Falling in Love Again

...with music, that is.

iPods are magic. I used to think, why would anyone need to carry around 1,000 (or 10,000) of their favorite songs? Well, perhaps so they can sit at work on a holiday and listen to some Spoon or Sinead or whatever else comes up on shuffle. Makes the day much better.

I've had more fun in the last 2 weeks with music than I have had in awhile. And, since I share an iTunes account with my husband, I'm finding some artists that HE knows, but I don't. Or I'm finding out the names of songs/albums that I've heard, but never had that quick, pocket-sized reference to know WHO I'm listening to. I feel like I'm rediscovering part of the old me -- the one who knew all sorts of weird "C-stack" artists (and would play them on the radio ad nauseum). The one who went to concerts. The one who looked forward to Tuesdays, because it was the day new albums came out.

So, thank you, Apple, for this wonderful invention. What boon for music.

(Though I am the only one bothered by the conundrum of whether or not to capitalize the "i" when using iPod at the beginning of the sentence? Dang journalism school!)

Christmas Past

Well, we're home. After three households and 10 hours of driving over the course of 2 days, we're home.

It's snowing here in Milwaukee, maybe 6 inches today, so we decided to make for home late last night. We arrived around 12:30 a.m. So it was a nice feeling to be where we wanted to be when it started snowing at 8:30 this morning.

We had a good trip. Some of the highlights:

One happy cat. On Christmas Day, we lost Philo. We woke up and opened presents, then were packing up the van to head up to my parents' for Christmas dinner. In the loading process, the back door was left ajar, and Philo was nowhere to be seen. We searched the house for him -- he tends to burrow into the backs of closets to sleep, but we couldn't find him. After a brief search of the neighborhood, we decided to leave the garage door ajar and set out a blanket and some food, just in case. We figured the chances were 50/50 -- he could be outside, but he just as well be hiding in the house. We knew there was no point in waiting. He's a cat, so we could sit around all day before he'd appear from his slumber. We worried a bit more when a call to our cat sitter the next day resulted in a report that she couldn't find him either. Well, since I pretty much ruined the suspense with my title, you can probably guess that Philo isn't lost or a cat-sicle. When we got home last night, he was on the couch waiting for us. Silly cat. He has no idea how worried he had us. But I sure was happy to see him.

Splish, splash. Even though we were only at the Menomonie hotel for 24 hours, we managed to go swimming three times. And by "go swimming" I mean that we followed Owen as he fluctuated between the big pool and the little pool (i.e. hot tub) and Nora clung to Jon for dear life. Owen realized he could stand up by himself in the shallow end, so he spent much of his time standing near the number "3" on the wall and splashing himself in the face.

A merry Christmas. Jon loves his Wii, which I was excited to find on a routine trip to Target. Owen played almost nonstop on his Leapster on Christmas Day and Nora was pushing around her shopping cart while it was still in the wrapping paper. We also got one extra Christmas present for ourselves. We decided to upgrade our camera and on Christmas Eve bought a Canon Rebel SLR. Man, that thing is fast. It's a big step up from our other digital and it will be fun experimenting with it. The photo of Owen sipping soda below is one of those gotta-love-natural-light shots that I think are going to make having a faster camera fun.




Into the woods. Late on Christmas afternoon at my parents' house, we loaded everyone up for a "sleigh" ride, which was really an old truck bed pulled by a tractor. We headed into the snow-covered woods as the sun was setting. It was beautiful. I had one of those moments where I look around and can't believe I'm lucky enough to be doing what I'm doing. Surrounded by family, with my daughter on my lap, cuddled in blankets and riding past these snow-decorated trees at twilight. I sure have done a lot to get away from my farm upbringing, but I do like going back for visits. There's something slightly magical in the connection with the land -- or maybe it's just the way my family celebrates it. I guess that's part of being raised by a man who's a poet at heart. I mean, we went into the woods, spread out birdseed and lit candles in jars to hang in a tree. Who else does that?!

Merry Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and I really should be packing. But here I sit, at the computer, slacking. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that sleeping children will remain unaware. As we get out the presents and put them under the tree, for them to open tomorrow, brimming with glee.

OK, 'nuff of the rhyming.

We're trying something new this year. We'll actually be at home on Christmas morning before hitting the road. I honestly can't remember the last time we woke up in our own home on Christmas. It definitely made for a much more relaxing day today. I finished the wrapping while Nora napped and Owen and Jon got haircuts. We'll be spending the day with my parents, and then heading out for 2 more days of traveling to visit grandparents.

Owen is definitely excited this year. Invoking the name "Santa Claus" got him to play nicely with his sister -- unattended -- for a good 30-45 minutes tonight. He has been bouncing off the walls all evening though. I hope he sleeps.

Merry Christmas! (Or Happy Life Day!)

Time Marches On

So, I went looking in our old digital photos for a picture of Nora from last year so I could compare and see how much she has grown. Instead, I clicked on "Christmas 2005" and was surprised at how young Owen looked.

Yes, I know it was a whole 2 years ago, but still, I sometimes forget about the stumpy legs and pudgy cheeks. For comparison, here he is this Christmas in the same chair at his grandma's. I think the thing that struck me most (other than my apparent penchant for red plaid shirts for the holidays) was how in the first picture his legs stick straight out on the seat, and this year, the chair fits him just fine.

