Spam

No, not this:

www.spam.com

 

I mean internet spam. I don't get many spam comments but here are some recent ones I enjoyed:

"Hi to every body, it's my first pay a visit of this weblog; this web site contains amazing and truly fine information designed for readers."

Why, yes, my blog DOES contain amazing and truly fine information for readers.

"I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog.
Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it's rare to see a great blog like this one nowadays."

Aw, shucks, you flatter me ...

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Peabody has started getting up when she wakes up in the morning or after a nap. She used to stay in bed and call me. Now she comes to find me and says, "Hi Honey, look who here?"

I heard something fall in another room and called out, "What was that?" Peabody yelled back, "It was a crash!"

We went for a walk and at one point Peabody started bouncing in her seat in the front of the stroller. "Stop doing that," I told her. She quit for about a minute then started up again. "Please stop," I said more firmly. Again she ceased for about a minute then started again. This time I stopped the stroller so I could walk around and deal with her, but she bounced up just as I stopped and the forward momentum carried her right out of her seat. She landed on her hands and knees on the sidewalk and began to wail. Snickering, I comforted her while admonishing, "See what happens when you disobey?" I wish I had a video of that. I keep replaying it in my head and it makes me laugh every time.

She sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" like this: "Up up up up worl' so high, up up up up ..." then trails off because she can't remember what comes next.

The Boogie recently learned that there is such a thing as a dictionary. She is fascinated by a book full of words and their meanings. She asks us to look up words, any words. She opens it and points to a word and asks, "What about this one?"

One day the girls were watching The Cat in the Hat on PBS. The Boogie came to find me and said, "Thing One and Thing Two's words are really disappointing." Thing One and Thing Two speak gibberish.
"Hmm, are you sure you mean 'disappointing'?" I replied, figuring she meant to say something like confusing, "I don't think that means what you think it does."
"Well, I am really disappointed! I can't understand what they're saying!" she insisted.
Oh, well, in that case I guess she's right!

Daylight Savings Time: A Long-Winded Post

So, daylight savings time.

I love it.

Please still be my friend.

I know I am probably far, far in the minority but I can't help it. I love it. I'm happy when it arrives. I enjoy it while it's here. I'm sad when it goes. I've traveled enough times across time zones for one measly hour to be (almost) nothing to adjust to. *insert finger snap* I'm not a morning person so having the extra hour of light at the end of the day makes me one happy girl.

Eric ran in his first 5K last weekend. Several people from our church and the cousins' school participated, including Eric's brothers and their dad. I'm really proud of him for doing it.

And just for the record, no, I didn't run, and honestly at this point I have no intention of running one. Running is not for this mama. Just thinking about it makes my knees hurt.

The forecast called for a winter mix of rain and snow that morning but thankfully it held off until that afternoon. It's been mostly cold and often miserable since. As my friend Mrs. Specktacular posted on Facebook, "When did we Spring Forward to October?" Seriously. I'm over this weather. Come on, now, Spring. Enough procrastinating.

The Boogie's friend T has been hanging out with us a lot lately while his mom has been in and out of the hospital due to pregnancy complications. He is a cute and funny little guy. If he sees me vacuuming he gets the toy vacuum and "helps." If he sees me emptying the dishwasher he asks to put away the silverware. If he sees me washing dishes he tells me he's a good dish washer, too! He tells me, "Let me know when you need me to help you." He has a brand-new beautiful baby sister now and I know he's going to be a very helpful big brother.

So, on to the mama journaling ...

We watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. At the very end the Boogie ran to tell me, "Honey, those colorful guys and the regular guys are fighting about the girls."

 

She professes to dislike onions in any form. If she finds them in her food she complains about them and picks them out. However, she will snarf down an everything bagel like nobody's business. One of these days I'm going to break it to her that she's been eating onions in those all along!

