Like Lady Spud and me, you and Justin seem to literally see eye to eye. Not that that's a bad thing.
Was this date chosen in order to get the marriage license dated before the end of the year, or was it one of those "everybody's on vacation and available"?
Yes, Marc, we are almost exactly the same height. Fortunately, I don't like wearing heels much anyway.
That date was chosen because we wanted to get married then. Not for any tax reasons or to make things particularly easy on anyone. In fact, I think most people would have found getting to our wedding easier at just about any other time of year.
What a pretty dress. I remember being in Ohio just before, as your mom was buying copious amounts of Christmas lights for it... though it may have been the year before... who knows... those years with your brother are like a blur now!
You also had a much more civilized wedding than I did. Schatz and I ended up getting married by a bilateral amputee Buddhist in a friend’s back yard... (when a visa is expiring and there is a 3 and a half month courtship and a week long engagement, there is very little else one can do - glad I didn't take it more cautiously, best choice I ever made!). I still had fun, but part of me wishes I had done the real "ceremony"!
'Painful' might be hard to accomplish, what with all of that Viic0din and Hydr0c0done they have around. YOUR SISTER IN PAIN? 'Slow,' however, might be doable with an ACTuAL REPLICATIONS ROLEX WRISTWACH!
posted by Terry Oglesby at December 30, 2004 10:09 AM
I feel your spammer's pain. I had boo-koos of 'em yesterday and this morning (after taking off archives access) I had about 40 more. All from gamers. I keep blocking them but more come back. It seems so senseless and I just don't understand what those spiders hope to gain by putting posts in the odd blog. So infuriating.
Baby Josef was born at 6:03 PM on 12/22/04. Since Blair could have been my sister-in-law if she hadn't wised up and married someone other than my brother, I'm considering myself an honorary aunt.
Oh, that is just too cute. Print plenty of copies, because in just a year or two the biggers may not believe that they ever felt that charitable towards the newby ;-)
My friend Blair is going to be having a baby soon. An exciting, but terrifying, prospect under the best of circumstances. For Blair it is more scary than normal, her baby has only been cooking for 34 weeks out of the regular 40 and this is following sixteen weeks of bedrest, but Blair's water broke and the time is coming. Please keep her, her baby "Dotcom" and her husband in your thoughts and prayers.
1. The ol’ Tannenbaum--fake or real? When does it go up? And when does it come down?
When we first got married, we had a lovely real tree. Well, the first year we did. The second year we didn't do a tree at all. I had a baby on December 1 and was too worn out to care. Our third Christmas we had another real tree. Then we moved to Alaska -- the land of a million spruce trees. There we found out that real Christmas trees are hard to come by. If you go buy one at a lot, they've been shipped in from Oregon and cost a fortune. You can go chop one down for free on specially designated government land, but then you have to slowly acclimate it to the indoors, because if it warms up too quickly all the needles fall off immediately and all the hibernating bugs wake up and swarm your house. We decided to buy a fake tree like 98% of the other people in Fairbanks.
It's a nice, skinny, 7-footer that served us very well. Currently though, it is up in the attic. Last year on Christmas Eve, my mom was at Lowes and found a 9-foot, pre-lit tree for $20. Now, I was perfectly happy with only a 7-foot tree, but not having to string lights makes me almost giddy. We haven't decided what to do with the other tree. Maybe some year we'll get ambitious and put it up elsewhere in the house.
As to when we put it up -- normally sometime in the weekend after Thanksgiving -- this year it was about 30 minutes after the last bit of pumpkin pie was eaten at the Thanksgiving feast due to pressure from The Boy. It comes down as quickly after Christmas as I can talk my husband into working on it -- usually right around New Year's Day.
2. Shopping--fake or real? Oh, wait, that’s the last question. Here we are--do you wait until the last minute or plan ahead? Do you give gift cards?
I usually plan ahead and buy things on sale or make things, but I always either can't think of anything for one of my husband's brothers -- and yes, I do all the shopping for everyone except me -- or I forget someone. So there is always a last minute gift or two that I have to run out and buy. My husband, relieved of almost all shopping duties, still manages not to do any shopping until I kick him out of the house with instructions not to come home until he's bought me a Christmas present. He's lucky that this year we decided we're not buying presents for each other at all, having just bought ourselves a lovely new furnace instead.
