grandma & grandpa

We're going on a spur-of-the-moment trip this weekend. Our first stop is to see my parents. We didn't tell Jonah until we were positively sure, so I told him right before bed. He was so excited.

As he drifted off to sleep, he opened his eyes and said, "I am so excited to see grandma and grandpa tomorrow." And with that, he was out.

these boys are so funny

Jonah and I were eating dinner when he suddenly asked (whispering, since Josh was putting Caroline to sleep): "Mom, how do cockroaches run so fast?"
me: something vague about the number of legs ("six or eight or something")
Jonah: yeah, I think their legs must be like ten years old to run that fast.

Then later, "you know, cockroach mommies and daddies keep their cockroach babies safe by running real fast and biting the bad guys if they don't have any swords."

And then, just now, Josh poured himself a glass of clamato. You know, the stuff we made shrimp cocktail out of. The tomato and clam broth juice. Blech. When I said in a dubious voice, "Are you drinking a glass of clamato?" he responded in a panicked voice: "oh no! were you saving this?"

Jonah is right once again (again)!

Remember this one?

Well, the house was clean(ish) when I went to bed last night. By the time breakfast was over, it was trashed.

me: Oh, look at the house! How did it get so messy so fast?
Jonah: We just have to clean it every day. And then we have to mess it up every day. It's just what we do.

Jonah said..

(after doing something clever): I've got some clever in my head

After much explaining, we have convinced Jonah that he cannot marry me when he gets older. (Sad. Josh thought it was weird, but then he didn't realize most kids go through the wanting-to-marry-mom/dad phase.) His response: "Okay, then I'll marry Caroline I guess."

Jonah (to Josh): You're sillier than...
...a walnut
...Dixie
...a bicycle
...me!

(me, after Jonah did some addition in his head): Jonah! You did that in your head!
J: No, I have additions in my leg.

another year another birthday week

Josh turns 28 on Friday. We are fast approaching the years begin with 3 and I feel no concern over it. In fact, I can't wait to be 40.*

Last year for his birthday week menu, Josh chose as many sweets as he did dinners. This year, he's all about seafood:

1. Mexican shrimp cocktail
2. Fish tacos
3. All-you-can-eat crawfish on Thursday at a seafood restaurant we've not yet tried
4. Shrimp (and chicken) kabobs
5. Shrimp gumbo
6. Sweet and sour chicken
7. Sticky coconut chicken with stir fry
8. Steak and saurkraut (I actually added this one. He'd put it on the list and then it got bumped for one of the shrimp things. Then, there was a great deal on steaks [and I love steak] so it's back on the list.)

He did also ask for doughnuts for breakfast, a cheap box cake (because homemade cake is not his thing. It's sad really.), and banana cream pie.



*It sounds great. Also, by then we should be done moving. I hope.

the grumpus

I used to turn into a grump when I was hungry, cold, or tired. While I still don't enjoy being hungry, motherhood has taught me to put off eating at times. The hungry grump still rears her ugly head, but not as often. Here in Alabama, I'm almost never cold. What I'm saying is that I've forgotten what it feels like to be the kind of grumpy when I know I'm not being reasonable but there is nothing I can do to stop it!

Caroline has a cold. Just a cold, nothing worse. Still, she hasn't been sleeping. Like at all. No, that's not fair. She sleeps about 3 hours a night. The rest of the night she coughs herself awake or only sleeps while being held or fed. I have not had more than 4 hours together since Friday night.

Before you feel too sorry for me (I have that market cornered anyway, obviously) I've had a long nap every day. Sometimes, I take two naps. Sunday, I took three naps (if you count 5-7am as a nap) and it was Father's Day. Poor Josh.

We took her to the doctor yesterday just to make sure it wasn't bronchitis or pneumonia or strep. Nope, just a regular ol' cold. A regular ol' she-can't-breath-and-has-a-nasty-cough-and-won't-sleep cold. Poor her. Poor me. Poor Josh to have to give up Father's Day to take care of us. Poor Jonah has a zombie mom.

So, the moral is: the grumpus is alive and well today. Still, I vow to bite my tongue and not take it out on my 4-year old. Because look at these angels (official Father's Day pictures now gracing Josh's desk at work):

I encouraged the YW a few weeks ago to be kinder to their families. I think I'll take my own advice.

bike rider

Pants are optional when riding in the backyard.