Peabody has developed an annoying habit of interrupting. If we don't stop talking when she starts, she just talks over our conversation. To be honest, I believe it is a parental fault -- this has probably been going on for a while without us realizing it, and is just now getting worse. I've been getting on her about it: "Don't talk when I'm talking!" One day the Boogie was eavesdropping.
"Don't talk when I'm talking," I instructed Peabody, "that is ..."
"Interjecting," the Boogie interjected, "it's called interjecting."
Well, I was going to say rude ... and maybe this is more of a widespread problem than originally observed ...

The obsession with all things Toy Story continues, though actual movie viewings have grown infrequent. Peabody knows them all apart and tells us, "I wanna watch To' 'tory 2." Both girls can quote many lines. I overheard Peabody one day saying, "And I packed your angry eyes just in case, and some cheese puffs." Her favorite is, "And some monkey chow! Monkey chow? What for? Well, for the monkeys, of course! Come on, monkeys!"

She tells us, "I am Bu' Ligh'year. I am a 'pace ranger, an' I have a laser!" Then she shoots us with her arm. "I have wings! Wanna see?" she asks. She pushes a pretend button on her chest and shoots her arms out to the sides. "I'n flyin'!" She races down the hall. She has a very vivid imagination and will entertain herself for long periods of time. I like to stand around the corner and listen to her.

I sang a special in church on Sunday. Afterwards P and I had this conversation:
P: "Honey, dat is good singin'!"
Me: "Thank you. Maybe one day you can sing a song in church."
P: "Yeah! I can sing" began singing "you got a friend ah me."
Me: "Oh, well, maybe ... OR maybe you could sing a song about Jesus!"
P, after considering for a moment: "Nah."

I sliced some bell peppers for dinner. The Boogie doesn't like them, though to her credit every now and then she will try a bite.
"Do you like peppers?" I asked Peabody.
"No," she replied.
"Do you like bell peppers?" I tried again. Her face brightened.
"Yes!" she exclaimed. She ate a piece of pizza and several slices of bell pepper then announced that she was finished.
"Would you like any more?" I asked. "Some more pizza?"
"No, I'n all done," she said.
"How about some more peppers?" I asked.
"Yes, please! More pepper. And dip," she added. She kept asking for more. When she finally got down from her chair she kept coming back to have just one more slice of pepper. I'm sure she ate a whole bell pepper by the time she was through.

When she wants someone to open a door for her she says, "Ding-dong," then knocks three times.

I gave her some Smarties after lunch one day a few weeks ago. Ever since then she asks for "fruities" after every.single.meal. "I'n all done," she says, "I'n ready for frooo'ies."

If she asks me something and I don't answer right away, she persists, "Yes or no, Honey? Yes, or no?"

I realized that she can't pronounce the letter "s" at the beginning of a word if it's immediately followed by a consonant. She can say sofa, sassy, and silly but story is 'tory and so forth. Some words sound like they begin with an "h". Today she told me something was 'tinky. "It h'mell like a conk!" A conk? A conk? What is a conk? The Boogie knew. "She means skunk!" she laughed. Oh. Of course, a 'kunk is 'tinky.


When I do something that makes Peabody laugh she tells me, "Honey, are you hilarious!"

If something is big she says, "It is who-MON-gous! It is whoooge!"

If she makes a mess she tells us, "It was a akkident. It was jus' a akkident."

I put her in her Disney princesses dress for church one night. "Ohhhh, dis is adorable," she crooned, stroking it.

Tonight I asked her, "Who do you love?"
"I love ... my Daddy!" she exclaimed.
"Who else?" I asked.
"I love ... Mommom."
"Who else?"
"I love ... Mama Dog."
"Who else?"
"I love ... you."
"I love you too," I said. "Who else do you love?"
"I love ... Lucy!"
Yes, she means Lucy Ricardo. Guess what her favorite episode was, though she only saw it once? "I wanna watch superhero Lucy!" she pleads.
 

http://superman.wikia.com/wiki/I_Love_Lucy

And here are some random, blurry cell phone pictures:

I've been seeing a lot of this face lately

Have I mentioned lately how much I dislike PlayDoh? It is relegated to the kitchen if playing with it outside is just not an option!

