Buried them there kids at the beach today, I did. Hilarity ensued.

The postcards telling kids which teacher they've been assigned for the next school year came in the mail this past weekend. And know what? THREE girls called Colin today (girls calling boys? geesh) to see who he'd gotten for a teacher. Oh, and one email from Emilie, of course.

And know what ELSE? I feel pretty good about that.

(I'm also feeling very good about the fact that he got Mrs. Thompson for 3rd grade rather than the unfortunately-married-named Mrs. Butt. I'm not mature enough for that...someone at school clearly has my back.)

So, anyway, Colin...you go on with your bad self, killah...

Casey Jame - Killing Me from Matt Underwood on Vimeo.

I'm mostly just so excited about this because I actually figured it out...which is no small FEAT! But, for those of you under a rock who haven't heard, this is my niece, Miss Casey Jame Shuler. The video is from her live performance in Louisville, KY a couple of months ago synced with the original track from her EP.

So proud of this one, and so glad I've figured out a way to link her video here, so you can go PLEASE! TELL ME HOW I CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GIRL! And I can go...HERE! You can find her self-titled CD (Casey Jame) on Itunes and at Amazon.com. You can also see her at www.caseyjame.com or go to her myspace page at www.myspace.com/caseyjame. Not enough? Follow her on Twitter! Facebook! Flickr! And even better? Buy some of her merchandise so that her dad will maybe have enough left over to leave me a little somethin' somethin' in the will!

Congrats, Casey! Love you, Missy!

Sam & Pooch...looking forward to their civil union...

Yup--you're not seeing things. That dog really IS that big. And Pooch really IS that small.

We're dog sitting my friend Sarah's horse---errr, dog---for the week, and things are going just about as swimmingly as you'd expect. We've put a dog who is stupid enough to bark at his own reflection in a mirror in a small space with a 400 pound puppy. They take turns being scared to death of each other. There have been loud barking competitions, much wrestling, and the customary fights over rawhide.

One thing we didn't anticipate? The humping. Oh, the constant humping. On Sam's part, not our Pooch's.

Which, honestly, is akin to watching a hippopotamus make sweeeeet luuuuurve to a squirrel.

A study in contrasts...

Did God allow a mother's children to have such very different personalities so that on any given day there would only be ONE you wanted to strangle? I can't say who it really was during the day today, but it was both of them for many of the same reasons tonight. I actually wanted to just contrast the two little monkey's personalities in this post with a couple of recent stories, but I've just had to go up the stairs for the HUNDREDTH time since they were put to bed an hour ago. I got sidetracked.

Okay. Illustration one:

Both kids got balloons at a cookout thing a couple of weeks ago. Time to go home...I remind them both that sometimes the transfer to the car can be the trickiest part of balloon ownership---so careful. Colin immediately asks if he can please stuff his in the trunk so there will be NO RISK of losing it. Sydney? She decides to play balloon vs. sunroof the whole way home, and promptly LOSES it. Tears and gnashing of teeth ensue. And you know what happens NEXT? Colin no longer wants his if she can't have one too. Grrrr.... Mommy & Sydney have small talk about personal responsibility for the benefit of Colin.

Illustration two:

I have just made chocolate chip cookies, and they are still so hot. Like, the chips are made of molten lava at this point. I offer the kids a cookie when they cool. Colin would like his to please be put into the fridge so that there will be no chance of getting burned or any unpleasantness. Sydney steals one while my back is turned, burns her tongue on a hot chocolate chip, and runs screaming from the room. She will not return with kind words for me or my stupid cookies for at least 15 minutes. Colin is left shaking his head. Second talk about personal responsibility. He smiles.

Illustration three:

We went to Barnes & Noble bookstore today...one of our very favorite things to do. Spent a good long time there, and Colin got a big chapter book. On the drive home, I caught a glimpse of him in the mirror...head down, intently reading, thoroughly engrossed in this actually quite advanced book. I smile to myself, then tip my head a little to get a good look at Sydney. She is staring at herself in the reflection on the window and has a finger stuck up EACH NOSTRIL. She is singing A Spoonful of Sugar to her friend in the window.

Ahhhhhh................

