Friday, May 22, 2009

keep up again....

Bear with me, a few more extended family pics. I love that Bopa is not afraid to do dishes. It's the one family tradition he has been quite adamant about and I am so glad my husband listened. Indeed, it's his family law that the cooker shall not be the cleaner. Amen to that...


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keep up

This picture is of my Love Bug on the phone with Mimi, just after her surgery. A few other sweet pics to keep up until we return! We're off to the Deep Woods for a little R&R with the family...


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Monday, May 11, 2009

Theme Park

We have enough visitors to know that every visit has a theme. This visit's theme was Bopa and the Bug....

...with a guest appearance by the G Snak in the Pink Revenge.
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Friday, May 8, 2009

Tom Sawyer

Gosh, now I forget if it's Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn that can get anyone to do anything for him. So, anyhew, Bug can get just about anyone to do just about anything for him. You have to be on your toes. Case in point, most every other child at his preschool greets his/her parent with a drawing of some sort produced during free play. The class does art also as a part of the curriculum, but the pictures from each unit are put in a folder for next year's teacher. Free play pictures are for parents. I prefer the mess to be done at school. That's what school is for right? Controlled mess not at in my house. So, I requested a few pictures from Bug. We've got some celebrations coming up and I wanted to send a few to those who love us and live far away.



Instead, I have pictures from all the girls at school. A flower from C, a zebra from E, a picture of a family not our own from W. Apparently Bug asks the ladies to draw a picture for him and they comply because "I'm very cute and I am a good friend." The best is TODAY'S TANTRUM FROM THE HEAVENS that Bug performed because his sister was crumpling a picture Bug brought home from school. It had the word "octopus" clearly spelled in preschool writing on it. I intervened and felt very proud because we are working on letters. NO. NO. NO. This is a pictue of sea life and a word spelled by his main gal pal, L, for him. I am mystified. I think I need to do an inservice regarding women's rights or something...

In other news, the picture below is one of Bug at our old house. He's knocking on the door thinking I've forgotten him during our daily rest time. The hard hat gives me some hope that he is interested in doing his own work at some point...

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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Beef

Bug can eat beef!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

cookie

G will not let anyone touch the cookie dough. Ever. Never. That's right, never. It must be baked before eaten. Always. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9j1YNcFVzQ

Monday, May 4, 2009

Visits

I love visits because I get a little more time just to watch and reflect on my family. I have a good time being the kids' Mama. They really make me laugh. Bug gets a little more airtime sometimes. It makes sense, he's older, talks more, has more adventures outside the home...With N and B's visit, I've been able to summarize a few things about G. She's funny and will correct you if you call her silly. Case in point, "G, you are so silly!" G says, "No. G funny. Funny. Funny."
She is thoughtful,
enjoys all that the world offers,
and stubborn. Delightfully stubborn.
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Saturday, May 2, 2009

still playing catch up

Here are a few more photos from Bug's camera. His world view is quite interesting to me. Apparently, I'm either laughing or reprimanding which pretty much sums it up. I hope laughing always comes first...


Yes, that's a giant stress pimple on my chin. Yes, junior high sex-ed counselors lied when they said that most people outgrow acne and pimples after puberty.
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Catch up

Just a few photos from the first grandparent visit....


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Friday, May 1, 2009

Tutus

G-Snack loves all things to do with sleep. She loves pillows, and blankets and pretending to sleep. She loves brushing her teeth and washing her face and putting jammies on. Her N and B gave her some jammies with a blue tutu soft enough to go to sleep in, but frilly enough to most definitely be a tutu. She loves it.

