Turns Out...

...that if your daughter is left handed, and you put the mouse on the LEFT side of the keyboard, she'll love playing Starfall and ask for a turn at the computer before she has her cereal in the morning.

Because My Mom Taught Me Never To Throw Anything Away

I pieced a baby quilt top with some old scraps. So fun!

Bye Henry, Jack and Marv. Hello Morton.

Henry decided before Thanksgiving that his name was Jack.
Everyone had to call him Jack: family, friends, the librarian, even his preschool director.

Then he changed to Marv (pronouced Maaahhhv).

Then he found Morton (pronounced Moh-ton). Marv and Morton are friends on Charlie and Lola, of course.

Oh, and Morton has "frankles."

Swing Batta Batta

Papa got some great pictures of Henry playing baseball this past weekend.

You can see them here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just want to point out a few things about this video:

First, the words are set to the tune of Jingle Bells (as if that wasn't obvious har har) and they go:
Valentines, Valentines,
Valentines for you.
Valentines, Valentines,
Red and pink and blue.

Valentines, Valentines,
Valentines for me.
Valentines, Valentines,
Pretty as can be.

Those are the words, but I'm not sure we ever get them out in correct succession.


Second, even though the video does not show this, Henry does get in trouble when he hits his sister.
And we do, in fact, tell her to shake it off.


Third, this correctly portrays what happens when I ask them to do something and one has to hit the other and then one refuses to sing, and the other immediately agrees, then one changes the words, and on and on. Seriously, this is real.


Fourth, aren't they cute?

Ciao Bella!

Aunt Beth gave Svea this "Ciao Bella" purse when she got back from her Italy trip last August.
This is Beth in the airport:



And here is Svea re-enacting saying "Ciao Bella!" in her best Eye-talian Accent:









Aunt Beth, she just may have one up on you in the drama department...just maybe.

Evansville Parent

Sarah Chia at Evansville Parent Magazine wrote a great article about Mommy Bloggers for the February issue.



I got to talk with her about a month ago and it was so nice to revisit the reasons that I started blogging in the first place, how many people I've met by doing this, how fun it is to go back and revisit old posts, etc.
Thank you Sarah!

She interviewed many Mommy Bloggers including
Leta Joy,
Beth at Total Mom Haircut,
Misty of Rainy Day in May, and
Kat in The Secret Life of Kat.



After talking with Sarah, the editor Natalie Reidford called and asked if I would mind being on the cover of the issue (!!!!!) which was as much fun as it was awkward.
So thank you, Evansville Parent, for including me in this project, for connecting me to even more Mommy Bloggers, and for keeping me up to date on parenting issues in Evansville.

She's Got Funny Words

I walked downstairs this morning to see I,Husband, Svea and Henry having cereal at the table. Svea had milk dripping off her chin and looked up to inform me that her "brother is being difficult." Except she can't really pronounce the word "difficult."



(missing you, Aunt Beth!)


Svea told me the other day that her "hanger" hurt and it was caused by a "the wind and a string and a duck." When I figured out that she was talking about a hangnail on her finger, she wouldn't let me clip it for 2 days. When I did finally trim it off, she said her "hang" felt better already.

On Saturday after a missed dance class, she asked if she could take her "leotarder" off because it was hurting.



Last night in the bathtub, she and Henry were playing Cat and Shark, of course. Svea had the foam puzzle piece that is a monkey but that she has decided is a cat. She named it Agua since it likes the water. Henry had the foam puzzle piece that was shaped like a shark and he named his Doo-doo...and then wondered why neither Svea nor I wanted to play with him anymore.

A Call for Community

Some dear friends of ours found out recently that their 5-month-old may have cancer.

The emotions surrounding this news, as well as maintaining some semblance of a normal routine with the older 4-year-old and 2-year-old, can feel overwhelming.

They have started a blog to help keep those of us who love them updated on Baby Paul's health, as a call for thoughts and prayers, and to connect with other families who deal with similar situations.