We went on our first hike of the summer today! We decided on a loop that would hit 2 summits, first Welch Mt. and then Dickey Mt. It is billed as a rather challenging loop, but my kids have a truly amazing love for hiking. Like, as in, they're like 20 year olds when we do it. No fear, no exhaustion, and every corner turned is like Christmas. I LOVE it. So, here's the story of our 4.4 mile "loop" hike, as told in pictures, with a couple of other notable hightlights at the end.


1. Here's where we were about 45 minutes into the hike. According to my little trailguide thingy, that should have put us at the first summit, Welch Mountain. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed, and had a big snack. Then, we all shared a good joke about how glad we were that we didn't have to climb that crazy looking sheer cliff in the background! As fate would have it...


2. Here's us standing at NOT EVEN THE TOP of the ACTUAL summit of Welch. Looking down on where we thought was the ACTUAL FRIGGING TOP of Welch. Good joke, huh?


3. Continuing ascent. Colin got a good laugh at the top when he turned around & said "guess what? If I don't use my hands and bend over...I'll totally roll all the way to the bottom". HAHAHAHAAA!!!!


4. Sydney...doing what she calls her "mountain monkey" climb. Trooper.


5. YAY! A summit! Of something! We think we're at the end before our descent, and we roll out our full lunch. Thing is, we are still under the assumption that picture #1 was the summit of Welch, and we are now on Dickey. Again, snarky comments made about the crazy idiots who would want to climb that scary looking thing in the background. Enter a woman who says "are you kids doing the whole loop, or just this summit?". I'm all--this is the end of the loop, as in summit 2, and she's all---yeah, actually, no. See that right there? THAT'S Dickey...see ya at the top!! Kids ask "Mommy, are you sure you packed enough snacks for this?!" Mommy makes mental note to ration...


6. See that there? With the rocky trail? That's where we had lunch, ya know, on Welch, where we thought we were done? This is now 45 minutes AFTER said lunch, still on way up to summit of Dickey.


7. On our descent, both kids yell "Mom! Pooch is here!". And I am completely blown away by the fact that, indeed, Pooch seems to have stowed away in our car, snuck up the mountain, and is now doing his best to camouflage his presence. It's the stillest I've ever seen him sit! (It's a tree stump, folks!)


8. This is back in the car, about 10 minutes out of the park...headed home. I took the picture while flying down the highway at 80, and took it to show how wiped the kids were. But really? Really? All I've done is set myself up for my child endangerment arrest...because look veeery closely....

.....yeah.....Syd's not buckled. Nice. Remedied that immediately.

So, there are about 20 other awesome pictures, but you get the idea. The only other highlights?

**the nice old lady who asked Sydney what was in her backpack, and before she could answer...I said "Mommy's FLASK"! She didn't get the joke.

**there was a group of about 10 boys from a local camp there hiking the same loop. They were all about 15 or 16 years old. They were right along with us most of the 4 1/2 hours, and every SINGLE time we would approach and pass them, Sydney would yell "YOU GUYS GONNA LET A FIVE YEAR OLD GIRL BEAT YOU?!" Sure enough---we beat them down, and they ALL shook her hand. She was in HEAVEN.

**a pit-stop about 3 hours in where BOTH kids decided that no, in fact, they didn't just have to pee, but also both had an immediate and severe need to poop. So, I made it very clear that pooping was something that was really so uncool on a hike, and I sent them a little ways off the path with napkins and strict instructions to NOT SAY THE WORD POOP. They were to act like they were ONLY peeing---or better yet? Collecting flora & neat insects for their 4H club exhibit. Good. Yes. Got it. Then I heard the footsteps. Around the corner comes Henry the very-serious-70-year-old-avid hiker man (walking stick, wool socks, fanny pack, wide-brimmed sensible hat that breathes)...RIGHT as Colin yells, "MOM! THIS POOP IS A WICKED HARD ONE--IT'S GOT STAGE FRIGHT I THINK!". Henry the Hiker stops. Stares at me. I stare back at him. He opens his mouth to say "are you aware that your two monsters are taking CRAPS about a foot off the marked trail?" And I open my mouth to say "are you gonna carry the soiled napkins down the mountain IN YOUR BACKPACK ABOUT 7 INCHES FROM YOUR NOSE, or am I?". Yeah, that's what I thought. Good day, sir.