And here's Nora from last year, back when she wasn't crawling or talking or copping an attitude and subsisted entirely on breastmilk and pureed fruits and vegetables.


This year, she was Annie Oakley...on a cow.

So now I'm just another parent bemoaning how quickly the years go by. I guess this is a common refrain because kids offer such an obvious gauge to measure the passage of time -- more noticeable than creakier knees or new wrinkles. And who wouldn't rather watch kids grow than fret about crow's feet?

Here We Come a-Caroling

Yesterday morning, I attended Owen's very first Christmas choral program. They pooled together both of the K4 classes with the three K5 classes, which made for a group of about 100 4- and 5-year-olds in the front of the darkened auditorium. There was so much pride in the room, it was physically manifesting itself on the faces of every adult in the audience. And then there was the parental paparazzi, scooting down the aisle to get good shots. I'm almost not ashamed to admit I was one of them (hey, at least I had an aisle seat). Even moving closer, it was impossible to take a decent photo. But, at least you can sorta pick out the red hair. You'll also have to imagine that there were three times as many kids as I got in this frame.


You could definitely tell the 4-year-olds from the 5-year-olds. The older kids were the ones actually singing, while many of the younger set had vacant, slightly worried expressions the whole time while they somewhat mindlessly mouthed the words to Twas the Night Before Christmas and other songs. Or maybe it was just my kid with the distracted gaze -- I wouldn't really know, since he's about the only one I watched.

During Jingle Bells, he dropped his bell. And, of course, it fell to the floor, so he spent a good part of the song trying to retrieve it. Not so easy considering he was on the second riser. He finally got it back, and went right back to jingling. I look forward to reliving that on the video.

Before the concert, they had a breakfast for the kids and parents. There was Santa and face-painting and French toast and cookies. Owen willingly approached Santa Claus (proving he has overcome his crying run-in with Santa from 3 years ago).



Then he hammed it up with some of his pals. I think it's funny that in this first photo, they're posing like mini high school graduates and in the second one, they're definitely 4-year-olds with untucked shirts, tennis shoes and crazy attitudes (so, I guess, they look like college graduates, LOL).



All in all, a good way to spend the morning.

Last Things First

Got my Christmas present a bit early today...it's my very first iPod. Nano. Green. I loaded it up with a bunch of songs and decided to select shuffle to see what would play first. So, what was the first song ever to play on my iPod?

The Last. By The Replacements. I think I'm going to like this thing.

Snow Day

Today was our first official snow day as the parents of a school-aged kid. Forecasts of freezing rain by mid-day led almost all the area schools to close, even the always-open MPS. I'm home with both kids, even though day care was open. I don't know how those women always get there, but they do. (Seriously, in 4 years, they've never closed due to weather. Must be because a lot of the staff from the hospital across the street take their kids there -- and you know nurses don't get to call in for a snow day.)

So, this is what a snow day looks like at our house.



We've spent the day so far watching videos, coloring and we even did a brief stint outside. Owen, though reluctant, was excited as soon as I mentioned "snowman." Nora was less thrilled. After a few minutes playing with a shovel and some trips down the driveway in the sled, she retired to the porch to watch the activity and enjoy a delicious snowball. She's still at the age when the cold of snow overrides the fun of snow. Next year.

Right now, it looks like the freezing rain will miss us (knock on wood), instead hitting the counties to the south. The air definitely is damp, though, and the snow is falling in these ginormous clumps. I tried to capture it, but you know that a camera in an amateur's hands can't possibly do justice to the beauty of falling snow. It's seriously gorgeous right now (said the woman who's snug at home).

It's Christmas After All

Wow. I sure do get lazy about writing without a post-a-day challenge to meet.

Christmas has officially hit our household. We went and picked out a tree on Saturday. That part of the day went fine. What preceded it was one of those yelling, crying trips to the store...at a really crowded Fleet Farm, a store that is A) far away and B) really cramped and C) a place I don't know my way around at all. At one point, while Jon was trying on snow pants (the whole reason for our trip) I was looking for some spare boots for Nora with both kids in my cart...and they were BOTH crying. Sigh. Luckily, everyone there was super-nice. We got wished a happy holidays by two separate people (one, a fellow redhead who stopped to comment on the kids' hair). But, those kinds of days happen. Jon got his snow pants, which kept him nice and toasty today while sitting at a Packers game in 15-degree weather.

So yes, the whole point of that story was that we got our tree, which I -- once again -- thought was too small and too short as Jon loaded it onto the van, but -- once again -- was just perfect and not too small at all once it standing in our tiny little living room. Owen had remembered that last year we put the lights on the tree while he was napping and he woke up to a lit tree. So this year, he ASKED to take a nap. That lasted about 45 minutes, and then he was antsy and ready to come downstairs. Nora woke up, too, since she'd cat-napped in the van. She was enthralled with the tree when she first saw it, and stared at it like she couldn't figure out what to make of it, and Owen just giddily ran up to it, and then proceeded to ask me which ornaments he could remove.