Snow Day

When I woke up yesterday morning, it was snowing.

I was totally surprised. Normally I keep an eye on what the weather is going to do but this one caught me completely off-guard. I figured it would stop soon ... nope, it went on for most of the day, and then turned to rain.

The Boogie's friend T came over to spend the day with us, and off and on one of the kids would ask, "Can we go play in the snow?"

Here's the problem with kids going outside to play in the snow: it means I have to go outside, too. I am decidedly not a fan of being cold in any variation. So I kept putting them off and putting them off ... Finally I remembered seeing this idea and thought, bingo! That's what we'll do! (Check out that blog if you have littles, it's full of wonderful ideas.) T's daddy picked him up after naps so he didn't get to play with the snow -- wish I'd thought of it sooner so he could have had a chance, too.

The girls were occupied for quite a bit while I made dinner. Because it really wasn't all that cold outside, the snow was the perfect moldable consistency.

The girls kept complaining that their hands were cold. I'd encourage them to take a break so they could warm up, but they were powerless to resist the draw of snow on the dining room table.

What a great idea! For sure we will do this again, though hopefully not THIS winter. I don't want to see any more snow!

The Adventures of Mama Dog: One Year

One year ago today Baby O-nee was born. (He is quickly outgrowing "baby" status so I'm going to have to come up with another name for him, but I figure I'm good for another 3 or 4 months anyway.) He sure is a cute little guy. And busy! Oh my ... He is like a little demolition baby in the church nursery! Most of the time that I get to spend with him is in there, usually along with Peabody, and she loves to make him laugh.

Also one year ago today Mama Dog became part of our family. I gotta admit, at first I didn't think we'd make it this far with her. For the first six weeks I had this thought multiple times daily: "If I can just make it to six months I can beg Eric to agree to get rid of her." Oh, the money she cost us, and the anxiety she caused me. But my anxiety, the visits to the vet, and the insane amounts of shed fur in the house gradually lessened. Around the six week mark I realized that I wasn't having that particular thought every single day, and then over the next few weeks I had it less and less until it stopped popping up altogether. Eric kept encouraging me, "She's a good dog, and good with the kids." He was, and still is, right. She's very patient with every kid who comes over.

Her anxiety at being left alone has greatly improved, and for several many months we've been able to safely leave her gated in the kitchen when we're not home. She adjusted to sleeping in her crate (though we have to leave the door off or she won't even go in.) And, she is wonderful incentive to go for walks! I feel guilty if it's a nice day and I don't take her. When she sees her leash or harness she starts to wriggle crazily, squirming and jumping.

We've tried and tried to get a good picture of her but it is much harder than it would seem. She turns away, or the angle is weird, or the usual is that she puts her ears back and slinks over to us when she sees the camera. Eric says, "Of course she doesn't like having her picture taken. The last time that happened she ended up on Craigslist." She really is awfully cute and I wish I had a really good picture of her with her ears up. The occasional lucky cell phone shot will have to do for now.

She's a funny little thing -- yesterday I was working in the kitchen with an old movie playing on my Nook. A dog in the movie was barking, and Mama Dog came rushing into the kitchen, barking and searching everywhere for that dog. She kept looking quizzically into the open dishwasher which cracked me up. When the girls watch any of the Toy Story movies she goes crazy at any squeaky toys or barking dogs.

She will often get "the crazies" as we call it, and dash madly back and forth through the house or around the yard. She doesn't like change and will mope around for hours if we rearrange furniture or bring something significantly new into a room. If she wants our attention she will come over and step on someone's foot. She loves to carry things around in her mouth and when we are outside she is never happier than when she's carrying a stick or leaf around.

She LOVES cheese and comes running when she hears us open any kind of bag. She sniffs around at our feet in hopes that we dropped any food.