3. And finally, where do you carry out your celebrating, of whatever sort it might be? At your house, at a relative’s house in the area, or out of town?
At home. My parents don't celebrate Christmas and my in-laws take the, in my opinion, unreasonable stance that children should be allowed to get up whenever they feel like it -- say 3 a.m. to open their presents -- and that everyone should get up and make merry. I'm not merry at 3 or 4 a.m. and therefore we do not go anywhere. We might, and have, travelled later in the day to eat with someone, but the morning time is reserved for opening presents and playing with them and wearing pajamas.
Not to pry—well come to think of it—yes I’m prying—did your parents celebrate Christmas when you were a child? Not that you aren’t still one—dang young people.
No, the first Christmas I celebrated was after I got married. I grew up in the Worldwide Church of God, which in its own way kept OT holy days, but none of them dadblamed pagan holidays, at least back in the days when I was little -- no Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day or Easter for me. It has been a bit of an adjustment for me, but it is kind of nice to feel a bit more normal and for my kids not to have to explain every year why they can't do any of the stuff the rest of the kids are doing.
My parents, by the way, no longer attend church at all, but have not started celebrating any of the things they dropped when they joined the WCG.
I used to listen to the Armstrongs as I traveled across the south. What happened to Ambassador College BTW? It looks like an on-line program now. I vaguely remember that the son had some problems and that hurt the ministry.
Interesting—but most of this will not show up on google but will on yahoo.
Seeing as how I live in Nashville and near the parts where the Battle of Nashville raged, I suppose I should have known when the battle was fought. It took Robert over at the Llama Butchers to point out that this is the 140th anniversary of the battle.
It's amazing to realize just how much of the area we run around in a normal day was once a battleground or the site of encampments.
What's amazing is that I grew up here and never really understood the significance of the battles of Franklin and Nashville until I reported on the Battle of Franklin anniversary a couple of weeks ago. This was the site of what really was the death of hope for the Confederacy.
As much as I love history, I always tended to let Civil War information go in one ear and out the other when I was in school. I don't know if it's because of the complicated and vivid emotional responses that conflict still evokes, or if it was just too close to home, or what.
I love black liquorice. I think it all stems back to visits with my grandparents. My grandfather liked black liquorice a lot, so they always had it around their house. If I was going to sneak candy, it was going to have to be liquorice. Later, my love of the stuff came in handy. I never had any problem getting everyone to give me all the black jelly beans and I never had to share.
Today I noticed that Altoids now makes curiously strong liquorice. I love their wintergreen and ginger flavors, so I had to buy the liquorice. If you really like black liquorice, it is very tasty. My children like black liquorice and wanted to try the Altoids. The older one wasn't so impressed, but the two year old is wandering around the house, sucking on her liquorice Altoid and telling me and her brother, "I like liquor!"
Yep, that Demon Likker gets to 'em early. I had an advance preview of the new flavor of Altoids this past August. At the national Archivist's convention the Archivist at General Mills had brought a box with him to show off. Unless it was Kraft, I forget which - one of them owns Altoids.
And I think the take-home goodies from a food company have GOT to be better than most other places to work.
I read the words BLACK LICORICE and my taste buds exploded~! I love the stuff! There is this great stuff you can get here; a very strong flaovred licorice stick stuffed with cream. It is heaven!
I wish altoids was kosher. They do look so good.
posted by Rachel Ann at December 15, 2004 09:54 AM
Oh, YUM!
I adore black licorice - it's always been a favorite of mine. I'll have to give the new Altoids a try.
Aye, and I like it too! My grandma would keep licorice around (it was her favorite) and I developed a taste for it. The Jelly-Belly licorice beans are tasty.
I've been tempted to buy the "bridge mix", but it seems expensive. Maybe I'll treat myself after Christmas for the traditional "buying stuff I wish I got but didn't" shopping spree.
I tried to take some photos of the two big kids in front of the Christmas tree the other day. It wasn't that they were grouchy or willfully uncooperative, but I only managed to get one good shot out of 68. Thank goodness for digital cameras though. I didn't get the picture up above until about number 50. I would have felt even more sorely tried had I snapped three rolls of film, paid to have them developed and then found out that nothing was worth having. Of course, having a digital camera also encourages you to just keep shooting away.
