Blue, Lolly, and Giz

 

I Love My Mom

 

Leah got Lemonade!

 

Eli Loves Sparkle Ice Cream

 

Existential 4-year old

On the way home from the gym the other day, Leah was quiet for a few minutes in the back seat of the car. All of the sudden she said, "I think we are made of paper." PAUSE, Pause, pause: "and this is all a dream."

I remember having similar feelings when I was young----I was convinced that I was the only person really alive, and everyone else was just robots . . . convinced for only a few minutes, but effected nonetheless. This was when I was probably 10. Is not four a little young for this existential skepticism?

Either way, I thought it was freaking hilarious and called jon on my cell phone immediately.

*****Random annoyance: Every time I type an apostrophe, I get this weird "search" bar. Notice I used no apostrophes in this post. Why in the hail is this happening?

Leah had eaten her first ring pop an hour before. Note the huge blue circle around her mouth. It stayed for hours. 

Giz hijacks a darlybird sticker almost everyday. 

 

 

 

 

 

life is good

no reason in particular. just an overall feeling of contentment. man, i love contentment. i especially love enduring contentment.

things i'm happy about:
*i love my smudgy cakes kids. i know i have been honest about how they drive me nutso sometimes. now i must be honest about how they make me so happy~ giz is in such a great phase...i think 9 mos to 19 months was possibly her most unsavory phase. let's hope. she is saying so many words: "ba ba"=drink, "obby"=sorry, "day do"=thank you, "ide"=outside or inside, whichever one she isn't at the moment, "peee"=please. happy am i for a girl who can speak. leah is more of a sweethearted girl than ever. i overheard her telling giz: "it's okay my little sweety, i'll help you." i'm holding my breath that things stay this delightful for some time to come!

*i made a really tasty dinner tonite: vegetarian chili, cornbread muffins, apple crisp.

*i love the holidays, and they're starting.

*i feel super duper fulfilled by darlybird (the other darlybird). my mind is always thinking of new ideas, and that is so much fun.

*i got a pronk blouse this weekend (the beautiful blouse). love it!

*perfect weather. highs in the mid 70s. morning chill.

*fall leaves. i even snagged a few when i was in utah briefly; i took them home, pressed flat in my purse, and now they are decorating various areas of my home.

*giz wants me to read to her. i'm a happy mom.

My Man Is 30

Jonnie Won-tonnie is 30 bo-birty! And I love him because:

--He's going grey like me. But men with receding grey hair are sexy. Women with receding grey hair are not.

--He's super-duper motivated. When he decides he wants something, he works his booty off to get it. And I'm not talking material possessions; I mean publications, jobs, etc. And he doesn't let insecurities hinder him one bit! I mean, how is that humanly possible? Amazing.

--I used to think I was smarter than him, but I'm not. I just have a better memory and have a better guessing strategy at standardized tests. And who cares about that? I told this to him at his birthday fondue party last night as we all went around the circle and told him things we loved about him (a birthday tradition inspired by a certain Zach, which we love and have adopted. Jon was giddy after hearing all of the great things about him, and who wouldn't be? This morning, I decided that I needed a little extra lovin', so I asked him, "What would you have said to me if it was my birthday?" That's kind of a pathetic way to get reassurance, but it worked). I think he took the whole smart thing as a compliment. He was a wanderer when we got married (still is a bit of ramblin' boy) and had no clue what he wanted to do with his life. Now he knows exactly what he wants, and he's getting it. Better than I can say for myself. BRAVO!

--He's an amazing father. He loves his chicas and plays with them, jumps on the trampoline with them, takes them for walks, bathes them, does everything with them. He even took Leah climbing yesterday. They have plans to go to the jungle when she's 8. I'm sure it will happen.

--He is a great husband. He understands my needs and really supports me in what I need. I'm a pretty feisty cookie, so it's no easy feat. But he wins the Oscar for BEST SUPPORTING HUSBAND.

and that's not all.....but I don't want to make him too conceited---it would ruin his other fabulous quality, which happens to be humility. (Let's just say he worked at Burger Supreme when I met him -- and when he first asked me out on the night we met, he asked me if I'd pick him up since he didn't have a car . . . loved it even though I thought it was a bit kooky!)

MUST RECORD

I keep telling myself that I've got to write down the crazy things Leah's been saying to me lately. And I keep not doing it. So this is where it's gonna be, because I don't think I'll take the time to hand write in my journal/notebook:

*Her: "Mom, I don't want a little sister any more. I want a big sister."
Me: "Why?"
Her: "Because little sisters are such a problem. Like, Giz is just so difficult."
UPDATE: That was one week ago and today Leah told me, "Mom, I love Giz. She isn't difficult any more."

*Leah was a little jealous of me working on Darlybird. So she decided to set up a shop in her playroom. She stole a few darlybird products and got busy "selling." She came into the office and said, "Mom, will you please get me my castrator?" "WHAT?" "You know, my castrator! It's for my shop!" (Like duh!) I followed her into the toy room, extremely perplexed, and she pointed up to her vintage Fisher Price cash register, complete with hockey-puck-like coins. (Did you have one, too?) I was thrilled that this was the castrator and not something more sinister.

*Her: "Mom, does Pocahontas live in the Spirit World?"
Me: "Yes, she probably does."
Her: "And what about John Smith."
Me: "Yep."
Her: "And what about that other dead guy."
Me: "What dead guy?"
Her: "You know, the one on t.v."
Me: "No, I really DON'T know."
PAUSE PAUSE PAUSE
Her: "OH YEAH! Mr. Roger [singular....] You know, Mr. Roger, that dead guy."
Me: "Yes, Mr. Roger and Pocahontas and John Smith are in the spirit world."
Her: "Can we please go visit them?"
Me: "Not today."
note: She's never watched Mr. Rogers.

Dang it! There are a few more, but I've already forgotten.

Faster than a speeding . . .  

Evidence that numerous food allergies won't stand in the way of Rice Krispy Treats with orange Pillsbury Frosting. Talk about sugar overload. The treat of a lifetime. Unfortunately, it's disgusting but delicious and addicting all at the same time. 

Painting paper plates was more fun than the pumpkins. Leah painted about 10, and I decided that they are very artistic. We are going to hang them from fishing line in our front walkway. I'll post a pic when we get to it. 

a wee bit disconcerted....but isn't she so dang smudgy? 

We decided to paint wooden pumpkins yesterday. It turned into Giz painting herself and the patio table.