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Thursday, March 26, 2009

No pictures for us.

I think that if my life since having children were a play, it would have to be a farce.

A farce is a comedy written for the stage or film which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include sexual innuendo and word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases, culminating in an ending which often involves an elaborate chase scene. Farce is also characterized by physical humour, the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense, and broadly stylized performances.

That would be us. If you have ever seen my girls race around my kitchen island, which gives me heart palpitations, you would know that we could even include the chase scenes.

Today is the little one's birthday. She is two. That makes me both happy and sad, but that is for another post. Here, we are are going to focus on one of yet another improbable situations that make our lives a farce.

I like to have birthday portraits made on my child's actual birthday. I know that can often be a lofty ambition, as birthdays tend to be pretty hectic, but this one was set up perfectly. The big one has half days at school and would actually be able to go at a reasonable time. We were set. I got the confirmation call from the studio this morning, to make sure we would be there, and I did confirm. I spent a couple of hours early this morning going through all of the clothes that I had saved for posterity, looking for the dress the big one wore for her second birthday pictures. I had packed it away, thinking the little one wouldn't be able to wear it, but she can. So, I dug it out, managed to find the matching bloomers, and everything. Then, I got a second outfit that would match for both of them ready. Just as I was laying the clothes on the big one's bed, I hear a scream. I turn, and the little one, who had been rocking in their rocking chair, was now stuck in it. She decided to try to slip out the side of the chair, in the hole from the arm, Dukes of Hazzard style. She did really well, and managed to get her body out, but her head was stuck. Actually, she even got most of her head out. She was completely wedged in at her forehead. It took me a second to get her to be calm and still enough that I could lift her up from the bottom, and then work her out. In that time, she managed to give herself a pretty nasty mark.

I didn't cancel the pictures right away. I held out hope that the mark would soften. It does look better, but now it is a big red raised place. So, after nap, when it still wasn't looking passable for pictures, I tried every kind of makeup that I had on my baby. Nothing would cover. I needed some of that green makeup that blends out redness in skin, but I don't have it anymore.

So, I had to call, apologize, and change our pictures. I guess it might be better, though. Now, I can take the girls to play outside for a while, maybe even take the bubble machine along for fun. Then go get them something yummy to eat, before we get an ice cream cake for dessert.

I'll take a few myself in her big pretty pink dress. Hey, I bought Photo shop for a reason. The ones I take won't have any red marks, one way or another. They may not be as good as the ones I get taken, but they sure are lovingly retouched. = )

All in all, I'm sure it will still be great birthday with my two injury prone girls.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Technology bites the hand, once again

I never blog on my new laptop. This will be my first. There is a reason. I'm not used to using it to type with yet, and if I accidentally add italics or close this window one more time,it will probably be my last.
I found posting this here, and the struggles that have ensued rather appropriate, though.

I just booted up my laptop so that I could watch Dexter in my bedroom, not for any actual computer necessary purpose,of course. You get to hear about it, because i want to remind you all to make sure you know every password you have ever used. Be sure to keep them somewhere. You never know when you will need them. My husband bought me this laptop as a Christmas gift. He went outside of our assigned roles in our relationship, and made a technology purchase with out me, but I forgave him. After all, he was trying to be incredibly sweet. He picked out what he felt was the geekiest laptop he could think of. It has a fingerprint scanner on it. At first I thought it was ridiculous, but now I use it for everything on here. I don't know a single password that is specific to this computer, or the programs I use, because they are all saved with my fingerprints. Pretty cool,right?
Yeah. It is great, until I had my own little run in the with the over last night making supper. I suppose my level of awareness wasn't what it should have been, either. (See previous post)
Anyway, today, my first two fingers on my right hand, the only two I set up, look like very old cracked leather on the pad. It is really kind of gross. Needless to say, my fingerprints probably look a little funny. You guessed it, bad prints and no pass word recollection meant that I wasn't about to get on this pc. I tried every password variation I could think of that I have ever used. I believe that when i set this up, I made it something new and very hard so that my husband could never log on here without me. I suppose this is what I get for not sharing.
I was, obviously as I am now using it, eventually able to log on. I was able to take the less crispy of my two fingers and uber hydrate it for just long enough that the scanner could read it.
I will, also obviously, be not only adding more fingers to my scanner profile, but changing my passwords to things that I can remember from here on out.

That's My Blonde Girl

If I haven't ever told you all this, my oldest child is a blond. She is very blond at that. Not only is her hair color as said, but sometimes, and this isn't as mean as it is going to sound, her level of awareness is pretty blond also.

Now, I have to tell you that she is not a dumb blond. Not at all. In fact, she really makes me think of my little sister, whom I love dearly and will not be mean to, as promised, in this blog, so that she won't cry while reading it. Shew. Disclaimer over.