Seems to me that they're cooperating as long as they're laughing and not punching out each other's lights -- or looking like they are thinking about it or, worse, barely restraining themselves! ;-)
Yes, the other one is adorable! I love when baby Jay smiles so big that his mouth opens and his eyes crinkle (and his little fists clench up!). OK, I just got home from work & ate. He's been in his swing upstairs, so now I gotta go see him ;)
Yesterday the kids were looking at our photo albums. They'd pulled out the one from Fairbanks and were flipping through it. The Boy was really excited to see the pictures of him in North Pole sitting on Santa's lap. The Girl was interested in all the pictures, but kept asking, "Where me?" She can't fathom the world before she began. I hardly can either. Sometimes I look at those pictures and wonder why we didn't get any of her, until I remember she didn't emerge from the womb until a few months after we returned to the Lower 48.
Six weeks ago today, I was in the hospital having another baby. I already am beginning to forget what the world was like before we had three children and officially became outnumbered. There are moments when the big kids are playing quietly and the baby is snoozing that make me think I wasn't insane and that life is rich and full. More often, the older ones are bickering, the baby is screaming for food or attention and I'm pulling my hair out.
I can't say things are back to normal. I know a new normal will have to evolve as I get used to life with three kids. Right now I'm generally too intimidated to get out of the house with all three kids. I can take two into a store and do just fine, but three is still beyond my ability to cope. I know I would have a meltdown and turn into the screaming, crying, spanking woman in public which would be bad. It's not a good thing to be at home either, which is why when it is not raining, I make the kids play outside as much as possible. They get along better in the yard, and I get a few moments of quiet. A fenced-in yard is a wonderful thing.
Although things are crazy and loud around here and although there are times when I want to sell all the children to the nearest band of passing gypsies, I love them like mad. In a few years, the baby is going to flipping through the albums asking, "Where me?" I'll have trouble remembering that she hasn't always been around.
Ahhh, every mother's tale, whether they'll admit it or not. I didn't realize six weeks had already passed for you. You're supposed to be back to normal now, right? Sheesh. It sure takes longer than that, doesn't it?
I was trying to remember the "typical" leave time that a company will give mothers after the baby is born, and 8 weeks seems to be running through my head.
I hope this encourages you: think of the alternative of having to drop off your babies at daycare and going back to a job. I don't know how some moms do that. I realize that some are not cut out to be a 24/7 mom, but I'm sure you realize (starting your third) all of the special moments you would miss if you went off to work.
I was blessed with six months of being a stay-at-home dad with my youngster(baby), and I will always treasure that time in my heart.
[PS You could make a trip to the store if you got two harnesses/leashes for the older ones. That way they could not stray too far, and maybe you could hitch them up to pull the cart.]
I know what you mean. it is hard to imagine a life before a child; I can't quite picture them not being there...I know intellectually they weren't but still, to actively picture them not there...
posted by Rachel Ann at December 14, 2004 12:17 PM
WOW!! Six weeks? It doesn't seem that long. Hmmm. This is a great post. I could've written it myself! Of course, I have a 6 MONTH old for my most recent "hatch". And don't worry. You WILL go in public again. And you KNOW that everywhere there are kind strangers to help you with doors and shopping carts and all sorts of unsolicited advice! Never fear!
PS-Those shopping carts with the two seats up front (with loads of strappable buckles to keep the kiddos tied up) are a wonderful thing.
The kids and I made these sugar cookies (minus the Lifesavers) tonight. They are very tasty and don't require you to refrigerate the dough before you roll it out, which is a big plus if there is an impatient 5 year old or an impatient 29 year old in your family. Penzey's Spice Catalog also has a no-chill sugar cookie recipe, but I think the Kraft recipe tastes better and the dough is easier to work with.
Some time in the next week or so we may make two more favorite cookie recipes -- ginger cookies and chocolate macaroons. The first came from Southern Living and the latter from Martha Stewart, I believe.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine first 9 ingredients (everything except additional sugar) in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until mixture is blended.