A FANTASTIC day overall. Tomorrow we head to Boston. Where there will be indoor plumbing.

Overheard last night as we were putting the kids to bed:

ERIC: Uh, oh, Syd. Looks like the Feds were here.

SYDNEY: Huh?

ERIC: Seems your room's been tossed.

SYDNEY: Huh?

Summer is here. Which means...so are the busy days. Busy. Like, unbelievably busy. I am sure I wouldn't want it any other way, but it's busy.

We like to plan our summers to be pretty FULL. We have a method that works for us. You know how during the year, your kids are always asking "can we do ___?" or "can we go to ___?". Most of those things really do sound fun, but all require full days or even overnight trips...which isn't practical during the school year. So, we keep a "summer folder" of flyers, newspaper ads, internet pages, jotted down ideas, maps, brochures, etc. Then, the day after school gets out, we make a fat breakfast & open our folder full of all of the stuff we were interested in during the year. Then we get out the calendar, & plug 'em in! Add to that a beach day each week, library visits on a specified day each week for the summer reading program, 2 hikes a month, and we're BOOKED. It's really great, because having the kids hear no or we can't go is no sweat during the school year... because it just goes into the summer folder!

And---truth be told---it feeds my need to have everything alphabetized, color coded, spreadsheet-ed, and planned. Everyone wins!

So---I'll be posting some pictures of our adventures throughout the summer. Stay tuned, we've got some fun stuff planned! For now---here's a favorite from today:

The kids are going to VBS this week, and today they learned about Abraham & Sarah and their almost-sacrifice of Isaac. Sydney was all "MOM---listen to THIS--"!!! She started in on the story, in excruciating detail (because that's how Sydney rolls), and was really doing a great job of remembering the details. I listened carefully, but then just casually said the name Isaac, because she couldn't seem to remember the son's name. Dead silence. Mad face. Hands on hips. Sydney says, "seriously?? you've HEARD this before?!!" Turns & stomps out of the room. HAHAHAAAAA!!!!!

So, yeah, Sydney. 10 years of Christian school, 4 years of Christian college (okay...3 1/2, but that's another story), ummm....yeah.....I've heard it before.

Sydney does NOT like to be anything but the only know-it-all in the family.

Stay tuned for Summer Spreadsheet of 2009!!

Sydney is at the stage where she can read a few words, but THINKS she can read entire books. She thinks she can read these books because they are books we've read at night for the past so-very-many years, and she's heard them hundreds of times.

One of the favorites is Madeline. A classic. She told me tonight that she would do the reading, and launched off into an almost-perfect recitation of the book...memorized quite impressively.

Until this page. Her rendition went like this: "And all the little girls cried, boohoo, we want our independence changed, too".

Which is amusing for the sole fact that her father and I are on our knees praying every single night that Sydney's independence changes as well.

Ahhhh...irony.

Is there anything that says start-of-summer quite like a Slip & Slide? I can't think of anything.

I also can't think of anything more "real deal" than Colin's hysterically LOSING HIS MIND with glee in the background of that picture of Sydney.

I thought I was telling a story with the expression on Syd's face in that one...but I think Colin kinda steals it, don't you?

Play ball!

Last night we went to see the Sea Dogs (Red Sox farm team) play the NH Fisher Cats. We had a BLAST! Colin & his best buddy Luke were able to go out on the field for a "parade", because they had participated in a reading challenge at school. It was pretty cool. Here are some highlights, chosen strictly because I think they all truly capture the essence of each of us.

Colin? Psyched to be there, totally all in for the fun. Sydney? Psyched strictly for the 4 pounds of peanuts she managed to wolf down in the first 2 innings...and when the peanuts are gone, really? What's the point of even staying awake? And finally Mommy. Ahhhh...Mommy. Well---what do you THINK Mommy was there for?!

I am thoroughly convinced that there is NOTHING
Sydney would not do for gum.

I KNEW IT! I SO KNEW IT!