Today, since Jon was at the game, I decorated the rest of the house while Nora napped, and added a bit to the outdoor decorations, too. I do like getting out all the decorations. Somehow it makes the place feel all warm and cozy. It also means I have to get rid of all the clutter, so everything that's out suddenly feels purposeful. Owen "decorated," too, by putting up new things on his bulletin board in the kitchen. We wore the funny Christmas headbands my mom got one year. After Nora woke up, we ate snack in the living room and cuddled up on the couch to watch Shrek the Halls. AND the Packers won. So all in all, it was a nice afternoon.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Last night, Jon and I went to go see No Country for Old Men. Our friends Steph and Nate came over to watch the kids. Before they left, Steph told us about something funny Owen said. I guess at bedtime, he told them that they could sleep in our bed -- because they're married -- but when we come home, they'd have to move over. Seems logical, right?

It reminded me of something funny he said a couple weeks ago. We'd lit a candle on the dinner table and he was insistent that we not blow it out. The next morning, he was disappointed that it was out. I told him that we can't leave them on all night because that's dangerous. To which he responded, "but they leave them on at the eyebrow store."
The eyebrow store...ie the salon where I go to get, er, slightly uneyebrowed. He accompanied me once and was pretty enthralled by the place -- candles everywhere, mommy laying on a couch...

Good movie, by the way. Beautifully shot. I'd only heard some of the audio book while Jon was listening to it. So there were some surprises in it for me.

30 Days, 30 Posts

When I was growing up, I remember my dad writing during breakfast. He'd have his 3-ring binder full of paper and a mechanical pencil and he'd scribble away while we all ate our toast and cereal. I know he still begins each day by writing. In the winter, he might be at it for hours, and my mom brings his oatmeal and tea upstairs to him. In the summer, when he's working in the fields, he just gets up early so he can have some journaling time each day.

It's a pretty amazing habit, don't you think?

One thing I've realized over the past month is that it's kinda fun to put some words on paper (er, screen) every day. Some stuff comes out that might not otherwise (exhibit A: the inadvisably titled 11/23 post), but I guess that's all part of it. Course, typing my thoughts into Blogger is about as far away from what my dad does as two writing mediums could be. This is, after all, a man who still cannot type.

Although I make my living in the publishing industry, I'm not a writer like my dad. I don't feel compelled to write. I enjoy it; and I'm enjoying having this little outlet for it, but the sharing part of the blog is just as satisfying. I'm not sure what that says about me. I'm a narcissistic writer?

Anyway, it has been a good 30 days. I somehow managed to post each day -- meeting the challenge I'd set out for myself. It helped that all of our out-of-town travels were either one-night affairs or were to places where friends willingly provided laptops at 11 at night. I'll now probably be taking the weekend "off" and deal with things like putting away the last 2 weeks worth of clean laundry and trying to find all those Christmas gifts I've stashed away. These are good activities for what looks to be a snowy, sleety day tomorrow. But never fear! I'll be back...most likely with pictures. Thanks for reading!

Word Play

Tonight's post will be brief, since there's a Packers-Cowboys game on...the first Packers-Cowboys game to actually mean something to the season in quite some time. Brings back old memories. Old, bitter memories.

So, just a quick recap of some of Nora's new words:

Peez - please

Des - this

Miiiine - obvious. This is aimed at anything and everything she wants that we dare to keep from her pudgy little hands.

Ohie - Owen; not to be confused with "owie" which means, uh, either that she's hurt or she doesn't like something. It's a subtle distinction.

Boopbaw - football

YEE-AH! - yes. Mere words can't do justice to how cute this one is. "Want some milk, Nora?" "Yee-ah!" she says like you've just offered her the most exciting thing ever.

Appow - apple; though it also, apparently, means banana.

Outide - outside; this was used quite a bit over the Thanksgiving break. Then, after about 10 minutes outside, and refusing to keep mittens on despite the biting wind, she'd be walking toward the door, wanting to go in. This repeated every half hour or so.

Go gak - go Pack, uttered tonight before the game. That's my girl!

&%$#@!!

It was bound to happen.

When I'm mad, all my efforts to be careful about language seem to go out the window, and, unfortunately, the f-word happens to be my old standby for venting frustration. I've tried alternatives like fudge or fiddlesticks...they do nothing. So, this morning, Owen said it. Specifically, he said "you're a fucker pants" and I knew immediately the time had come for momma to really start watching her dirty ole' potty mouth.

Now, I think he does get points for creativity. The "pants" part was his invention, since I've never uttered that exact phrase (although perhaps when I was 4...). He probably heard smarty pants or something similar at school and just did a little editing.

So, is that a silver lining? Creative potty mouth?

Moo Moo Mizzou

I really don't follow college football. I usually know whether Wisconsin is having a good year (only so-so this year, right?) but beyond that, I don't know much.

But then, my alma mater went and had a great season. So I kinda kept my ear to the ground for word about them. Beat Illinois, tromped Nebraska, lost to Oklahoma, beat No. 2 Kansas and wow, suddenly they're the No. 1 team in the country. My school...with a shot at the national championship. The little town of Columbia must be absolutely BUZZING right now.

I don't know why, as an alum who didn't really follow Missouri football when I was a student, I'm so excited about this. I guess it's my chance to reminisce about my college years, chat with co-workers who are fellow alums, and just be part of a big group something.