You can see the blog HERE.

Please join us in rallying around them with thoughts, prayers, and support.

Busy 'Round Here

Bobbie and Pops came to visit this weekend!

Our yard was still a mess, so Henry and Svea "helped" Pops clean it up a bit.







We're a little worn out from all the excitement, so we decided to take it easy this morning, each in his/her own space:







I think Dora and Kermit ate too much at their tea party.


(This Quiet Time lasted all of 11 minutes. Suh-weeet.)

Just in Time for the Oscars

In the movie "The Dream Team" there is a character who will only speak in baseball phrases. Like when someone makes a mistake, he says, "Swing and a miss!"
I remember cracking up at that so hard, and also thinking: how very clever.

That was 1989.
Now, I feel like I am having to decipher what Henry and Svea do and say to me to figure out what movie it came from. How do they memorize them so fast?

Henry saw a play doctor's kit the other day in the playroom and immediately said, "Just a little pinch and it will allllllllll be over..."
Where did he hear that? "101 Dalmations" to be exact.



Walking from the kitchen to the bathroom, he began singing "Everybody wants to BE a cat..."
It's been months since he saw "The Aristocats." And I have no idea what the connection of the kitchen to the bathroom is with that song.



When Svea woke up the other morning, she wanted me to hold her before she fully opened her eyes. So I was cradling her and smelling her sweet sleep smell, and she said, "Oh, Mom. It's like a wonderful dream come true.."
Indeed, my little Cinderella.



The other night at dinner, Henry had a dollop of sour cream on his plate. He removed all of his food to his napkin so he could see the dog picture on his plastic plate. Then he began dipping his finger in the sour cream and outlining the dog's face while saying, "Siiiimmmmbaaaaaaa..." like Rafiki does at the beginning and end of "The Lion King."



Dooce commented the other day that Disney ruins everything...and on some accounts, I totally agree. But the trivia has made my life very interesting, and hilarious, the past few weeks.

Still Adjusting

Today was one of those bitter cold days that makes your hands shrink in your gloves and your four-year-old asks you before stepping outside, "Mom, will we have smoke in our mouths today?"

Indeed, son.



Though our power is back on, Henry seriously asked me last night to come sit on the toilet seat and warm it up for him before he sat on it.
What??
I love that kid, but there was no WAY I was doing that.



Svea's sleep patterns are still a little off and before she even opened her eyes this morning, she said, "Mom, I want to go to another house."
That is, she enjoyed the house-hopping we did to stay warm last week.

Luckily, things are supposed to thaw tomorrow and hopefully we'll get outside to frolick a bit. Then maybe we won't have to entertain with chalk drawings at Daddy's office or riding T-Bone the Bull at the mall. Just maybe.

Power-Full Days

We have power! We are back on the grid! When we stand in front of the vent, hot air comes out! When we flip a light switch, there is light! It's amazing.

When I read back over the previous post, I gag a little bit.
The With Electricity At Her Fingertips Mollie thinks that Pioneer No Electricity Mollie is a little delusional and too positive. I tried to be diligent about writing something each day we were without electricity so I could remember the things that really made me lose patience and the things that weren't all that bad. I am aware, and did document, that I had to shut off the parts of my brain that needed to dwell in Pity Land.
I HAD to be that positive and delusional that we could do it or I think I would have cried the whole time.

Now that all my fingers and toes are warm, and I'm not cashing in favors from friends, it's like my brain has shifted and shut off other parts (like the survival instinct parts), and I calmly turn on the stove to boil water for tea.
How can the change happen so fast?

I can't figure out if my dominant emotion is disappointment in myself, or sheer gratitude for the return of the conveniences I am reluctantly attached to. Maybe the gratitude and disappointment are edges of the same cliff: my parenting cliff.

Today I'll lean on the side of gratitude, and I'll sip my hot tea and catch up on some serious blog reading.

Power-Less Days

We have been without electricity for four full days now.