I was volunteering in Colin's class this afternoon, and his adorable friend Emilie got up from her seat & went to Colin's table to pass him a note. I just winked at him, he winked back at me, but then HE got up & passed HER something a minute or two later.

THEY WERE EXCHANGING DIGITS!! HA!

I found a note in his backpack the other day that had her email address on it...ooohhhh, boy....I had no idea this was gonna start this early. Yikes, but really---awwwwww....!

"Sydney, what is this number?"

16

"ummmm....onety-six?"


Kindergarten, here we come!

Colin just had a birthday a couple of days ago. Eight. Wow. I like to write both of the kids a note or something to celebrate the occasion. It's always a little something about how I feel about them, or who they're becoming, or to reflect on some part of their character or personality as those things develop. I was going to do this for Colin, but he ended up kinda writing it for me yesterday.

His Nana had slipped a ten dollar bill in one of his birthday cards. Colin has been saving---and I mean saving; I've actually given a bank teller a ONE dollar bill before--money in his little bank account. He says he's saving it so that he can "buy a truck when I'm 16". It's almost $150 now, and I'm so proud of him. Anyhow---I was sure he'd want to put that money right in the bank responsible-boy-that-he-is, but thought I'd ask if he'd rather buy a toy or something.

I think it may actually be the first time he's ever considered BUYING rather than SAVING---whose kid IS that? I digress...

So we headed off together to get some toys. I told him specifically in the car that the entire $10 was for him. HIM. Not to buy something for Sydney, not for his friend Luke, not for Daddy or for me...HIM. And, of course, if he had money left over afterward, we'd throw it in the bank. We headed straight for toys. He went down the Barbie aisle. "Just something small-ish for Sydney?" NO!

I redirected him, and we finally got to the aisles that would work for him. He held that $10 bill like it was made of GLASS, and slowly walked up and down the aisle doing the math. There was a really neat thing that he's been wanting, but it was $9.97, and he said he'd rather make the money go farther (it's like he's adopted?!). He finally settled on a toy for $6, and another one that was $2.97. I explained that this was gonna leave him with a dollar or so extra, and he said he knew what he would do with it. I assumed the bank, or maybe some candy in the checkout lane. Whatever. Good. Decision made.

When we got to the checkout counter he told me, "I've got this...I'll take it" (ouch--my heart)---then handed the cashier his two toys and his $10 bill. She handed him back a dollar and change. I was really trying to be quiet & let him handle things, but I gently reminded him that he'd forgotten about spending that last dollar.

He looks at me, cocks his head to the side and says, "do you think they have one of those buckets for the sick kids in the front of the store?".

I took his hand, led him to the display, he folded that dollar into the smallest little wad he could, and put it in the Children's Hospital container.

And then I fell to my knees right there and hugged him just hard enough to make sure that I will never forget what I felt in that very moment.

Colin, you are an amazing boy. You are making a difference every single day, buddy. We are blessed, my friend.

I love you with my whole heart.
Love, Mommy

This is a photo of how I looked when I went OUT IN PUBLIC this afternoon. It was a day that made the top 5 of "what the??" kind of days. Here's the rundown.

1. Morning starts at 6:30 with Colin running down to tell us the potty in his bathroom was "overflowing"---which usually means that it's sounding funny or there's a poop that won't go down. So, I got up & put my contacts in...took my time...but then the kids started YELLING that it was an emergency. DUDE---it was like the movies. The bathroom floor was FLOODED (with clear water, thank God), and the toilet was still flowing over the sides. Flowing. I threw every towel in the place on the floor & tried to get the thing to stop flowing, but nothin'. Then I heard what sounded like a sink on, and realized in HORROR that it was coming from the kitchen. Ran down the stairs. Kitchen lights all POURING water out of the fixtures. Yelling to get Eric, he bolts down & turns off water...then there was much more drama and yelling and crying and standing there in like total shock. Had to cut some of the seams in the sheetrock in the ceiling to release the water & pressure. Long story short: don't know what caused it & don't care. Gonna deal with it.