Shape into 1-inch balls, and roll in additional sugar. Place on greased cookie sheets, and flatten slightly with a flat-bottomed glass.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Chocolate Chunk Macaroons
makes 20
Âľ cup sugar
2½ cups shredded coconut
2 large egg whites
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of table salt
Preheat oven to 350°. Have ready a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (not wax paper). In a large bowl, combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, chocolate, vanilla, and salt. Using hands, mix well, completely combining ingredients.
Dampen hands with cold water. Form 1½ tablespoons of mixture into loose haystack shape; place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining mixture, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Sugar Cookies
Makes about 16 large cookies or thirty 2 1/2-inch cookies
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. 2. Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. 3. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Stir in vanilla or lemon juice and zest. Wrap dough in plastic; chill for about 30 minutes. 4. Preheat oven to 325°. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets; refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes. Remove from refrigerator, and decorate with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake until edges just start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks. May be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Basic Gingerbread Cookies
Makes about 24 six-inch gingerbread people
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
1 ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1 cup molasses
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. 2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Add flour mixture; combine on low speed. Divide dough in thirds, and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour. 3. Heat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with Silpats (a French nonstick baking mat). Set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough 1/8-inch thick. Cut into gingerbread people shapes. Transfer to prepared baking sheets. 4. Cut out desired decorations and place on cookies. Press currants into dough to create eyes and buttons. To create hair, roll a piece of dough into a ball and pass through a clean garlic press. Attach hair to heads. Bake until crisp, but not darkened for about 20 minutes. Let cookies cool on wire racks. 5. Decorate with royal icing.
Note: When making very large cookies, use two spatulas to transfer cutout dough to baking sheets, or roll dough directly onto the baking sheet. Press cutter into the dough, and remove the excess before taking away the cutter.
I'm slow to mention this, but Frank Myers has moved his blog to spiffy new digs at www.CitizenFrank.com. If you haven't visited his site before, go now. He blogs about his time in Iraq and is an excellent writer worth reading whenever he gets a chance to post. He's not the only good writer in the family though, and I recommend reading his wife's guest post, if you missed it. Actually, I recommend going back and reading everything you've missed.
Well, my new digs still aren't as nice as yours! Seriously you have the best looking blog on the net.
Thanks for the writing compliment. I bringing the heat this week. Around Tuesday I am posting the first of two really strange coincidences...thekind that make you go hummmmmmm.....
I just don't like my teeth. I went this morning for my teeth cleaning and found out that not only do I have several sensitive areas on a watch list -- let's hope the FBI aren't monitoring my teeth -- I also have one real cavity and two fillings that have reached the end of their lifespan and are leaking. Bah. Three fillings. Hmph. And I even floss!
You can't floss fillings. I just meant that even flossing isn't keeping my teeth intact. :( And unfortunately, we have no dental insurance. It isn't even an option at Justin's office.
Sorry to hear that! I don't know if you could fit this into your budget or not, but there is a toothbrush my dentist recommends that I've been using for about 2 months now. It's the Sonicare. I'm using the Sonicare Elite because it was a better deal at Sam's Club. He says it "confuses" the bacteria that form plaque so that they can't colonize on the teeth. I believe it because my teeth feel like I just went to the dentist for a cleaning. This might sound gross, but "morning breath" is hardly a problem these days. That tells me something has changed in my mouth since using the Sonicare Elite. You might ask your dentist about it. My dentist is very wise and conservative. He's not one to jump on every bandwagon that rolls by.
My dentist (or former dentist, since I haven't seen our new one yet) agrees with the last commenter. He highly recommended the Sonicare line. Due to insurance mix-ups, I've had to find a new dentist. But the last time I went (9 months ago), he said I had a cavity in between my FRONT 2 teeth! What a location! He didn't fill it then because I was pregnant, but then the mix-up happened and now I have to find a new dentist. All the while, my teeth are rotting. Can anyone say "root canal"? Ugh.
So anyway, I'm thinking about a Sonicare toothbrush for Christmas...
In some ways, a bigger family means less work for mom and dad, because the children tend to, by necessity, become bigger helpers in the family. One child takes all a mother's time. Two children can play and fight with each other. Three children or more, and yes it is craziness; but the older ones, expecially when they are significantly older, become responsible for the younger ones---watching one child while mom deals with another. Sometimes this can have a negative effect; Natalist giving birth to children who want one or two children at most--the rigors and responsibilites of a big family causing them to take the opposite position. Not always, but I've seen it happen with other families and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened with my family as well.