Course, making the whole scenario more interesting is the fact that the team Missouri plays this weekend -- the team they have to beat to have a shot at the national championship -- is Oklahoma. Not only is OU the one team they've lost to this year, it's also the former school of a good friend and co-worker, who actually IS a big football fan. So, I'm sorry Stacy, but I have to say, Go Mizzou!

(By the way, Moo Moo Mizzou was on a t-shirt I bought 15 years ago during my first year at the school. At the time, I thought it was the perfect bridge between Wisconsin and Missouri...but I still don't get what it's supposed to mean.)

Home Wrecker

Last night, I realized we're in trouble. And by that I mean I discovered Nora, while we weren't paying attention, had climbed up onto a kitchen chair and was happily doodling away with a marker. Luckily, she'd also found a piece of paper to doodle on and only a small amount was on the table...and her chin. She was not happy when I traded the marker for a crayon, and gave me a sour look and a plaintive "miiiiine!"

This was after we'd already taken away the pair of screwdrivers she'd been walking around with earlier when she started using them to stab at the new paint job in our bathroom, and also after we had to liberate her of the two pencils she was using to draw on the bathroom tile. Sigh.

I'd kinda forgotten about this stage -- able to get almost anywhere, but too young to understand the rules. I don't even want to imagine the fate of our Christmas tree.

Come a Long Way

Sometimes, to remember how far you've come, you need to take a look back at where you've been. The above picture is our bathroom exactly 3 months ago.

Today, we painted it. I never thought painting would be such a milestone, but I've also never been involved with a drywalling project before. So painting is HUGE because it means the cycle of mudding the walls then sanding them smooth, then finding more spots to mud and sand is done. Jon did all of that work, and I think we were both surprised by how long it took. It gives me a whole new respect for my parents, who tore down plaster and lathe, reinsulated and then drywalled...AN ENTIRE HOUSE.

Anyway, here are some pictures. The first one shows the new color and shower tile. There's still some big work to be done -- you know, the sink, a medicine cabinet, real lights -- but I need only look at the second photo to remember how much it has already changed for the better.

The Day After

Well, I'm happy that I still have an unbroken posting streak this month, even though the title of last night's post may have been a little too literal. But hey, sitting in a friend's kitchen and typing while also carrying on a conversation kinda sucks the attention away from details like, oh, grammar and spelling and thinking too long about an appropriate title.

Come to think of it, holiday weekends must suck the attention away from blogging in general, since I'm not feeling especially prolific today either.

We're back in Milwaukee after about 2-1/2 days away from home. It was a nice break, and the kids certainly had fun, but it is always nice to be home. I sometimes wish we didn't have to travel for every single holiday, that it would be relaxing to have 4 or 5 days at home just the four of us. But, this is the life we've chosen by living where we do -- close enough to visit for every holiday, but not close enough for any of the travel to be simple day trips. Honestly, I think we're so used to it that when we don't travel for a month, I get a little antsy. It's become a regular "activity" for us the way camping or canoeing might be for other people.

Well, tomorrow's a big day. WE'RE PAINTING THE BATHROOM. Those of you familiar with our renovation saga will understand why I felt the need to go a little overboard with the capitalization there. It's a huge almost-finished sign to a 3-month-long project. One of these days, I'll have to post about this whole project...but maybe I should really leave that up to my significant other, since it has really been his project.

That's it for tonight, there's a cold Guinness (notice a holiday pattern here?) and a sci-fi geeky movie waiting for me.

Drunken Posting

Sitting here having my third Guinness of the night in the Iron Chef's kitchen. Really, is there a better way to end a post-Thanksgiving day? Here's a list of our activities:

-Got up at 5:20 a.m. and accompanied Jon to the Plover Menards. First time I've EVER gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Did is just for fun. At 6:02, when we arrived -- to the store that opened at 6 -- there were already people parking in the lot across the street and running across Hoover to the store. It was actually kind of fun. After finding some miscellaneous stuff and getting in line, we chatted with the women behind us, who had already been to two stores. Apparently, Kohls was pretty bad :) They opened at 4.

-Threw wood into the basement at my mom and dad's house. Nora thought that was great fun; was kinda upset when we were done. Owen was similarly upset about finishing sweeping a shed. Jon's reaction: we need to starte giving them some chores.

-Took Owen with my mom to see The Bee Movie. Although he didn't want to go, and moped in the back seat the whole way to the theater, it was the first movie that he's never asked "can we go home nnow"about 30 minutes in. So I'd say it was good.

-Went to dinner at Christian's, a nice little Wayne-recommended bistro in a Plover strip mall. Had some deelish bacon-wrapped huge gulf shrimp served with the best grits I've ever eaten. And some crab. And some wine. And the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa. Mmm good.

So yah, good day.

Turkey Day

So, we're leaving for my parents' house in about 45 minutes. Just a lot of last-minute gathering of stuff left to do. Then Owen bounded down the stairs while I was in the shower to announce that it had SNOWED and that we'd best go right outside to make a snowman. Jon was less excited, since he's currently cleaning off the van. But, it is pretty.

Should be a good day...family, food, football...

Happy Thanksgiving!