2. Today's is Colin's birthday (I have an EIGHT year old!), and he was dismayed that the whole Niagra Falls in the kitchen thing was gonna put a damper on the hey-it's-my-birthday-and-there-better-be-monster-truck-shaped-pancakes-for-me thing. Soothed the situation with pancakes that were round --but they were served without me smacking anyone across the face with my spatula. The kids decided to consider that good enough.

3. Cleaning helps my mood & since it was so beautiful out, I decided to clean outside rather than in. Started a raking, weeding, mulching project that ended up taking almost 7 hours to complete. There were about 35 trips up and down the yard with wheelbarrows full of mulch. Looks great out there, but I can't feel my legs/back/arms. The kicker? I managed to upset a nasty swarm of ants...noteworthy because I am ALLERGIC to red ant bites. They were less than happy & stung me all over the place, causing my ears & neck to turn red, swell, and itch like you don't even understand. Ever see the movie Hitch with Will Smith? Yeah---like THAT. awesome.

4. THEN Eric lets me know that yes, in fact, I DO need to go to Staples and pick up his whatevers for his class tonight. And he needs them, oh, like now-ish. So, folks...I went to Staples. I've been out with only minimal makeup & with minimally clean clothes in the past. THIS was something else entirely today. I did not put on ONE BIT of makeup, had actual mulch between my flip-flopped toes, and let's not forget that my neck & ears looked like I just described in #3. Threw on an old hat & rolled. Colin went with me & looked over in the car and said, "wow--mommy--you don't look good at ALL". Thanks.

Honestly, there were a few other things, but you get the idea. I think I'm just gonna call it a day, not operate any heavy machinery (just in case), and hit it early.

SLEEPOVER!

Colin has his buddies Noah & Caleb here for a sleepover tonight. And honestly, it being called a "sleep"over might be a bit of a stretch.

This picture was taken when the movie started---see how happy everyone looks? Yeah--that didn't exactly last much past the closing credits. THAT'S when it all went downhill; starting with Caleb & Colin requesting Twinkle, Twinkle and Jesus Loves Me respectively, while Noah started in with the chorus of So What by Pink. I complied, but told him that even So What has to sound sleepy at bedtime, so I quietly & beautifully started, "na-na na-na na-na naaah" ---which went well until Noah jumped up & screamed a chorus solo. Laughter ensued & then it was suddenly 20 minutes later.

Caleb rolled of the air mattress & bumped his head. Sydney realized she wasn't invited to the actual SLEEPING part, and lost her mind. Colin spilled water on his shirt & had to make a production of getting a new one. And underwear. And pants. Noah mistakenly passed gas & just about died of embarrasment---which is new to my kids. Nightlights were discussed & adjusted to everyone's liking...only to find out that some of the light in the room had actually been from the sensor light outside---so readjustments were necessary.

We are now at Colin & Noah in the playroom and Sydney & Caleb up like happy little clams in MY king-size bed. I have been up the stairs between the older guys in the playroom & the younger guys in my room about a hundred times. I have sung songs, given kisses, rubbed backs, and stroked heads. Four of 'em. Which, in fact, is no small thing for me. See, I was one of those Baby Wise moms. Which, unlike the Ferber method of gradually easing yourself out of the bedroom routine, means that you help them until they're 12 weeks old and then you say, "You've got this thing, kid---see ya!". Or at least that's how I played it after 12 weeks.

So---I'm feeling tired, but very nurturing---and with any luck--this bedtime thing that started at 8:30 may actually be over by 10.

Cause Mama's got some America's Next Top Model on DVR, thankyouverymuch.

These are pictures of Sydney. With a carrot in her hand.

This is noteworthy because Sydney has NEVER had a carrot in her hand. Like, ever. Sydney has never had broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, or any other vegetables in her hands. She has twice eaten a pea or two, but this only after having CUT IT IN HALF with a butter knife. Not kidding.

That picture on the right there? That's Sydney saying, "dude...I GET IT...I GET IT...!!!".

So--here's the story. Sydney had her five-year-old physical today, and I caught the nurse in the hallway before we went in to suggest some, ummm...."tough love" for our girl. Sydney DOES NOT eat vegetables, and REFUSES to wear her bike helmet. Now I take some small measure of pride in the fact that I am not generally a pushover, and I have done my very best with both aforementioned problems. I have made reward charts, promised gifts, threatened to back my van over her bike, punished, and come very close to stabbing her with a fork during dinner. But this nurse? This nurse was a genius, man.

