And I quote - March 31, 2006 -
I told you that this weekend I talked to my 2 older sons about the birds and the bees. This isn’t something new. I have talked to them before about the differences between girls and boys etc, but never in such….depth…as we did on Sunday. The questions were flowing from the 8yo, and I had to get very specific about how the daddy gets the seed into the mommy. Cory, 11, was mortified. Just mortified. The funny part is how my 8yo applied his new found knowledge.
Monday morning he runs into the kitchen and with his usual flare for the dramatics, with lots of hand motions, declares that he knows the newts (aproximately 2-3 inches in length) that we have are male and female.
I said: “Hmm, okay, shoot. Tell us how you know this”
Cody: “Because I looked at them….you know…down there. And saw it!”
Me: “Saw what?”
Cody: “Well, one had a thing…down there…a penis (at saying this, he spread his hands about a foot apart). And the other one had an opening….a vagina”
Me: “You saw this….the newt penis and vagina. Did you have a magnifying glass”
Cody: “No way, I didn’t need it. Now maybe the male can get his pee-pee hard and plant his seed in the girl and we can have babies”
All the while Bill, with a horrified expression, had a spoon full of cheerios poised an inch away from his mouth, frozen in time.
Goooooooood morning honey!!!!!!!
Please eat before you watch this - March 30, 2006 -
Or you will gobble her up whole.
I have seen Dooce, Jana, Heather, Chris and tons of other blogs using YouTube, so I thought I would try it too.
Priorities - March 30, 2006 -
When you drop your laptop, use anything to make sure it does not hit the floor. Even if that means sticking your leg out and catching it with the top of your foot.
It will hurt like hell for over an hour. It will cause you to curse and limp, but the alternative is unthinkable………. a broken laptop. **GASP**
Broken foot, or a broken laptop? Broken foot, broken laptop? Any questions?
Pedoodles - March 29, 2006 -
I am having a love affair with some baby shoes. Adorable baby shoes that are well made and soooo worth the $.
Mama Mia has a few (snark) pairs of these and has had them for almost a year and is just now outgrowing them! So, time to order new ones. Specifically Kimberly Kitty, Frank Fish, and Fred Froggy.
I will also re-order Flower Power and The Princess. No, I am not buying them all myself. Family has asked what Mia would like for Easter, and I was like “oh, I know just what she would like….shoes!” Imelda Marcos in the making.
Speaking of feet…..it has been at least 5 years since my last pedicure. So I treated myself and got one today! It felt so good!
See my pretty feet
Now I can step on worm snakes with my pretty bare feet. Blah.
Yet another reptilian adventure - March 28, 2006 -
In my freaking HOUSE people!!!
Internet, meet the freaky, blind, pink snake that was found swishing its body side to side doing its best, tiny, little Ray Charles impression on my BATHROOM FLOOR.
See its little blind, beady eyes????
It is about 2 inches long.
The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians says that they are found in Texas, after a nice spring rain in the evening. The book says NOTHING about how the hell a 2 inch blind snake found its way into my completely enclosed and tiled bathroom on a rainy evening.
Did I mention that the book states it is a baby at that length…….so where, pray tell, the hell are its siblings?????????
The best for last….this from the NASFGNAR mentioned above:
“It defends itself by coiling and writhing about, smearing cloacal fluid over it’s body”.
So there you have it. I have blind snake butt liquid all over my pink tiled floor.
Freaking nasty.
Bastrop State Park - March 27, 2006 -
Another wonderful weekend under our belts. The trailer has proved, yet again, as our best idea to date.
The hiking was magnificent. The kids did REALLY well. Saturday, we all did a 4 mile loop, baby included. She actually walked a great deal of it, spending very little time in the sling or on shoulders.
The boys were in their element. Wide open spaces, animals, trees, fishing, and dirt. What more can you ask for?
The hike just about did Quinn in. Toward the end he yelled “I hate hiking”.
He was too tired to hike, but climbing was another story.
Dude.
The last 1/4 mile, Mia fell asleep and Bill carried her.
On Sunday, the two older boys and I hit the trail and tackled a 6 mile hike. The goal was to reach a large pond where the Houston toad lives. It is an endangered species, and the boys wanted to see it.
The hike was gorgeous, through towering pines and ferns lining the trail. It was up and down, with lots of roots to step over, but was so rewarding. I will treasure the talks we had. We talked about God, “the birds and the bees”, and about falling in love. I will tell you right now, those little boys make me well up with love and pride. I love them so much it hurts. They are so much like their father, and I am so grateful for this because he is such a blessing to me. I know without a doubt that they will chose the right road in life. I am sure of this.