His Mother Called Him Wild Thing

For the longest time, Owen's favorite bedtime book was Where the Wild Things Are. He knew the whole thing by heart, and sometimes, he'd recite it as I turned the pages, or he'd follow along in our second copy of the book while I read the other one, or he'd just listen intently and then giggle at the "roared their terrible roars" part. Though we haven't read it in several months. it's still one of my favorites to read together.

So today, Nora and I were sitting in the kitchen reading books and Owen was playing on the computer. She was bringing in book after book and then plopping down on my lap. I'm sure I was supposed to be doing something else, but how could I resist?

The third book she grabbed was Where the Wild Things Are. I started reading, and was impressed as Nora correctly pointed out the moon (a great leap from her assertion last week that it was a "ball"). But I was also curious if Owen would hear us and come in. By the time we got to the part where the wild rumpus starts, I was convinced Owen was ignoring us. But then, just as the smells started drifting in from far away across the world, Owen burst into the kitchen and told me to "stop." He wanted to hear the end of the story. Course, he wanted me to wait for him to go back and finish typing the alphabet and then finish the story, but it was enough just to know that he wanted to hear it.

It's a funny thing, being needed. Sometimes, I just want to break free of that unremitting responsibility, but you get used to it, and the thought of NOT being needed is scary, too.

But, I don't have to worry about that today. He's still my little boy who loves Where the Wild Things Are.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Maybe I'm this way every year, but I'm REALLY in the mood for Christmas this year. I was at the mall over lunch and they were hanging a huge, 10-foot-wide wreath above the door, and instead of thinking "ugh," it made me smile. And this from the person who doesn't have a single gift purchased (well, maybe one), has a house to decorate, cards to fret over, etc. etc.

Although it did seem a little early for the mall Santas to be making their appearances, I'm not overly distressed by the amount of holiday lights that are already up in my neighborhood, though it is putting on the pressure to take down our Halloween lights.

So, bring on the carols, the craziness, the Christmas tree needles everywhere. I'm ready for it!

And, since posts are more interesting with photos of the wee ones. Here's a bonus pic from last Christmas. I can't believe how little Nora looks. We'll be lucky if we can get her to sit still long enough for a picture this year.

You Had Me at "Chocolate"

I was on the NPR site today looking for a breakfast bar recipe that Nigella Lawson made sound really yummy on Morning Edition, when I saw this headline:

Can Chocolate Save the Earth?

Now that's my kind of headline! I haven't read the story yet, but I'm pretty sure I support it. (And if you want to read the story, the only way I could figure out to link it was to make the title of this blog entry clickable.) Hmmm, perhaps the Google blogger just wants you all to have to Google it.

Obsessions, Part 2

Owen likes to type. He can busy himself for absurd lengths of time just typing on the computer.

Usually, it's things like this:

AaBbCcDdEeFf

or this:

12345678910111213

or even this:

The?owenOPENgoHalloween

Course, you have to imagine the letters are multicolored and in all different sizes, since he's a whiz with the formatting palette. Who needs computer games when you have Microsoft Word?!

He will sometimes be at it for an hour or more. Seriously. When he declares himself done (which usually means he's reached a number like 40 or 100 or finished the alphabet), he calls us into the computer room so we can help him print it out. Then, he takes the piece of paper, cuts out the portion with the letters and calls it his "list." On more than one occasion, our departure to the store or elsewhere has been delayed because he was just wrapping up his list. And some evenings, he chooses to type rather than watch TV. Weird, right?

I have to admit, though, it is pretty amazing how well he can use a computer. He logs into his account, launchs Word and does just about everything up to the point of printing without any help. At age 4, he knows his way around a computer better than I did in, oh, middle school?

Obsessions, Part 1

Both my kids have some personality-defining quirks.

For Nora, one is that she's a gatherer. She's always picking three or four (or six) things and carrying them around. And these aren't necessarily even fun things. Tonight, it was a folded-up sheet of window plastic, a tube of diaper creme (that I'd been looking for all week) and the booklet from Owen's Cars computer game. She carried them to the kitchen, gathered her blanket and a sippy cup of milk and then carefully reloaded to toddle off into the living room, where she plays with this weird conglomeration of stuff. Oh, the plastic opens and closes like a book, I'll put all my stuff in there and then close it. No, I'll take everything out and taste-test the end of the diaper creme tube. Lookie, this paper crinkles...

Perhaps it's a woman thing and this is how multi-tasking starts.

She also has a new word, apple, though she doesn't quite seem to grasp its meaning yet since she'll deem just about anything an apple. The stuffed dog, the bananas, the chorizo sausage at Trader Joe's, to name a few.

Talk about multi-tasking!

Brothers and Sisters

The whole sibling thing really can be amazing to watch. It seemed that from the moment we brought Nora home, she knew Owen was someone special -- not just another one of the "big people" around her. And Owen wanted to get to know her.

Nora definitely looks up to Owen and will follow his lead (sometimes NOT a good thing) and he, in turn, takes care of her. It has been so long since I was entrenched in the day-to-day of a sibling, that I forget how natural that relationship is. Not only do they play together pretty well, they LIKE playing together. Though I do admit, left alone too long, it can end up something like this.
But just as often, it's something like this
Or this...
It's going to be interesting to watch their relationship change and grow. Until someday, I guess, they'll be meeting over beers to discuss their crazy parents.