By this point, we are almost done with our initial whining and bellyaching about missing our little conveniences...almost.
We sadly are watching more and more trees split and fall from the weight of the ice.



The roads are clearing which means we can go out to eat (always a special treat).



This has been a very good lesson for us; very eye-opening to the obscene amount of electricity we use all day long...as well as how much we use items that require electricity to distract us from other things - like parenting.



Best of all we have had some really great family moments. We've had to problem solve quickly and creatively and rely on the help of many great friends.



So with gratitude and humility, we remain warm inside the homes of friends and public places and eager for some of this ice and snow to melt.



More soon...when I can blog from home...

"It's All Gone Extremely White"

(as Svea quotes Lola from Charlie & Lola every time it snows)

A Must "Read"

I developed an actual roll of film the other day that had this picture on it.



I think I took the photo 10 months ago when I checked out Flotsam by David Wiesner from the library.

This book is phenomenal.
Please look at it, study it, talk about it, "read" it.

Blowing Doilies

We woke up to a few inches of snow this morning, which makes Henry and Svea run in circles yelling, "It's Christmas! It's Christmas!"



I'm going to let the pastor in the house explain that one.

Anyway, by 3:30 pm, I was out of tricks and all of our mittens were wet from trying to form the too-powdery snow into snowballs, so we went inside to warm up and inspect our supply of googly eyes and doilies for Valentine's.

They were not as interested in drawing or cutting or gluing anything when they realized they could blow the doilies across the table. It started with nostril air, but by the time they had moved the game to the floor, they realized they could RACE the doilies by blowing with their MOUTHS. Amazing, the skills.







Henry always won, of course.
I don't think Svea cared.


Today felt long, but good.
I read this poem over at wish jar and found it quite the challenge. Tomorrow, definitely tomorrow, I will start trying to love winter.

For today, thank goodness Henry and Svea invented a game I would have never come up with.

Twelve Things

Twelve things I'm learning:

1. There is nothing like laughing with your children at something you all find genuinely funny.

2. Everyone needs a job (as in a role to play).

3. Sometimes words aren't enough, only experience will do. We are still in the "if you don't wear your jacket, you're going to be very cold" words-of-warning phase, though bigger ones are already peeking around the corner...ones that involve gravity, velocity and balance.

4. Parents are nicer after naps, too.

5. There is no "can you hold it?" when a child needs the potty.

6. Sometimes it's funnier when the kids don't get the knock-knock joke.

7. There's a difference. There's a difference between baby doll Boobah, baby doll Jesika and baby doll Margo. There's a difference between this Batman action figure and the Batman action figure that came in the exact same box as the first one. There's a difference between her orange juice and his orange juice that came from the same carton and are in identical glasses. My job is to remember that this is important and to keep all the differences straight.

8. You can't hurry the learning pace of a toddler.

9. Get over it, already.

10. Almost every single thing that comes out of my mouth can and will come out of theirs. Even abbreviations.

11. Screaming while you run in the house makes you go faster.

12. And everyday, it gets a little easier and a little better.








I love Flickr's Big Huge Lab.
Thanks for the help with this mosaic.

The Seas of Rotherwood

After hiding in the car (while in the carport) to talk with Angela on the phone to see how new baby Liam was, I entered the house to hear "PADDLE! PADDLE! PADDLE!" screams coming from the hallway.







So much for lacrosse at this point. Those things are PADDLES.
I, Husband built the boat at those pirates' demand, and voila.

I need to talk on the phone more, I guess.

Hippy Potty Mas

Just finished this baby quilt and pillow for a friend due next month.



Most of the front is made out of some burp cloths and a sheet I found at Ikea last November.

The back is a soft white sheet with stripes that I found at a local consignment shop. It wasn't very easy to sew on, but it's so soft I couldn't resist.



I had enough for one extra quilt sqare, so I sewed some scrap terry cloth on the back and stuffed it full of polyfill.

Very fun to make...