We found lots of creatures along the way.
Frogs
Strange bugs
Nasty bugs
Upon reaching the pond, there were no endangered toads to be seen, but we saw one of their egg masses, which was very cool.
We also explored a beautiful stream that was filled with frogs.
The weekend ended way too fast.
We are home, once again…but that deserves its very own post.
You can click on any of the pics above to get to all of the trip photos.
The Princess - March 23, 2006 -
Yesterday my baby turned 2. As hard as it is to see her grow up, I am entranced with each stage she is going through and looking forward to the next!
She just has all of us under her spell. The boys, who would not be caught dead with a doll, suddenly find themselves playing “kitchen” with the set she got for her birthday.
They all come running when she cries, and if anyone were to ever push her or assault her in any way, watch out for her 3 big brothers. They won’t put the cap on the toothpaste to save their lives, but would gladly take on anything for Miss Mimi.
She is a girlie girl by choice. When I try and put any of the boys hand-me-downs on her, she will have none of that. She wants her “pretties”. She loves to twirl ’round and ’round like ‘Derella (Cinderella) and gives everyone and everything kisses.
She loves Minnie Mouse, and would like to move to Disney World and live with her in her funny house. So, I ordered a special cake for her with Minnie on it. I taped it up in its box and placed it on the counter, and an hour before her party my 2yo pushed a chair over to it, untaped it (with some help, no doubt, from her 5yo brother whose name is “Not me”) and used her precious, tiny index finger to eat the frosting shoes off of Minnie. By the time I discovered her in the act, there were little finger gouges all through the cake. I repaired the spots as much as possible, and poured glitter where Minnies shoes once were. Mia ran from the room and cried herself to sleep.
She recovered for her party, which was attended by 3 little friends her age, and her 3 beloved “boys”. The girls twirled, cooked and dressed up like little, edible princesses.
Figlia Mia. This creature. This amazing child. I feel like I am going to burst with emotion when I look at her…..like her radiance will make me spontaneously combust.
Now cover your eyes, or they will explode in little flames and blind you forever from the cuteness.
***I have new photo sets up on Flickr for Mia’s birthday and our trip to Port A….as always, just click on one of the above to get there.
The number after 1 - March 22, 2006 -
Happy Birthday sweet, sweet girl. You bring all of us so much joy and happiness. Celebrating your birthday with you was such a blessing.
We love you!
Digital zoom - March 22, 2006 -
Bill surfing, Port Aransas
The perspective is kind of off in this picture. He was at the top of the wave, charging down, and there was a wave in front, so you can’t see the wave much. If you look in the back, left of the photo you can see the size of the waves. Most were about waist high, or a bit higher. He enjoyed himself!
Sunrise at the beach - March 20, 2006 -
Silver light
Sunrise sea,
Dancing, prancing
Look at me.
Waves cresting
Tidal flow
Splashing, laughing
All aglow
Bright dazzle
Start of day
Jumping, leaping
Sprites at play
Tired and stoked - March 20, 2006 -
Cory, using Dad’s board and liking it!
The kid can rip.
Yes, we are home. Tanned, tired and totally happy with our trip. I could not find a signal while there, so having no computer for 10 days was like going off of crack cold turkey. Now that I am thoroughly detoxed, it will be hard to get back in the habit of posting daily. It will take me days to catch up on all of your blogs, but I will read each and every one of them, I am sure!
The Little House - March 10, 2006 -
In just a few more hours we are off to the beach with the Little House……for 10 days. WHOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Bill is carting it down as I type this (to snag a spot) and the kids and I will follow after I pick them up from school. The kids and I are staying for the whole time, and Bill will be back and forth due to work.
Sand, sea, seafood and NO PHONE are things I am looking forward to.
Maybe I will get some wireless posting done while we are there, and maybe not. I am sure to have lots of photos and stories to share on our return if a connection eludes me.
Ta, ta for now!
Oh, here is some cuteness that will last until we get back:
Cory, Cody and Quinn June 2004
It’s good to be me - March 9, 2006 -
The large family topic yesterday was about comments people make to those of us with larger families.
Mine include, but are not limited to:
- Like Carmen, I have been told that “since you got your girl, you can now keep your legs closed”. This was said to me by my cousin, who I love dearly…..who herself had 4 kids. Humpf.
- You finally got your girl.
- Everyones favorite: “You have your hands full”
- People counting my children outloud.
- I have had people make a cross with their hands and push it towards me as if to ward off whatever demon would give someone that many kids.
- Better you than me.
- And last but not least someone said to me “It sucks to be you”.