The helmet? Nurse Dawson, ARNP has scared the crap out of her. In fact, we went to the post office after the doctor's office, and Sydney stopped dead on the sidewalk to ask if maybe it wasn't a good idea to even WALK without proper protection for our heads. She has talked of nothing but "smooshed brains" all day. HA! Didn't have my camera with me, but Syd had her helmet on while she was on the swingset tonight. HAHAHAHAHAAAAA....

And the vegetables? Oh, my, did the nurse lay it on thick?! Talk of losing one's hair, bags under one's eyes, brittle bones, poor eyesight, weak teeth, and such have convinced Sydney that maybe the vegetables are not such a terrible thing after all.

So here's Sydney's first foray into "vegetable land". Godspeed, miss girl. Godspeed.

THERE. IS. A. GOD.

Goodbye winter. You stupid head. You good-for-nothing-started-with-an-ice-storm-and-9-days-without-power-inconvenient-and-cold-mess piece of garbage. We used to love you, with your fluffy white snow and your hot cocoa afternoons. Well, you've ruined all of those memories for us.

You were too cold. You broke our pipes and spewed defecation throughout our basement. You did your very best to kill our favorite willow tree. You broke our shovels and gave us sore tailbones after many falls.

We will not miss you. We will not.

Uh-oh.

I thought George was a secret.

Darn you, TruGreen...

I got all of this stuff for FREE today! Free! As in, $0.00. Like zero dollars and nothing cents total!

Shaw's has a rewards program for families with young children (called Ducklings...check it out), and every once in a while they give you stupidly stupid ridiculous coupons for stuff. Usually it's money off, but today's email was vouchers for FREE stuff. Did I mention there were no dollars spent? In FACT, folks...I even got register rewards totaling $2...so technically, they paid ME! HA!

Really, I know it's so fully lame, but this is truly the most exciting thing that's happened to me in a couple of days. Other than a really good episode of 24 and some good hummus eaten with a good friend last night, and being able to catch up on old DVR'd Ellen episodes while on the treadmill...this is really about it.

Bet you're all jittery with anticipation for the next post, huh?!

Sydney is FIVE

We decided to have a "breakfast birthday party" this morning, because we were all gonna be in different places by dinnertime. Let's just say that everyone is slightly more nutty in the morning.

It's funny, too...because I thought that NOT starting the day with a huge chocolate cake would make things less crazy. Turns out that extra-loaded cinnamon rolls kinda have the same effect as the cake would've. Whoops.

Yes--you'll notice Mommy is absent in the photos. Breakfast was at 6:45. Did you REALLY think I'd be on the other side of the camera?

Happy Birthday, Sydney!
We're glad to know ya! Love! Mom, Dad, Colin, and Pooch.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Colin goes to this church thing called Pathfinder's every Friday night. It's kinda like an AWANA program. Anyhow---they have homework and different little things to do during the week. One of those things is keep a prayer diary. We also have a family prayer journal that we write requests in, so there was a big gap in Colin's Pathfinder's one because we've just been using ours. I just went into his notebook to find out what Bible verse they are memorizing for this week and found THIS.

It's funny, because my first thought was to be completely mortified and call his teacher to tell her that in no way was I AWARE that Colin had written this. Then I was suddenly even MORE mortified to think that she knows me & my whacked 8-year-old-boy sense of humor well enough to probably have believed that I, in fact, was completely on board with praying for one's bodily functions.

Which is actually accurate, I guess. Because my very next thought was that I don't remember Daddy's flatulence being particularly bad any time around the 9th of March. So, really...doesn't this just go to show that God is listening? Ah, the power of prayer.

Too harsh??

Is it? Too harsh? I really don't think so. You know WHY NOT? Because, what I really wanted to say was,

"listen---you two--I have bought you like 2 pairs of scissors A WEEK since the time Colin turned two, and I am SICK TO DEATH of no one ever having scissors around here. And I am SICK TO DEATH of going to MY desk to find A PAIR OF SCISSORS only to have NOTHING in the spot where my scissors are supposed to be. And the next time I can't find my scissors, well, when I DO find them, I'm going to go to your rooms and cut big holes in ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE STUFF so that you'll cry and possibly, for one second, know how frustrating it is to HAVE YOUR STUFF TOUCHED. "

That's what I meant to say. You should be impressed with my restraint.