For Christmas Eric gave me an anti-fatigue mat (or whatever those things are called) for in front of the kitchen sink. Mama Dog quickly claimed it for her own. I have to nudge her out of the way if I want to stand on it; sometimes I realize that I've been working around her for a while!

She's kind of boring too, though. She'll fetch a toy a few times and then she's done. She'll play tug-o'-war if she feels like it. She doesn't know how to do any tricks. I know she's smart enough to pick it up quickly if I would work with her -- I keep telling myself that I should at least teach her how to shake hands and lay down and roll over.

Mostly she's kind of a couch-potato dog (who isn't allowed on the couch) which was just exactly what I wanted. She's pretty mellow, and mostly obedient, and friendly. She likes to be loved on and will always roll over for a good belly rub. I don't love her the way I loved the dogs we had when I was growing up -- I guess having kids changed how I feel about animals! But I do like her pretty well ... most of the time ... and I'm thankful that God matched us with such a nice pet.

March!

It's here, at last! Only fourteen days until spring!

It occurred to me last night that winter is the only season I dread coming, eagerly anticipate ending, and rejoice to leave behind.

I think that last sentence is grammatically correct. I had to pick it apart:
Winter is the only season I dread coming.
Winter is the only season I eagerly anticipate ending.
Winter is the only season I rejoice to leave behind.

Yes, I think that's right, though rather cumbersome.

Cumbersome! What a great word.

I like words.

Signs of spring make me happy. I planted daffodil bulbs last fall and they started poking their heads up a few weeks ago. I thought it was too early but after asking around it seems not. I can.not.wait for them to bloom! I bought some tulips last week and they are just so beautiful.

Daffodils and tulips are two of my favorite flowers. I think it's because they mean spring to me. I also love peonies! I think I might try to plant some this year. I've been hearing more birds singing. The onion grass is starting to grow too. There are tufts of green grass all over the brown yard, which makes the lawn look like it needs a haircut. Hmm, "lawn" sounds too manicured. I don't think we have a lawn. It's just a yard.

The weather has been decent -- not much rain the past week or so, and temperatures climbing into the forties most days. We got to walk six days in a row last week! We're supposed to get some rain, possibly snow (blech) in a day or two, but by the weekend and beginning of next week the forecast is showing temperatures in the fifties.

I am also very excited about Daylight Savings Time. Losing an hour on Sunday is a bummer but I love the longer days. 

I hosted a baby celebration on Saturday. We didn't shower the mother-to-be with gifts, as it is the second baby and they have almost everything they need. Instead the ladies at church contributed generously for a gift card, just like they did for me when I was expecting Peabody. We ate lots of food, played a few games, and I gave a short devotional (which I felt totally ill-equipped for!) We had amazing cupcakes from a local cupcakery:

They were delicious! Overall I think it went very well. I was delighted that so many ladies were able to come, and that thirteen women were able to squeeze into my tiny living/dining room. It was described to me as "cozy" which I think I like better than "tiny." Ha!

Eric took the girls over to 52 where they hung out with FIL and watched Toy Story 3. Mama Dog got to go, too. She was so excited to go somewhere. She is a total spaz when she sees us with her leash. Trying to put her harness on is sometimes harder than diapering a wiggly baby.

Having people over forces me to do things that otherwise get put off forever. Like moving those Christmas decorations I decided to donate which have been sitting on the living room bookshelf for almost two months. And using a Magic Eraser on the backs of doors that were covered with smudgy fingerprints. And clean all the crumbs off the chair under Peabody's booster seat. You know, stuff like that.

I also dusted the living room. That is to say, I got out my two Swiffer duster wand thingies and waited for Thing One and Thing Two to notice. Sure enough, they immediately asked to help. They dusted almost the whole room by themselves. I only had to do the high spots. While she was working the Boogie asked, "Honey, do you dust twice a year?" I told her yes, something like that! So that means I don't have to dust again until September, right? AWESOME.