You know, whatever. I usually ignore them, or tell them how lucky I am.
More important to me is when someone goes out of their way at a restaurant to come over to my table and tell me how much they enjoyed watching my kids and asking me “Do you know how lucky you are to be surrounded by these gorgeous children”.
Yes, I do know…and I thank God for people like that, who are aware of the value of a child. Those are the people that God sends to give us affirmation and encouragement.
We are incredibly fortunate to live in a Catholic community where most people have 4 or more children, so the only time I get the comments are when I go to the big cities surrounding us. Yes, they piss me off sometimes and I would love to rip into the person, but I have learned that they will not get it, no matter what I say to them, so why waste the energy that could be better spent on my kids.
So, don’t let them take the air from your sails. It sucks to be them, you know?
The cheek - March 9, 2006 -
For all my wonderful computer friends who left sweet messages about Mia’s boo boo….thank you, thank you, thank you.
The swelling seems to be going down a bit. You can see in the photo above the swelling and mottling in her left cheek. The angle of the picture makes it look pretty good, and it is improving, thank God. The absess size remains about the same, maybe a bit smaller (I hope).
So, we are still in a holding pattern and are very hopeful that it will resolve on its own. It could take as long as 6 weeks we are told.
DO NOT ALLOW YOUR KIDS TO LEAVE THE BATHROOM WITH THEIR TOOTHBRUSHES.
Make them stand at the sink, or for the wee little ones, have them sit down while they brush their teeth.
If she had had the brush at a slightly different angle, it would have gone down her throat and the hematoma would have potentially blocked her airway. Or imagine the absess poised just behind her spine, with the potential to infiltrate into her spinal column.
Mind numbing, I tell you.
Why the grown woman cries - March 8, 2006 -
When she is hormonal and her children are falling apart left and right like little, fragile ice statues that someone is taking giant toothbrushes to, well, that’ll do it. Yessiree Bob. But…….
Do you really want to know what else can makes a grown woman cry?
HTML
The new four letter word.
Running with scissors a toothbrush - March 6, 2006 -
It is not a good practice to allow your children to run through the house with a toothbrush. Especially with said toothbrush in their mouth. The child could fall and jam it into her cheek, cut it badly, and cause a hematoma the size of large walmut. Bacteria could enter the cut and mix with the blood, causing an abscess.
This would in turn result in fever, redness, swelling and the growing walnut sized hematoma/abscess could begin to radiate heat.
This could cause the already freakish mother to lose her ever loving mind. She might obsessively question her husband repeatedly about the absess, causing his eyes to glaze over and drool to run out of his mouth from the sheer numbness of listening to the hysterical mother, over and over and over and over and over and over again. She might even cry, and wring her hands when her little daugter looks like she has a large wad of chaw in her cheek pouch.
Now, say, the husband starts the child on antibiotics and the redness, swelling and heat begin to go away. After three days of antibiotics, maybe even the swelling goes down….. just a bit. Then on Monday morning the child falls and smacks her cheek on the edge of the coffee table. This, people of the internet, would cause much crying and hysterics by child and mother. Especially when the cheek becomes MASSIVE. The mother might take the child to the doctor. There might be a couple of scenarios given by the doctor to the wild haired, spastic mother. One could involve I.V. antibiotics, hospitals, oral surgeons and, FLOCKING YESCANYOUBELIEVEIT, surgery. The other might involve long term antibiotics and frequent measurements of the absess to determine whether it shrinks, grows, or stays the same. Hmmm, surgery………….non-invasive “watching it”. Surgery……..watching it. F#$king(pardon me, but that word HAD to be said today) surgery…….watching it. Any questions?
If “watching it” would reveal that it stays the same and/or grows, then, go back to our first scenario…..the one that involves hospitals, needles anesthesia, surgery and all kinds of “mother insanity inducing” crap.
This is an actual scenario, but it is not a scenario, really….more of an actual event…. actually. The names were omitted to protect the father who allowed said child to run with toothbrush, the mother who needs meds now, and the child, who is oblivious to all of it and just wants everyone to quit looking at her “boo boo” already.
Snapping pictures in church, breaking the 11th commandment - March 2, 2006 -
#11 Thou shalt not take take blogable pictures during communion.
Yes, I brought my camera to church. It was for taking some photos before and after. The “during” just happened. On a whim. Seize the moment. Carpe Diem.
For those wondering how far I will go for a fun picture…yes, I used the flash.
Yet another video feed - March 1, 2006 -
Sandy, you may be the only reader who will like this as much as I did:
Don’t those waves look fun?!!