Rock on, young man, rock on...

Sydney got a box in the mail today that was full of a bunch of new clothes from The Children's Place. They have really great sales every once in a while, and I had a coupon, so I bought her a bunch of things for school & for this summer. She immediately ran to try everything on & check herself out in the mirror.

I was watching her as she was doing this, and it struck me again how affected she is when she thinks she's pretty, or has new earrings, or is wearing lipgloss, or whatever. Her walk immediately becomes a "strut", she juts a hip right out there like it's out of it's socket, and her little chin tilts so she can look at you out of the corner of her eye.

I am so keenly aware of this, and want to discourage this whole "the clothes/jewelry/makeup make the woman" attitude....so, I pulled her up on my lap to have a little chat real quick. I explained to her all about inner beauty, and that I will be the most proud of her not for how she LOOKS, but rather for who she IS.

And as a final hurrah before putting her down, I kissed her forehead and was going to remind her that "pretty is as pretty does". I got as far as, "pretty is...." and she brightened right up and finished my sentence with...

...."DEADLY if you're smart, too!!"

Looks like Daddy beat me to this talk. I'll be sitting HIM down for a talk later...

Sonic

Just saw this baby hedgehog on abcnews.com, and I'm seriously thisclose to a dangerously high blood sugar level. My teeth itch, it's so sweet.



My birthday is in a week, and I'm now going to email this picture to Eric with a subject line that reads: pleeeeeease??????

Sydney's got a story to tell you...I couldn't get it to load here, so you'll have to click the link to hear it.

Enjoy!!

http://www.vimeo.com/2888785

Joke of the day...

"Mom...guess what?"

"TURKEY BUTT!!!!"

I have heard this at least 67 times today.

Funny only twice.

So here's what REALLY happened...

Colin loses tooth while on toilet. Mentions that it's a really good thing that he was pooping and not peeing, or tooth would have gone INTO toilet, instead it landed on floor. Excellent point.


Colin runs outside with tooth in hand and shouts. I am startled and knock little-tiny-almost- invisible tooth from his hands. Into the pile of leaves, dirt, sticks and grass I'm standing on.

Colin flips out that the tooth fairy cannot come if there's no tooth.

My friend Shell who was here gently explains that can't be true because LOTS of kids swallow their loose teeth by accident. Colin is momentarily silent as he ponders where a swallowed tooth would end up. Smart boy...gets a good laugh from that one. Then he gets back to business, because THIS tooth wasn't swallowed, oh no, it's right here in the grass. Panic passes between Shell and me. This is the WRONG kid to be swayed...he's gonna find the tooth or die trying.

LIGHT BULB.

I had saved his last tooth...it being his first tooth lost and all...HA! Shell distracts Colin with the "looking" while I run inside and locate (buried, really BURIED in my drawer) the replacement tooth. Tuck found tooth deep into my hand and run back out to Shell to do the hand-off of tooth. Shell, a chiropractor by trade but CLEARLY an actress at heart, announces that "WOW!! LOOK!!! I FOUND THE TOOTH!!! IT WAS RIGHT HERE IN THIS PILE OF LEAVES!!!"

Day is saved. Colin is none the wiser. Yet. He's quite smart & most likely already had his baby teeth numbered and will note the discrepancy someday when I hand him the precious little box of all of his baby teeth...umm....minus one.

Parenting is lying. It just is.

girls night

Colin was out with Eric last night, so Sydney & I decided to have a "girls night". Complete with facials. We cleansed, exfoliated, and then did a firming mask---ya know, because these 4 years have been really tough on her skin! She, of course, was VERY into the process of every little thing we did. The mask was especially fun because as an answer to her "why", I had told her that it made older ladies feel very pretty when their skin was all smooth and soft.