They are a lot alike. Both of them are quite intelligent. My sister has a degree in sociology from a pretty snazzy university. She holds down at least 2 jobs all the time. She does very well at them. She can hold her own in a political conversation, if she chooses to, which I think is fantastic. That being said, don't ever, ever ask her for directions. Not even to her own home. Now, I could go from here, and tell you some fantastically wonderful stories that would make you giggle, but, as promised above, I agreed not to make her cry. The thing is, even though she is intelligent, my sis lacks common sense in some areas, and there are certain areas where she simply doesn't have a high level of awareness. Her mind just works differently. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is a very special character trait that makes her who she is. I think that is the reason she is such a creative person, and she is.

The same goes for my daughter. She is very intelligent. I am often surprised by how intelligent she is. She is also incredibly imaginative and creative, just like I remember my little sister being when she was this age. Much like my little sister, though, I fear for my daughter sometimes. That lack of common sense and awareness can lead them to some situations I wish they could have avoided.

Today, for example, the big one walked into a pole. No really. Just like you see in the movies or on TV, she walked right into a pole. The pole didn't jump out in front of her, and it has been there long before she started to school there. It seems that on the way to snack time, which is held where they eat lunch outside, she began chatting with a friend, and when she turned to talk to her friend, she lost complete awareness of her surroundings and walked smack into a metal pole. It hurt. She has a knot and will have a pretty ugly bruise. They took her to the nurse's office and put ice on it. Then, they called me. I went to school and checked it out. I decided she was fine. While I did tell her the she was not allowed to rough play the rest of the day, the teacher had her sit in the sand box during recess, I thought she was fine to go back to class. Bless her heart, though, I doubt this will be the last run in of its kind. This is the reason that I keep my cell phone on me at all times when she is in school. You just don't know.

I could see my sister doing something very similar. In fact, just the other day, she managed to rear end a car at a red light, after they had both stopped. Similar concept. Neither the pole nor the other car had moved. They were both there before either of my loved ones got there. It just happens that way for the two of them.

I suppose, though, my sister actually gives me hope for my daughter. She turned out pretty well. She manages to get through most days mishap free. There are the occasional calls to her husband because she ran out of gas, or lost her keys, again, but all in all, it seems to be fine. That is part of the reason I love her husband so much. He is there to help balance out that character trait. I can only hope that when my child grows up, and isn't with mom and dad anymore, she finds someone similar, who will balance her out, and come to her rescue as needed when she locks herself out of the car for the 5th time that month, or what have you. Heaven knows every one needs someone to add a little more balance to their lives. These two just need it in a more certain area and they are both all the more endeared to those around them for it.

P.S. I will come and bring you gas, or pick you up when you loose your keys anytime, at any hour, both of you. Love you.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Now that is Sexy.

I took the little one to a really big, popular park near the heart of the city. This would be like our Central Park, from New York. It has everything, even a zoo. It is a great place.

Today, as we were running around, I noticed a rather large number of dads there with the kids. No moms, just dads. I was pretty surprised at how many. I started watching them, and I have to tell you, I came to a serious realization today. There isn't much that is sexier than a dad taking his little kids to the park all by himself. Now, I'm not sure why this is sexy. One would think it would be sweet, or maybe endearing, but sexy seems odd. It is, though. Of course it helps if the dad is super cute to begin with, and some today were, but it certainly isn't necessary.

I think, and this is just my guess, that seeing a man being a good father, triggers some urge in us to make more babies. I think it must be some kind of crazy cave man throwback thing, because it really is pretty hot.

I couldn't help sneak glances, and watch some of the dads toting kids around, playing with them, and all that. It was really great to see so many dads taking such active roles with their children. I'm sure a lot of dads do, but still, it is really nice to have it affirmed.

Anyway, it was a really great day at the park in general.

Only later, when I started thinking about blogging this, did the one negative hit me. If I was at the park, thinking about how great it was to watch dads with kids, who is at the park watching my husband, when he takes the girls to play by himself. I bet some woman is out there thinking about how cute an sexy he is, taking his two little girls to the park. Haruphm.

So, to all you other mothers out there, I promise not to oogle your husbands when they are at the park with the kids, as long as you promise not to ooogle mine. Unless, of course, your husband happens to be well built, wearing a white t-shirt, dark jeans, Chuck Taylors, and drop dead gorgeous to boot. You really shouldn't send him out alone, anyway. That one I'm going to notice at the park, the mall, or where ever he happens to be, but I'll try to keep my staring on the DL. Promise.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Very Great Day!

So far, and the day isn't over, today has been the best day I have had in a long time. I have to say, that with a husband deployed, we have good days, but we don't get a whole lot of fantastic, exciting, this is great a day for the blog kind of days. However, today has been all that.

What was so great?

Please, let me tell you all about it.

Have you ever read some one's blog, or been in an online discussion group with someone that you felt was so funny, so charismatic, and just fabulous that you are just dying to meet them each time you chat?

I know, you all think of me instantly, but I'm not fishing for compliments here, honest. I am talking about my friend Tanyetta. She is a great blogger. If you don't believe me, you should read her blog. She is definitely one funny womyn.

Well, today, I actually got to meet her, and another new friend, Eileen! It was super cool. I really felt like I was sitting at the popular table! Yeah!

