Doing Time

The most interesting thing that has happened in my day so far would have to be the 45 minutes I spent locked in our basement this morning.


It all happened when I ran down to get something from the pantry and closed the door so that Isaac wouldn't follow me. When I heard him calling me and fidgeting with the doorknob, I thought he was just trying to open the door. But when I tried to open it, it was locked.

So, there I was. With very limited options. I could...

a. wait 5 hours for Dylan to get home from school;
b. try to fit through a 12 x 18 inch window;
c. use the phone in the basement to call 911; or
d. coax Isaac into unlocking the door.


Wanting to avoid public humiliation, I opted for the last option. So, for 45 minutes I begged, pleaded, bargained and bribed to the best of my ability. But, as he walked away for about the 10th time yelling, "I'm watching Elmo!", I was just about to give up when he finally turned the button.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I was thinking he had accidentally turned the lock. But the first thing he did when he saw me was to laugh out loud and say, as plainly as a 2 year old could, "Ei-tick wocked de doe!"

The Born Expert

Katherine is currently working on her first "research" project. I use the term "research" loosely here, since it seems to imply that she has actually researched something. She has put together more than 20 slides without cracking one book or embarking on one Google search.

Her topic is Puppies, and she is very sure that she knows all there is to know about them without bothering to hear what someone else has to say on the subject. Sounds like someone else I know. Hmmmm.....

I have to admit, though, her writing is impressive. She really does sound like she knows what she's talking about. And I can't wait to see how many slides she has when she's finished. Her poor teacher. He asked her yesterday how it was coming, and when she told him she had 22 slides already, his only response was, "Oh my God!"

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

On Friday, I finally got my Christmas gift from Scott. But not without the usual chaos, of course. The gift required me to book a babysitter. So, when she hadn't arrived, and it was past time for us to leave, I called to check on her, only to discover that she had gotten the days mixed up and wasn't on her way over, but was still sitting at home watching Battlestar Galactica. She was, miraculously, available to come over, but I would have to drive to get her and bring her back to our house, and, as I said, it was already time for us to leave. But, all's well that ends well, right? We somehow made it to our destination on time. Not a minute to spare, but on time nonetheless.

The gift itself was a Beginner Sushi Bar course at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. It was so much fun! We loved it! We were with some fun people and we laughed all night. And we actually made some sushi rolls that tasted great. They didn't always look as good as they tasted, but if you don't mind eating your sushi taco style (Scott couldn't quite master the art of getting the roll to close), then we can now whip some up for you. And, for those of you who still insist that you don't like sushi, you don't know what you're missing!

My Newest Pet Peeve

One of my major pet peeves is that styrofoam packing stuff you find in your shipped packages. Sure, it keeps your breakables intact, but the stuff is unmerciful in it's ability to make it's way out of the box and create a mess everywhere. Something I could definitely live without.

Well, I've discovered something worse. It has a smaller, bee bee-sized cousin that is apparently used to stuff items such as one of those lap desk pillows. Pillows that some genius manufacturer chose to close with nothing more than a zipper. A zipper that would be very attractive to a curious 2 year old. And what could be even more attractive to said 2 year old would be the delightful discovery that you could unzip the side of this pillow and find a treasure of 6 trillion little styrofoam balls inside. Little syrofoam balls that had, just a few moments before, fit into a small 18 x 18 inch pillow, but now miraculously had the ability to coat the furniture, floor, and everything in between, of a normal-sized family den.

Another mystifying fact would be that, while it only took about 2 seconds to pour those little things out of the pillow, it took about 2 hours to clean them up. And considering the fact that I am still finding them a day later, 2 days would actually be a more accurate assessment.

Isaac's Health Report

Our "healthy as a horse" little guy has recently developed allergies.

We went in for a whole slew of tests last week. The good news is that (1) he was unusually cooperative and endured all the poking, prodding, and being drawn on without being the least bit difficult, and (2) the doctor didn't think his symptoms were due to food allergies.

He did test allergic to dust, cats, and dogs, and will be taking Allegra twice a day, but things could be worse. None of those can cause a dangerous reaction. He goes back in 3 months for the food tests just to be on the safe side.