Snack has had a hard time going to sleep in the new house. She gets so excited she can't calm herself down. Jammies! Teeth! Face! Pillows! Beds! Blankets! Last night she had all of the pillows in the house....that's six and that's right, all of them....in bed with her. She was having a party in bed. Chatting and singing and talking to the pillows. I came upstairs and said, "G, it's time for sleep. We've got to put these pillows back so everyone else can sleep." She flung her tutu-d self over these pillows shouting, "No! No! No!" Tears, pouts, and if you are imagining a small bit of drama, imagine a wee bit more and you might get the full picture of this frilly two-year old mourning the loss of her pillow party. Time for me to get my own tutu, she's already got my pillow.

The Truck Confessionals

N and B have their finger exactly on what makes the Bug tick and they aren't inhibited in their indulgence as I try to be. They brought him a truck that has fly-away sides, a ramp, stabilizers, spare tires and tool kit to repair the cars it can carry in the cargo hold.

He went to sleep last night holding confessional with his truck. I was just outside readying the house for the next day. Getting clothes together, books, you know or remember the drill. Bug used a soft voice while tenderly explaining his world to this truck. He muttered about eating dinner, trying food if you don't like it, that it's okay if he still wears a training pant to bed. The Bug tooted, if you will pardon the diminutive of fart/passing wind/passing gas/etc., and in the dark he said to this truck, "Well, I don't say excuse me when I toot in my bed. I just toot all I want and that's just what I do." The truck apparently has a voice and unconditional love for all things tootie because there was a reply in a voice slightly different than the Bug's that said, "Don't worry about it. Just go to sleep."

I've written before about how thankful I am for the diverse help I get in parenting, I just didn't expect to get this kind of help from a small, blue and very useful truck.

Forgetfulness

Today we had a jammie day. Bug and The Snack had the tummy flu last night/this morning, so, we didn't go to school. Instead we hung out in our jammies, got Nana and Bopa out the door on a wild Scottish adventure, and made cookies. I forgot after putting them in the oven that I was baking cookies so the first batch is a little crispy. The kids still liked them.

Parenthood is often a study of forgetfulness for me. I forget cookies, to help repair a blown out truck tire per Bug's request, or to find The Snack a sniffie (which is anything that smells like me and looks like a pillow case and can be rubbed on her nose while she sucks two of her fingers and wanders the house in a trance). I forget to kiss my husband, say thank you when I'm tired, and ask for help when I'm overwhelmed. I also realize all of the things I forgot about how Bug used to say -There are a few of his words that have worked their way into our family's lexicon, like oatmoh for oatmeal. But on the whole, I've forgotten his cute toddler speak and made room for his 4 year old sweetness. He introduced his grandparents to his babysitter with more properness than most adults can muster. We were all impressed and put to shame in the same breath. So here, I endeavor to mark down the toddler slang I know and remember so that I can keep on remembering. I've told you how this is all too fast for me, right?

BUG
oatmoh - oatmeal
noynuk - soymilk
Bucka - grandpa
Mimi - grammy
I'n - I'm -still used
yogret - yougurt
ever in the world - superlative, but used with nouns and verbs as in I am "Mama ever in the world" and "G is silly ever in the world." still used

SNACK
fifi- sniffie
pockie -pocket
but - boot
cuppy - cup
bibibi - strawberry
nanny - banana
po-pillow
heyo - here you go
yoki - yougurt
dotchie - her brother's name
pay - please
stah - stop
no - no way in hell. why are we reviewing this again? no means no. duh.
mahn - mine
oatie - oatmeal
seeyee- cereal
buck - book
oss- yes
ick -look (very confusing to those not in the know)
petty- blanket
ootie -owie
bokie -broken, but used often in the general sense as though something isn't quite right
stickie - sticker
runnie, walkie, danie - running, walking, dancing (she dances with her eyes closed swaying and twirling as if she was at a Grateful Dead concert).
mock snoring - i'd rather be playing with my fifi, po, and pettys (yes, she will snore in response to things that seem boring to here. Me - G, look, I see a large delivery truck. G - Snoring noises.)


Please note, other than the last entry, most of her words are used as directives towards her brother. I really don't think she'd care to tell us what's on her mind otherwise.