I have been talking to both these womyn online for a while, and it was just too cool for school to actually be able to hang out.

We all took our kids to Chick-Fil-A, which is another reason my day is so good. I love Chick-Fil-A. I don't even eat meat, and I heart Chick-Fil-A so much it makes people wonder if I am a closet meat eater. Let me tell you that I remember the taste of a chicken sandwich from there very well, and if I ever did eat meat again, that would be the first thing I went for.

Is that too odd?

Anyway, aside from the good chicken that I don't eat, they have great salads. I think of all the fast food places, they have the best salads and dressings. Both the quality and variety are fantastic. The waffle fries are fantastic. I could eat them all day. The service never fails to leave me impressed, especially for a fast food place and let me assure you that today it was top notch. The kicker, though, is that they serve sweet tea. Man, oh man, what I won't do for sweet tea. I love the stuff. It may not be made exactly to my taste preferences, the strong and extra sweet southern variety, but it is still sweet tea. I could go on about why I love them, but let's just leave it at the fact that it is one of my favorite places to eat. Ever.

Now, that already sounds like a great day. Lunch with good friends, old and new, at a favorite eating spot, but it gets better.

One of my really good friends couldn't make it today because she had to work. So, after I picked the big one up from school, we went out to visit her and deliver her Girl Scout cookies. She happens to be pregnant, and has been craving these cookies for a while. So, I got them to her as quickly as I could. Now, not only did I get to make a pregnant womyn happy, but she treated us to supper as well!! It was great! We sat and chatted. She even took my daughter to the bathroom, while I got to sit and eat, twice. Now, if that isn't a friend, I don't know what it. = )

So, to sum it all up, today has been fabulous! I am going to finish the day out by getting off here right now, and watching an episode of Dexter or two so that I can send this DVD back, and get the rest of season one back right away. I will be a fantastic end to a truly fantastic day!!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

So am I old, or not?

My oldest is quite into the fact that the little one is starting to potty train. In her mind, this is the step where she becomes a big girl, and they will start to be more alike, do the same things, and so on. I think the older one believes that once the little one is out of diapers, they will suddenly have the same interests, as though an age gap has disappeared.

When we were discussing potty training, on the way to buy pull ups for the first time, the older one got confused about their ages.
"So, when Ava turns five, I will be 6?"

"No, babe. When Ava turns 5, you will be 8."

"Eight?? I will be eight years old?" The idea of being 8 seemed absolutely unbelievable to my 5 year old. She acted like I had just said 100.

"Then, not long after that you will turn 9."

"Nine?? I will turn nine years old. Wow. That is a lot of years."

Harumph. Nine is not a lot of years.

"No. Nine isn't a lot at all. You won't be old. Nine isn't old, even 29, like momma isn't old, huh?"

For those of you who are not in the know, yes, I have my daughter convinced that I just turned 29, again.

"No, mom. Twenty-nine isn't old."

Have I told you all how much I love that child??

Of course, then the little one has to join in.

"Momma old."

"What? Momma isn't old. Ava, 29 isn't old. Momma isn't old, right Lilly?"

"No, mom, you aren't old."

And in comes the wee one, yet again, to tear me down.

"Yes, momma old."

The conversation went on. The big one and I agree that I'm not old, but the little one is adamant that I am. Not sure if she remembers who buys the Dora gummy snacks around here, or not, but she needs to recognize. Ok. Sorry. I couldn't resist that one.

None the less, having your baby tell you that are old isn't very nice. It can really hurt. She will likely be my last baby, unless we are granted some kind of miracle, too. So, she really has the power to make me feel both old and young at the same time. I'm sure over the course of our lives, this will be far from the last time she makes me feel old. I just wish it didn't start at the age of 1.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Losing Friends

Sometimes, I really wish that I could be more like my five year old. She fights with her best friends all the time. They fight over everything. If someone gets left out of a game, because there aren't enough pieces, or one of them says they don't like the sand box anymore, they fight. They tell each other they can't be friends anymore, and one dis invites the other to an upcoming birthday party. Then the other does the same. It is heated and terrible, and hurtful for them. The great thing about being five, though, is that just a few minutes later, or maybe the next morning at most, it is all over and done with. Everyone loves everyone again, and we are all coming to the next birthday party.

I am amazed at how quickly these kids can forgive, and truly let go of the hurt. If we as adults could behave as such, the world would be a different place.

Tonight, I wish I could behave as such. I wish I could have talked to my friend who just called, instead of sitting on the phone, crying silently into a paper towel, because my feelings are hurt so badly by something she did.

I wish I could just forgive and be happy in our friendship, but I can't. I'm just not in that place. I don't know how long it will take me to let go of the hurt, or if I can, but I hope so. I want to be happy with her again. I want to celebrate with her again. I want to see her and be overjoyed for her and her big day tomorrow, but right now, I can't.

Maybe one of these days, instead of becoming more mature about the whole thing, I will act a little more immature, and take cues from my own child. I hope that like Pook does, I will just let go, and tell her that she is my best friend again even if she left me out of her game. I miss my best friend.