Five? I'm used to the lame comments about a baseball team, thinking along the lines of nine. But 18 guys on the basketball court would be a bit heavy-handed, eh?
Time for a nap! And good thing I don't take myself too seriously, hhmmmm?
My son just picked out a "Knights" - themed comforter cover for himself at IKEA last weekend. He would have gone stark-raving for this cake. Wonderful!
The Boy actually turned five last Wednesday, but with a mid-week birthday he wound up really celebrating more of a birth-week than a birth day. My mother came down from Ohio on Wednesday to bring birthday presents, take him out for a birthday mango lassi and eat a cupcake with him. She had to leave the next morning though because my younger brother was arriving from Japan.
Because the Boy does not have preschool on Wednesday, they had his celebration the next day. The girls and I went for the last few minutes of school, where they told a version of the Waldorf Rainbow Bridge story all about The Boy, while he got to wear a special crown and cape, then they gave him a little handmade bag with modelling wax, a seashell and a polished stone in it, and the kids got to eat cake the teachers had made. There was nothing for me to do, which was lovely.
And decidely not the case with the real birthday party on Saturday afternoon. The Boy had requested, admist about 900 party ideas, a knight party, so we went with that. I made the cake on Fridaymorning and then made felt crowns for all the kids that night. Saturday morning I decorated the cake, while Justin demonstrated his creative skills and turned one Smiles diaper box from Sam's Club into five shields, five swords, and three archery targets. After the cake was finished, I downloaded coloring pictures of various creatures to paste on the shields (which the kids got to color and decorate), as well as some images for the targets and an extra large dragon for the kids to play pin-the-fire-on-the-dragon.
I made sure the two year old was napping before the guest arrived and a good time was had by all. The kids did archery with The Boy's suction cup bow and arrow set, then decorated their sword and shield with the finest plastic gems, sparkly star stickers and glitter glue, ate cake and ice cream, after which they pinned fire on a dragon and then ran around our backyard whacking each other with swords.
I'm glad it is over, but I'm glad we threw a party this year too.
How cool! You are way more creative than I could ever hope to be!
We planned to have Susanna's 4th BD party back in April, but I tried to go into labor that afternoon, so we cancelled. And we just never got back around to it. I'm sure The Boy was very glad to have a party.
Man, Thankgiving guests (AND dinner) AND a birthday party? You get my vote for Momma of The Year.
When I next get invited to a baby shower, I'm getting the new mama and daddy an extra large jug of laundry detergent. It doesn't matter how many cute clothes or toys the new baby gets, what they really need is more soap to wash it all.
I remember being overwhelmed by the laundry when my son was born -- but we were using cloth diapers most of the time then. After my first daughter arrived, I gave up on using the cloth diapers again in large part because of the extra laundry they required. Now my laundry piles are beyond amazing.
I have a newborn who gorges herself and regurgitates all over herself, me and whatever surface we're on before I can burp her. She also has the occasional poop-splosion, requiring a change of everything in the vicinity.
The two year old has consistently refused to wear a bib since she started solid foods. She usually spills or drips or wipes her hands on her clothes. And if she doesn't, she'll get chalk or something else on her clothes. When she notices even the slightest stain or mark on her clothes, she rips them all off and cannot be convinced for any consideration to put them back on -- they are dirty.
My five year old eats somewhat more neatly and doesn't rip his clothes off at the smallest hint of dirt -- he is a boy, afterall. However, it is not unusual for him to come home from preschool in his spare clothes carrying a bag of soup, oatmeal or mud covered clothing. That much wouldn't be so bad, but on top of that -- the boy who so proudly was staying dry for months and didn't need to wear Pull-ups anymore has reverted. He has wet the bed almost every night for the past two weeks. We limit his fluid intake. We make him pee twice and he still wakes up soaked.
I washed two loads of laundry yesterday. Today I have at least three to do, because I have one spit-up covered down comforter and one pee-soaked one. Have I mentioned that I hate laundry and never have enjoyed washing things?
It's usually not the washing so much as it is the post-laundry routine: empty the drier, fold the clothes, put them away in all of the various dressers and closets. It helps to have a big area with table/counter space for the folding. We, at the TaterBed, end up using the living room (sofa, coffee table) for piling up folded clothes.
