that day. Viola--that was the onion smell. Again, instantly, I liked the smell again.

Did the smell change? No! My perception of it made me amused, then revolted, then hungry all within about 3 minutes. Hmmm. There has to be a deep thought there. ;)

More Bunnyisms

This one from Paul:

Wednesday I had to go to my doctor to review the results from my annual physical (which was actually about 15 years after the prior one). Paul was home working, so he hung out with the kids. Bunny kind of drove him crazy as he tried to get Carter asleep, but he did have this gem to share.

Bunny: Daddy, when Santa comes for Halloween do his reindeer come in the house?
Paul: Santa comes at Christmas.
Bunny: Oh yeah, I meant that. When Santa comes for Christmas, do the reindeer come inside? Because the deer nibbled the carrot, right?
Paul: I don't know.
Bunny: If they leave footprints does Santa vacuum?
Paul: Maybe. We'll have to check next time, okay?

So... we are going to have to figure out how to leave hoofprints. And a note apologizing for not cleaning up, since he's so busy...

Ponay Partay

Today was busy... life has been on some fast forward the past month or so since Bunny started school. Discovery has been great for her. For me? Eh, I'm learning.

Why do I have to always make things as hard as possible? I could have chosen a typical preschool, but noooo, I had to choose a co-op. I'll get the hang of it. Bunny is doing very well--I vascilate between loving it and hating all the work it is for me. Currently I have a tricycle in my garage that needs to be painted, primed, and sanded... or wait, reverse that. And I have an art project to prep for the kids. On the plus side, it's only $130/mo. Which, to a newbie may sound like a lot, but preschool around here costs more than UVA cost me annually undergrad for tuition. Not the co-op, of course, but there are those who spend something like $450/mo on school for a toddler.

Whatever. I'm kind of in the 'can't polish a turd' school of thinking on that. Kids need to learn social skills, to listen to a teacher, the flow of events of school (come in, do different tasks, play, eat quietly, line up, yada yada). She'll have plenty of time to learn algorithms when the time comes. Usually the people that I know who send their kids to ridiculously pompous schools have rather dense kids or are ridiculously pompous themselves. Or both. ;)

Anyway, Bunny's thriving there, but she has always thrived everywhere. Give her an arena and she takes to it. Next week she has a playdate at the park with Anna, her first schoolmate playdate. She also has a playdate Monday with Jacob, park day Tuesday morning, a birthday party Friday afternoon....and so forth. The rest of the month goes pretty much the same. Carter? He's along for the ride until his moment in the sun on the 28th for a party here.

Carter is at Heidi's house with Lily and Luke every other Monday when I am at school working. He is dealing pretty well for a total Mama's Boy. And he is a total Mama's boy, lemme tell you.

Anyway, what did all this have to do with Pony Party? Nothing! Just playgroup had a pony party this weekend. Bunny rode the pony 5 times. Got right back at the back each time to line back up...until Tucker the pony had to go home.

Duuuh, Mama!

Driving is such fodder for the best bon mots from Chatty Cathy. The other day, we were nearly home from whatever boring errand and Bunny kept asking me if I remembered some mundane moment that was obviously more interesting to her than me. I kept saying that I did not remember it, that I forget way more than I remember these days and that's how it is when you're a grown up. You can't keep all that junk in your head. Well, Bunny says to me, "Mama, I keep all my rememberies in my head! You should do that."

Touche.

Yesterday, when we were driving home from picking up our CSA veggies:
Bunny: Can I take a cat to college?
Me: Usually they don't like you to have pets in dorms. Dorms are the big houses that kids live in in college.
Bunny: Oh, I am not going to live at college.
Me: So you just want to take him to class?
Bunny: Yes! Can I?
Me: Well, I think he'd get awful grades. And how would he use a pencil? It might be too hard for a cat to go to college.
Bunny has melted into peals of laughter at this point...

Then there was last night, while we were watching Survivor, and yes, Bunny watches, it, too:
Bunny: Mama, if I ever go on Survivor, will you pack me some snacks?
Me: Yes, that's a very good idea.
Bunny: If I had snacks, I am sure I'd win. Because no one remembers food.
Me: Yes, they do seem to have a hard time finding food.
Bunny: Oh! And some lasagne. No one could beat me if my belly was full of lasagne.