At the word pretty, she really got interested. Then, as though she dare not speak the words...she asked me in a breathy, plaintive voice...."will I be a...a...a princess when I rinse it off?".

"Sydney" I replied, " if that were the case, I'd be buying much more of this stuff and drinking it with my morning coffee". She seemed to get the joke, and looked just lovely this morning. Much prettier for having chosen the anti-wrinkle cream, I'm sure.

Ho ho ho!!

If the purchase of this playdough doesn't buy me an extra hour of sleep...I SWEAR....

Merry Christmas!!

DARKNESS

Black.

The color of both my entire house and my MOOD for the past week.

Ice storm knocked out power for SEVEN DAYS. Nothin'. Slept on floor. Kids both sick. Worry about frozen pipes, and police warning of looting in our neighborhood. Lights are back on now; water & cable, too. Mood lifting...but a little buried under laundry over here.

Some folks in Epping are still without power, so I'll try to keep a lid on it when I turn on EVERY LIGHT IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT and dance naked in the yard.

Future foos ball stars of America

Where Sydney shows some natural talent in the area of sports and coordination, Colin....well....does not.

Before you get all moms-shouldn't-say-these-things-about-their-kids-who-can't-help-it...the GOOD news is that he doesn't care. Aside from the unavoidable knowledge and subsequent excitement about the Boston teams, he really just watches Michigan Wolverine football on Saturdays. And even that is mostly because that's what the rest of us are doing, and he's got the hats & sweatshirts to wear to look the part.

Well...surprise, surprise. Eric brought home a foos ball table last week, and I just went down and played my first official game with Colin. I've been dreading this, mostly because I feel like he does about most things "sports", AND sporty things with Colin usually involve alot of praise (undeserved) and hugging out the disappointment (deserved).

Dude--he's GOOD. I mean, like, his reflexes and grasp of the game is...right on. I actually can't wait to play again! Kid almost beat me!

Now...here's what I'm thinking: we just need foos ball to become a recognized Olympic sport, THEN we need national foos ball teams, THEN we need some totally hot David Beckham type foos ball player to make it popular, THEN...well, dare I say it?

THEN...Colin might actually be a sports star. It's one way to get the ladies, because I'm guessing that his exhaustive interest in and knowledge of the island of Madagascar isn't gonna cut it in the long run.

Al Franken is contesting THIS BALLOT in Minnesota right now. Ugh. Ya know what I think??? I think that maybe this guy actually meant to cast his vote for Dean Barkley!

I mean, really....folks must be proud over there tonight...

Sorry...back to cute pics of the kids & dog....

Installment 3 of the "survivor series".

(See last 2 posts for 1 & 2).

Here's Eric's. No contest here, either.

Maybe a big box of Cheezits might be a close second, but if the boy had his Blackberry and a pound or two of Halloween candy...he could go for a while. Hey---he could even use the inside of the cellophane wrappers to reflect light to send out his SOS to passing ships!!

How handy.

Ouch

Yesterday's blog about what Syd would take to an island was funny, because it was just so obvious. The girl has NOT REMOVED those Wizard of Oz shoes since my mom gave them to her, and her bubble gum mouthwash is like her heroin. We are very fortunate that it's alcohol-free, because she'd be an addict by now.

Anyway...it got me to thinking that whatever two things you'd have to say you couldn't live without....those two things really say a lot about you. Your values. Priorities. Brain cells. So here's the second installment in the series.

Pooch. These tennis balls go everywhere with him...they are much like HIS heroin.

And all subtlety aside, I can't help but wonder if the fact that he was a "rescue dog" who was neutered exceptionally early in life has anything to do with his obsession. Don't we always want what we cannot have?

I'm just sayin'. :-)

Survivor

Sydney's marooned on an island....this is what she takes with her.

G-U-A-R-A-N-T-E-E-D.

Project Runway

See that outfit up there? No, really, did you see it? Look again. Click on it to make it bigger, and study it for a second. Get a good look?

She's serious. This girl stands by her fashion choices, and will defend them to the death. You need to know that she is truly and measurably offended when I STILL tell her, day after day, that no....in fact...she may NOT choose her own clothes for school.

Unbelievable. Or terribly believable. Guess it depends on who you're askin'.