Oh, and the other good news is that I caught him later that day, ballpoint pen in hand, just before he marked all over the American Girl doll Katherine just got for Christmas. He was ready to mark all over her arm just like the doctor had marked all over his!

Uninvited Guest

We have been enjoying the warm weather we've had this week. Until this guy showed up.

This giant bird, a Great Blue Heron, made an appearance at our house a week ago. I spotted him near our fishpond, but I wasn't concerned for the fish. They were safely tucked under several inches of ice. But when the weather turned warm, and the ice melted, he paid us another visit. And he brought his Great Big Appetite with him.

In one day, he ate 10 of our fish! The girls were mortified - They think of these fish as pets. I was mortified - Those fish cost about $30 a piece. (Not that I don't like the fish. Of all the living beings around our house, including the people, the fish are definately the most pleasant to deal with.)

So, in the middle of pouring rain, I did what I had to do to protect the remaining fish. I covered the pond with anything I could find that would reach across it, including 2 step ladders, a sled, and a piece of plyboard. When I was through, it looked like Fred Samford had wrecked his truck in our front yard. But at least the fish would be safe. If that big bird did find a way in, I was confident he wouldn't find a way back out.

When Scott arrived home from his week long trip to California, he surveyed the situation, made a trip to the local coop, and purchased a wire net to cover the pond. I have to admit, his solution was more pleasing to the eye. But I think I deserve extra points for using materials on hand.

"Nannie"

This is "Nannie", Katherine's blanket that she has slept with, loved, and nurtured to the point that it no longer even resembles a blanket. She has to have it at bedtime, and on those nights when it's lost, she begs us to find it because she can't sleep/live without it. Sometimes, it seems like we've spent half her life looking for Nannie.

We actually have a picture of her with it on the day she came home from the hospital. It was made of a light pink, cotton pique, and it had a pretty white crochet trim. But, over the years, it has lost it's color, texture and crochet trim. It's been reduced to a gray, threadbare rag that is actually tied into several knots just to keep it in one piece.

A few nights ago while tucking her in, I asked the usual question, "Have you got Nannie?"

And just like that, she said it. "I don't need it."

You know, nothing prepares you for these moments. You expect to get teary eyed the day they go off to school, get married, etc. But you don't expect to be blindsided by your little girl declaring that she doesn't need her blankie anymore.

This story does have a happy ending, though. When I peeked in at her later, she was sound asleep, with Nannie balled up and wrapped around her left hand as usual. Apparently, she had decided she wasn't ready to be big yet. And I'm perfectly okay with that!

Look, Mom...No Gloves!

It's totally out of the norm for us to have temperatures in the 60's here in January. So the kids and I, along with Katherine's look-alike friend, Lauren, took advantage of this treat by spending 2 hours at the park today after school!

Gracie's Bad Hair Day

She's not quite this bad. But close.

Poor Gracie, who traveled south with us, got a haircut while we were there. It wasn't that we had a problem with her mop look. It's that she ran wild and ended up with all kinds of things matted and tangled in her fur.

While we were out shopping one day, we passed a sign - Fancy Pet Grooming. So, on a whim, we decided to take advantage of a sure-bet-cheaper-than-New Jersey opportunity. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

Well, the worst that could happen happened. "Fancy" for Gracie meant getting two red ribbons tied to her ears. The rest of the process - not so fancy - involved getting shaved down to the skin except for some poodle looking puffs on her head and tail. She's not even white anymore. She's pink. She looks like a rat that someone attempted to disguise by gluing cotton sporadically to it's head.

We immediately got her a sweater to try to hide some of the damage. But she lost it on day 2. So now we have her in hiding. She's so ugly that we're embarrassed to be seen with her. Seriously.

If we're lucky, it'll grow out pretty fast. In the meantime, if you hear of any ugly dog contests, let me know. I'm sure she'd have a shot at winning something.

Christmas 2007

We survived our 2700 mile roadtrip. I'll spare you all the exhausting details, but I will say that I do hope I can live the remainder of my days on this earth without ever having to endure another 16 hour day in a car.

The holidays at home, however, were wonderful. Christmas just isn't the same when you're away from family. So I feel very blessed to have spent Christmas this year with ours.