A Stitch in Time

So last night's PR was interesting. I definitely think the right person got eliminated. That dress was UG-LY. And man, that 21-year-old can sew!! The construction on his piece looked amazing (though I wasn't crazy about that plaid). There are perhaps a few too many with angular hair-dos this season, and people who really are pros. But, the talent definitely is high, which should make it interesting as they get into the more offbeat challenges.

Sigh, my energy/creativity are a bit low tonight, so I'll leave you with this little story:
Jon says he and Nora had an argument about the moon tonight. As they were leaving daycare, she pointed to the sky and said "ball," to which Jon corrected, "moon." Nora paused, and then insisted, "ball." This apparently went back and forth a couple times, each time Nora insisting that no, it's a BALL, daddy. Guess we should be reading her a little more Good Night Moon.

Here's the Skinny

Heidi Klum is a supermodel. She is freakishly tall and has large breasts for someone so slender. But she's never been, at least in my eyes, one of "those" models -- the waifish, head-too big-for-their-bodies women.

But, in the picture of her and Tim Gunn in the current Entertainment Weekly, her waist looks really, really tiny. Freakishly tiny. My first thought was that she went a little overboard losing the baby weight, but then I spied the same picture in some gossip mag over the weekend (I wish I could remember which one) and she definitely is showing some curves. Not plump curves, just model-with-three-children curves.

So WTF, EW? Heidi Klum isn't skinny enough so you have to Photoshop her to be even skinnier?! Perhaps someone was just trying to create some separation between her and Tim, but my goodness, a little brush goes a long way (and this from the queen of cloning power lines out of photos in my magazine).

And yes, I'm very excited about tonight's premiere. I haven't had a must-watch show yet this season. (Though I am really enjoying 30 Rock. Man, they are really clicking this year.)

On a side note: it's weird to walk past your sleeping son's room to hear Journey's Don't Stop Believing. It'll be even weirder once he's choosing his own music, instead of mix CDs Jon makes for him.

In Memorium

Oh, Maxie.

The one time I met you, I was invading your space with my 3-foot and 6-foot cohorts, and you weren't a big fan of that. Though I didn't know you very well, I do know my very good friends loved you a lot, and that makes me sad to hear that you're gone. Rest in peace, little pup.

Picture Day

So, last week, maybe the week before (oh, how the days run together sometimes), we got Owen's school pictures back. And I would have to say he had a pretty good first outing. The smile is a bit off and the gaze slightly off-camera, so it's just enough not-quite-right to be a real school picture. Cuz, really, how many school pictures were YOU happy with through the years?


Course, the thing that threw me was how OLD he looked. Maybe it's the short haircut or the way-too-preppy polo or maybe it's because it looks like he's really, really trying to smile nice, but it just made me think, where has my little boy gone? You know, the one in this picture, which was taken a year and a half earlier.
It's one of my favorites because it was taken a few days after Nora was born. And, in addition to being appropriately rumpled, doesn't he look like he might be thinking, Yup, I'm a big brother now. B-I-G brother, that's me!

Near and Far

What a whirlwind of a weekend. We did, amazingly, stick to our plan and manage to leave yesterday morning just after 5. But, not according to our plan, Owen insisted on staying awake, instead of falling right back to sleep as we'd hoped. He was more chipper at 5 than he is at 6:15 on school days. I guess a trip is more exciting (duh, mom).

The anniversary party was fun. Once Nora loosened up, she was out on the dance floor. And her dance partner of choice? Two packs of travel wipes. I feel so rejected.

Owen, on the other hand, was hanging out in the Legion bar playing computer slots (thank goodness for demo mode) and buying gumballs with the stash of quarters he had in his pocket. Since we had the run of the American Legion, he was pretty much on his own, which still is a new thing for me -- not having to keep an eagle eye on him at all times (unlike the shorter redhead, who was trying to tear down the decorations, walk into the men's bathroom, pull the tablecloths off, etc. etc.) At one point, Owen came back to the table with two cups of punch, one for me and one for him. I thought that was pretty cute.

So, here are a few photos from the event. Though none of the actual couple of the day. My bad.

The family chided Jon's cousin into playing drums on a couple songs with the polka band.

Nora and cousins were their "No. 1 fans"
Owen chatted it up with the ladies.
Nora shared some love with her great-grandma Ovren, who we stopped to visit on our way out of town.
Then when we got home, they "helped" us rake our leaves into the street for pick-up (thank you city of Milwaukee!)

At one point, I was sitting at the party and looking around at all the gray and white heads and I thought, wow, someday, this will be us. Forty or 50 years from now, I hope Jon and I will be sitting around at an anniversary party surrounded by the people in our lives who are most special. We will all be wrinkled and gray-haired and there will be parts of our bodies that hurt that we didn't even know COULD hurt. If we're really lucky, the room will be full of laughter and memories and maybe even some great-grandkids.

Though I do wonder what kind of band will be playing.

Before Sunrise

It's 4:32 a.m., and why exactly am I posting now? Because I'm insane and can't resist a challenge. See, I read on this other blog I follow that November is National Blog Posting Month, or NoBloPoMo, and the challenge is to post something every day. I thought, heck, what a good way to jump-start my blogging habit! So, we're leaving at 5 to head up to Menomonie -- Jon's shooting a commercial for his cousin's Ford dealership up there and then we're going to his grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary party -- and here I am clickity-clacking while waiting for the coffee to brew. If only I could muster the same commitment for say, exercising.