Sounds like you're ready for a spray-down room. Just clothe all the youngsters in plastic, then when they get messy strap them up against the wall and hose them down. Or is that just for floor mats?
somehow i ended up in charge of laundry in my marriage. The one thing i hate. I mean, it's just two of us, but somehow there are just piles and piles of dirty clothes. I protest often by just pulling the stuff out of the dryer and throwing it on the bed. "You put it away, I washed it" is my rationale. But his seems to be "You washed it, I'll throw it back on the floor". *sigh*
Washing and drying are eay; I agree with MarcV, getting it away is the problem! We are too often in the search the baskets mode---maybe it is for the best though. If I actually had all my laundry away, I would need extra closet space.
We only have one laundry basket, because we have such a small laundry closet and limited storage space that for those brief moments when all the laundry is washed and put away, we have absolutely no room to store more than one. That hasn't stopped my husband from wanting another one though.
Pril, my husband hates laundry more than I do, so it falls more on my shoulders, but at least he does help when he's home and will put stuff away. He's a very helpful and useful fellow, thank goodness. The house would never be clean without him.
"Poop-splosion"!!! lolol! Too funny! I had gorge-and-blowers, too. Now they're my finickiest eaters.
My 4 yod is very picky about her clothes being clean. She changes at the slightest excuse. Not that she doesn't get very messy! I wanted to crown her the other day when she had "red something like paint" all over her hands and on her dress. I didn't worry too much about it coming out because I don't let her play with any paints that weren't washable. But I didn't know my 11 yo son's small stash of PERMANENT fabric paint was within her grasp. I especially didn't know it until AFTER the dress she'd gotten it on was washed and dried. *sigh* You have my sympathy, Jordana.
I get the folding duties, but that's in trouble this year. The deal used to be I would fold in front of the TV watching hockey. Problem is, no hockey this year. I have actually folded even so - no worries that we've been living in piles of laundry.
Oh - and one of my children actually pooped vertically. Very scary.
My mother always said that when I had nothing nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all. So, I'll point you to two caketoppers and leave it at that.
I hate pacifiers! My son, however, sucked everything he could get his mouth on from the first hour after he was born. We used a pacifier for about 6 months and I hated looking at it every time -- but it sure was useful in the car and stuff like that.
My first daughter would have nothing to do with a pacifier. We learned to live without. So this time, I was fairly resistant to even bothering with them. However, the baby seems more like her brother in many ways and I did want to be able to drive without screams from her mingling with the arguments from the other two and I like to be able to pass her off to her dad for a little while now and then. So I boiled up some pacifiers last night.
She took right to them. I sure hate seeing her all plugged up, but it is convenient and leaves my pinkie free for other things.
y'know, those pacifiers that have a goofy grin on the outside are funny as hell. I was at the store once, never seen one before, and there was a baby in the cart with mom, and i looked at the kid and he had one of those goofy-grin pacifiers in, and i about died laughing. hehe.
My son probably sings as well as most five year olds -- which is to say atonally and when he makes up his own songs (frequently) they tend to ramble and make very little sense. I admit that when we're in the car and he's sharing his latest ditty, I tend to tune out. It's sweet and cute and all that, but I can only take so much off-key, tuneless, pointless singing.
The other day he was singing "train songs" though and at one point what he was singing actually registered. He was singing a song he'd named "Don't Get On That Long Black Train, Because It Means Death". He must have gotten that from his dad, but it made me laugh.
"Long, Black Train" is a recent country song I've heard on the radio a couple times. I can't remember who sings it, but he sounds a lot like Johnny Cash. I assume it's a cover of someone else's original.
Even more interesting, because I don't think either Justin or The Boy would have heard that song. Still the long, black train is a relatively common motif, but not one I expected my five year old to pick up on.
The boy is an admitted bluegrass and Johnny Cash fan, but I don't think he's listening to country stations behind my back. I hang my head in shame, but every radio we own is tuned to the local public radio station.
Jordana, if you're feeling a little daring, try the hydrogen peroxide thing in your ears like I mentioned on my blog. I feel so much better. Not sure it's totally to blame, but worth a try! Hope you get to feeling better soon!
Jordana Adams, Chief Pontificator