First Hair Cut

Carter's mop hair was cute, but he kept running his gooey hands through his hair when eating, and I was becoming tired of cleaning it so often. I clipped it today. :) I'm not done, as he only tolerated it for so long...I need to get the 'top' shorter than it is, because he looks like a skate-rat with long bangs. And there are some wisps in back that I missed as he wriggled around. But all in all, it's amazing how he suddenly became more 'little boy' and less 'baby'.

Paul's going to be sad, but I really needed to get the crusty curls gone. ;)

Four year olds and razors?

Had an eventful day. First, I should mention, Ralph remains missing. I doubt we'll ever see his fuzzy face again. After 16 years, it's hard to think of a Ralph-free existence. Bunny is most upset about it. I simply wish I *knew*. Is he dead? Did he have a stroke and become disorented? Maybe someone is feeding him. But, in my heart and gut, I feel he died. Hopefully quickly. Of course the troubling thing is the thought that he could be hurt and suffering somewhere. It's very upsetting, and I miss him annoying me for milk in the morning. Otis is going to need a friend, too. He sleeps with Bunny, but he needs a cat compainion, too. He is not like Ralph and won't go around making friends with allt he cats on the block. Ralph is gregarious. Otis is a scardey cat.

Anyway. Today was my first day working in Bun's class. I was Art Room parent and we did fold-overs with red and blue paint to make today's color--purple. All in all, it was fun, and not so much stressful as contained chaos. Which is fine. I was amused by how some of the moms were so into doing it 'right'... and not too shockingly, it was their kids who could not 'imagine' their pseudo-Rorschach was anything. Probably because maybe they'd be 'wrong'. I didn't care, and I guess I don't even care enough about using too much paint or whatever. Guess that's why I have to clean so many messes at home, haha.

Carter was pretty good for Heidi, though she said he had to be held or worn the whole time. Except! She got him to take a 2 hr nap in the stroller. Which is actually better than I manage. Kids always do something like that for others they'd never do for you, the little stinkers. I was glad he was not miserable and also that Heidi was not miserable (more so that, honestly, since I would not want her to offer to go thru hell every other Monday). Bun and Lily had a great time playing when I came to pick up Carter, and it was nice to hang out with Heidi while Carter finally got on the floor and into the toys he was too verklempt to play with when I was gone.

Anyway, what does this all have to do with razors? Not much. Except that this afternoon after we were home and Bunny was supposedly going to the bathroom, it seems she decided to shave her legs. Or her foot, I guess. I don't think she got far before she sliced a little sliver off the top of her foot. She was scared of the cut, but more so of being found out, so she left a trail of bloody toilet paper to her room. Didn't take Sherlock Holmes to solve that mystery. She spent an hour in her room because of that. Yeah, it was a long time. She's also not allowed in our room/bathroom AT ALL unless she's up at night needing snuggling. Made sure she knew that was okay. But after the nailpolish yesterday, the lipgloss a couple of days earlier, and who knows what every other day before that I've had it. No more mama-daddy room privileges.

Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?? *snort*

Been a long time...

Time marched on, tirelessly. Too bad I can't say the same for myself.

Bunny started preschool the week before last, and me being me, of course I had to scramble to do all kinds of stuff last minute to get all the Ts dotted and Is crossed. Oh shoot, that's backwards--which is how I ended up doing everything for those couple of weeks. ;)

Paul got his man-vacation at Burning Man and my father came out to visit. It was a nice visit, and great to have backup so I could go to the bathroom or shower. Plus it's nice for hte kids to spend more than a day or two with him.

Recently my 'no fair' button has been stuck down. Where is the equivocation?? When is MY vacation alone where I don't take care of anyone? Na-ga-da. Na-ga-happen. Paul wants us to vacation at the beach, but it's still not the same. I am going to a MNO tomorrow with some playgroup moms, but it's not the same. If I were to take a vacation as Paul did, it'd be doubly expensive, because who takes care of the kids whilst I'm gone? Does Paul take off time and use his vacation for staying home with kids? Pay a sitter? Ugh. Times like this, having two incomes would be nice. But noooo, I have to want to raise my kids full time. Shit.

I didn't say my inner brat was rational. She wants cake and lots of it, and for each piece to be made custom order at her whimsy. She needs a time out for longer than a trip to Target alone to buy baby wipes and loiter looking at the nailpolishes because at least she didn't bring any kids with her and it may be her one time all week to be alone.

Actually, she needs to go to the gym more and use their free childcare. She needs more zen and less *grrrr*.