And, now that I've come out of the closet on this whole posting-every-day thing, I'm going to have to find a way to post from my parents' house over Thanksgiving...using their dial-up connection. Shiver.

Take This Crow and Stuff It

So last week, my office did this decorate-a-scarecrow thing, and, in a fit of team spirit, I convinced my magazine group to decorate one. We brainstormed ideas and came up with creating a crow, dressed as a scarecrow. Witty, right? One of the art directors in our group teamed up with her husband to make this AMAZING crow head from a piece of styrofoam and who knows what else, and the other art director made these really cool legs and feet out of parts she gathered at the hardware store. We cut, we crafted, we hot-glued feathers, and we thought our creation was pretty cool.

Unfortunately, below is the winning entry. It was a 7-foot-tall robot that's head turned in the wind. It was pretty impressive. Though, in retrospect, it really had nothing to do with being a scarecrow.

We had fun, anyway. And I SO want a hot-glue gun now.

There She Goes

I'm kinda tired, so tonight I offer this video of Nora...walking around the side of our house. Watch out YouTube, this one will be burning up the blogosphere!

Seriously, though, I love the way she walks. So purposeful. I only wish I'd caught her a couple minutes earlier when she was still carrying the armload of sticks -- some taller than her -- that she gathered on our walk.

Prepare to be Amazed

Here are some of the things Nora has done lately to amaze her mother (and yes, I'm biased):

-She plays hide and seek. She walks around to the other side of one of our dining room chairs and ducks out of sight. And then when you find her, she giggles and runs away.

-She can sing the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

-She tries to wash her belly and feet while taking a bath.

-She is a tough cookie. She's had a bruise and a cut on her forehead for a week, and we have NO IDEA what happened, and we're 99 percent sure it happened in the living room one evening while we were all home.

-This is an older one, but she goes onto the little toddler couch in the playroom, often with a cup of milk, and sits there and looks at books. Sometimes, if Owen is watching TV in there, she gathers all the remotes and then sits there to watch the show.

-She likes to bring us our shoes. And if Owen is upset, she'll grab his blankets and give them to him.

-We kiss the animals on her mobile before bed. We also take the wooden sheep off the shelf and kiss it. Very important is that she puts the sheep back, by herself.

-I swear she was trying to say "1, 2, 3" tonight in the bath, which is what I usually say before splashing her with a cup of water.

-She has started pointing out noses, as in "where's Mommy's nose? where's Nora's nose?" Sometimes, she does it a bit forcefully, and when I tell her to be gentle, she leans her head in to cuddle my head.

Yep, she's pretty amazing. Best reserve a spot for her Vegas show now. OK, that made me giggle. I can see it now: she'd taste-test the microphone, dump her cup of water on the floor and then determinedly walk off stage. Clomp, clomp, clomp, clomp.

Raindrops on Roses or Whiskers on Kittens?

Last night, I asked Owen what his favorite things were. Without even having to think about it, here is what he listed:

Helicopters and boats and choo-choo trains and cross-its [then a pause] and Chucky Cheese's and Menard's.

And then he went back to coloring.

"Cross-its" by the way, are railroad crossings. He loves pointing them out when they're off; loves watching them when they're on.

So, what are my favorite things? Off the top of my head, I'd have to say:
Lazy Sunday afternoons with my family, going to bed early with a good book, a slightly bittersweet mocha, a long-procrastinated job finally done, GYGD weekends, the first daffodils of spring, a mindless movie with my husband and a glass of red wine, discovering new things about my kids...I'm sure there's more, but now I'm thinking too hard, which sorta defeats the purpose of trying to see what instantaneously comes into my head.

But come to think of it, I like cross-its now, too.

Etc.

Random notes on a Monday night:

-I love having two kids. Tonight in the kitchen, we were all sitting on the floor having popsicles and Owen very sweetly offered bites of his to Nora. Later, they were cracking each other up taking turns making V's with their bodies...like little yogis doing the downward-facing dog, but with much more laughing.

-How is it that a 18-month-old, left alone for 3 minutes, manages to activate some weird setting on the phone handset, one that I have no idea what it is or how to deactivate it? Three minutes!!

-Owen apparently knows the Pledge of Allegiance. He just finished reciting it to me.

-Darth Vader Halloween candy: great package, disappointing treat. You open the Darth helmet to reveal five Runt-like candies, but without the red or pink ones that were always the best flavors (though no bananas, thank goodness).

-Kids can sense medicine and vitamins a mile away. I hand Nora a sippy cup of milk with a little Pediasure (since she hasn't been eating much). She no more than brings it up to her mouth before rejecting it as something foreign, like she's a Pediasure-sniffing dog or something.

25 hours to go

Ugh, I think I felt that extra hour today. Got up early to go into work for awhile, then Jon called to say he was taking Nora to the walk-in clinic. She'd been restless all night with a horrible cough. Later he calls back to say they were waiting to get a chest x-ray. Talk about feeling like a bad mommy. Here I am at work and my baby girl is on the other side of town being held down for an x-ray.

