Thursday, August 30, 2007

"Do-Over" Days

Below are pictures from days that Bug and I have come to call, "Do-over Days." For whatever reason, a little too many tears and a little too much snot and dirt and food on the cheeks and not enough sleep seem to be in the recipe.
Though, now that I look at these pictures from afar, I'm realizing they look a lot like days that have gone just fine. More than fine, these pictures also look like the pictures from some of my best days as a mama yet.
I guess that as in elementary school, a "do-over" can never truly be a do-over. I could not re-wind time and make new decisions at the exact moment a kickball came flying at me from a bully a full three inches taller than me. I cannot re-wind time and decide to laugh instead of mutter curse words that I pray my two year old does not hear and if he does hear them, takes no interest in...
But, I can be very thankful that I am strong enough and mature enough as a parent to know that the current game, the one that's sliding down a snotty, dirty, rosey-cheeked slope, must be put to rest. We will start again after our rest. We are off to rest. The phone is off the hook and I will most likely not return your call until a few months from now...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Ode to Baby G

We've had a delightful week with Nana and Bopa. While we've had a ton of fun, I do need an entry just for Baby G. Lemme tell you. I've always thought that Bug should've been born in the middle of a family with a pile of children. Well, I think that G should've been born on a Southern Porch, ready to jaw with the SC contingent.
Please note, when your head control is limited, your pictures always include someone else. But really, considering her young self, I imagine most of her pictures will include someone else. She's a social gal and nothing gets past her. She fusses for three things, sleep, eat, and talk! My how this girl coos! It truly is startling.
She's resigned herself to bathtime. Water is fine as long as you talk with her the entire time. She's happiest on our laps doing whatever you're doing. I've got a lot to learn from her about being the consummate companion...I dare say we all might have a lot to learn from her....
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Guitar Lessons

Rock Star Wannabes...Please note: Proper Dress.
Always tune your instrument.
Sing with verve, just like Uncle Bret.
Know when to quit. Thank you. Thank you very much. Goodnight.
Posted by Picasa

Monday, August 20, 2007

Life's work

So, a few days ago Baby G turned 2 months old! We're having a good time, especially since she's not going cross-eyed quite so much these days. OOOOoooo. Neural pathways are strengthening. I've missed her 2 month well-baby check by about a month. The scheduler was quite grumpy with me. Grump, bump. But come on. She's a well-baby! We'll get there soon. In the meantime,
Bug and Husband have built a fence and made a permanent ring around the tub. I am always interested in "what you don't see." But, here, it says it all. There's dirt and happy boys and a lot of snot in there too...who wouldn't be happy?

Parenting Tip: Do buy goggles from Home Depot for like, 2 dollars. They provide just as much play as a cardboard box. Here, Bug and Buddy K are busy being "Scientists who build big buildings," per Buddy K. Good times. Off to nap before Nana and Bopa arrive. HAHAHAHAH! What a joke! I really crack myself up. Baby G wakes!
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The Little Bits


I miss my friend from Delaware, MD. 
She gets the importance of the little 
bits like no other. The unplanned moments 
like playing on an excavator or catching
 the train with your friend, or waiting
 to pose for the family photo...those
 are the bits that are most important.
 Perhaps not the most photogenic, but
 the most important for sure.
 
Certainly, it comes as no surprise to 
those who love me that I secretly wish
 to be that poised, coiffed, and impeccably
 lipsticked MTV vixen or morning
 newscaster, even a well-dressed speech-writer
will do.  But it seems that the most
 I can muster to care about is a shower
 and deoderant on the best days because
 the little bits keep coming at me quickly
 and lovely and embedded in tantrums and 
diapers and the dirt which is now just 
outside my door (think rental 
excavator and a well-meaning husband). 
 
During one of our many late-night 
"celebrations," I watched some 
MTV with Baby G on my lap. The songs
 are all about love.  How much the 
singer loves his woman, or how much
 she'd love to love you better than
the other that you're with, or mostly,
how much the singer loves himself...
But none of these songs on the radio
or tv are really about the love a family
has for one another.  How come Nelly
Furtado isn't singing about her little girl
and why wouldn't we buy that song?
Surely, there is a catchy beat that can
be set to mama love that isn't in tune
with Teletubbies...? Is it that mama
love isn't easy to package? Isn't slick
and lipsticked? I challenge songwriters
to write about the messy little bits that
get lost between the poses, because
sometimes those messy little bits turn
out to be just the bit that's sublime....
Bigger than us all.
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Hiding

What you can see is Bug and Auntie and Puppy looking on as Auntie's car is being hooked up to Uncle's jeep...What you can't see is that Bug is also "hiding" in the grass thanks to the great camo jammies that Uncle has given Bug. There is more than what meets the eye, always.
Posted by Picasa

3 sisters, two dogs, one jeep, one dave

Enough said...
Posted by Picasa
Finally had a minute to download some pictures...so here they are. Still haven't quite gotten the grin that Baby G has, which is only to say that you must visit/visit again. Mostly because there isn't any way you are going to get me on a plane with these two anytime soon. The last pic is of Bug, naked, wearing a baseball shirt, G's bunny hat, surfboarding on a kickboard...Imaginative play? You can't handle the imaginative play that happens at this house....I can't either.


Posted by Picasa