Turns out, she has a touch of croup, so they sent home an inhaler and some steroid medicine. She cries every time she coughs because it hurts, but she's been in an amazingly decent mood during the day...though she now sports the raspy voice of a piano bar singer.

Nighttime's a whole other issue. I have a feeling it's going to be a long one...and my division president's visiting tomorrow. Joy.

That Crazy Chucky

Today I accompanied Owen to his first birthday party held at a Chuck Cheese's. I haven't been to one since I was a kid, and had vague memories of a darkened dining room, somewhat scary characters on stage and a ball pit.

Well, Chuck, how you've changed.

It actually was pretty fun...and obviously a popular place for a birthday party. There were five going on while we were there. They've all but dispensed with the character show and Owen had fun spending the 25 tokens we got from the birthday girl's mom.

For the record, he ruled at the mallet game, but stunk at anything that involved driving. In fact, the two of us teamed up for probably the worst game of Mario Bros. racetrack in history. I ran the gas pedal (he couldn't reach) while Owen steered. At one point we were actually going around the track the wrong way. The game tried to tell us by flashing a U-turn sign above Luigi's head, but Owen ignored it...and ran into another wall. And we both laughed.

HCIF

Or, Holy Crap, It's Friday!

This morning, I knew it was Friday because that's the day NPR does their Storycorps piece, which tends to be a fairly intriguing slice of life in the form of regular people interviewing other regular people, usually older relatives. I always enjoy listening to these stories, but it did jar me into the realization that IT'S FRIDAY!

Of course, I already knew it was Friday, I just couldn't believe that yet another week had passed without me accomplishing X, Y or Z at work. Lately, it's all about deadline, deadline, deadline and big project after big project. Some days, I don't know where to concentrate first.

But hell, in about 15 minutes, I'll leave all of that behind me for a weekend of forgetting all this stuff so I have the energy to do it again next week. Plus, I kinda have the same realization on Sunday nights, except it's about stuff like the coat that's been waiting at the cleaners or the forgotten trip to Trader Joe's. Hmm, maybe I should refer to this post on Saturday night. Note to self: also print out photos from best friend's wedding.

Watch out, Brad Pitt!

So last Wednesday, Jon and I each took an hour off from work to go see Owen in his first school play. The 4-year-old kindergarten class was performing a mix of Mother Goose rhymes, with the class reciting them as others acted out the words (Jack jumped over the candlestick and burned his bottom, Miss Muffet was scared of the stuffed spider, etc.)

And yah, it was pretty darned cute.

Owen was an "all the king's horses" workin' on poor, clutzy Humpty Dumpty. That kid can put him together again with the best of them.



As the big finish, they did a rendition of Itsy Bitsy Spider, including a verse that was Big, Enormous Spider, complete with big arm motions and loud voices. All the kids got into it (what 4-year-old doesn't welcome the opportunity to yell and act crazy...in school?!). But Owen REALLY got into it. He screwed up his face to try to look all mean and he held his arms so wide I thought he was going to smack the poor kid next to him. He was even turning a bit red from all the effort. Course, I didn't catch all that with a picture...maybe someday I'll post Jon's video.



My kid, the over actor. I'm so proud.

Bugs, bonfires and things that go "boo"

Sometimes, I really love our neighborhood. Halloween definitely is one of those times. They close down the streets in part of the neighborhood and everyone really gets their Halloween on. Kids and adults in costumes, over-the-top house decorations, people everywhere...such fun!

Owen dressed as Spiderman for the second year in a row and Nora tolerated her huge ladybug head just fine, and was pretty entranced by all the crazy trick-or-treating activity. Oh, and she had her first taste of chocolate. The verdict? Thumbs up (well, actually it got a frantic hand-sign of "more, more" but I think that's pretty clearly the thumbs up of an 18-month-old). Owen liked his "little super ropes" i.e. Twizzlers.

It all goes so fast. A couple hours of trick-or-treating and it's done. At breakfast this morning, Owen even denied that today is Halloween. According to his calendar, Halloween was last week and now it's winter. Silly mommy and daddy!




This last photo is of the undergarb of Nora's ladybug costume. I thought she looked like a little beatnik.

It's all about the shoes

Yesterday, I went shoe shopping for N. Day care was begging us to please, please get this girl some tie shoes because she was in the habit of removing them. Two strips of Velcro? Worthless in preventing a determined 18-month-old.

Problem is, she has tiny feet. Size 4, which is frickin' tiny. Most normal stores don't even carry size 4. Apparently, in that void between soft-soled baby shoes and size 5 or 6, most kids go barefoot or something. Specialty kids shoe stores carry this size, but you end up paying $45 for the shoes your darling child will wear for 4 months before outgrowing. I was feeling cheap, and quite far away from the nearest kid's shoe outlet, so, on a mall mission I went.

At the fourth store, I finally did find shoes in her size, several styles in fact. That's when I was confronted with one of those decisions that felt like a what-kind-of-parent-am-I type moments. Turns out, I'm a parent that buys these shoes for my dear daughter. Seriously, did anyone expect me to resist?


Yes, there's my daughter with her first pair of Chuck Taylors (playing with her daddy's new iPod no less). She's not even 2 and already she's cooler than me.

By the way, this is my new blog. I think. Thought it might be fun to try out for awhile.