It's hard to get a clear shot of a moving target, but he's just too dang cute.

Meanwhile, Caroline smiles whenever Jonah walks in the room.

Jonah is right once again

me: Jonah! I found Mulan! Do you want to watch that one? (it had been missing for a long time.)
Jonah: yeah!
me: I knew we had it somewhere.
Jonah: I think our house was so messy so we couldn't find it.

my favorite memories

I've been hearing a lot recently online and from friends that they are not good moms because they don't sew, cook, clean, take pictures, make bread, raise their own chickens, embroider their children's names on pillowcases in solid silver thread...the list continues. A lot of this grief comes from Pinterest. Some people are addicted, some people hate the feelings of inferiority they leave the site with, and I love and hate it both depending on whether or not the Pinterest universe yields what I'm looking for and/or responds to my pin requests.

I've been thinking a lot about what the "ideal" mom looks like. I have quite a few examples of what I would consider phenomenal mothers, but none of that answers the question of what the kids think. In that case, I can only go off my own life. I have a great relationship with both of my parents and my favorite memories have nothing to do with any of the superficial things. Yes, I fondly remember falling asleep to the sound of my mother sewing in the other room, and her potato soup is still my absolute favorite comfort meal. Part of my childhood she was home and part of it she worked. That detail had nothing to do with my confidence in her love. But that aside, here are a few of my favorite snippets of memory. Thinking about them from a adult view (and a parent-myself-now view) I can see that the common thread is feeling, not result:

-My dad sang me to sleep for many years. I still know those songs. One night, I managed to stay awake to the end of a song and realized it was a very sad song. I begged him never to sing that song again, and he never did. To terrorize me, Quintin used to chase me around the house singing it, but that is another point.
-As a family, we'd religiously read the Sunday comics. Everyone would get a page and we'd read over cereal and then swap. We don't get a paper now, but I wonder if we should when Jonah learns to read..
-My mom and I would play hours and hours of scrabble games in the summers and on weekends. If it was Sunday night, we would watch the clock until midnight and then run to Circle K for a pack of Oreos.
-My dad used to wear a Daffy Duck hat to administer our allowance. I have no idea if this lasted years or just one week, but I actually suggested to Josh that he do the same. (He said no.)
-My mom and I repainted my room one summer (or spring break?). She let me pick the color and then she finished off the trim when I got tired of painting.
-When I changed my major from Math Education to Comparative Literature, my parents were supportive but curious. When I got home for the summer, my dad showed me a newspaper article that he'd saved for months where the author casually mentioned being a Comp Lit student.

I guess what I'm remembering is the attention, care, and sincere interest my parents paid me. That sort of thing can happen in a home where mom cooks, dad cooks, or no one cooks. It can happen in a bedroom with matching bedding and curtains (read this mom's pride in being able to make something for her daughter for Spirit week), outside on the patio, or at the kitchen table (or coffee table). No matter how much we try, I still don't think the tangible things are the important ones to kids. They definitely weren't to me.

we better never lose these shirts

For the last 2 years, I've taken pictures of Jonah for a Father's Day present. Stealing the idea from someone I know but can't remember who (so thanks if it was you), I've dressed Jonah in the shirt Josh was wearing at his birth. I can't show you this year's picture since Josh hasn't seen it either, but here are a few bloopers:

 

Dixie wouldn't stay out of the picture. "Dixie, no licking!"

I love little toes.

And for comparison, how big Jonah was in June for the last 2 years:

2010: Man, I loved those couches.

2011: I have no idea what he was doing here. If I remember correctly, I didn't understand it then, either.

crunchy

Said with enthusiasm:

This bread tastes like cockroaches!!

siblings

I wasn't fast enough to get the kiss on the cheek, but it was cute nonetheless.

No one loves you quite like a sibling. I can't wait for them to play like Q and I did (and do). I just hope she's a better loser.

(I recently remembered how if Scrabble or Star Wars or Monopoly wasn't going the way I'd hoped, I'd "get bored" and either walk away or slide the game under the couch. Well that, and the coloring book Q was going to carefully color completely and all I wanted in life was to color in that book. I can't remember if I did, but if so, I'm sure it was scribbly. Poor Quintin.)

the little hippie* inside

*minus the clothes, the drugs, the sexual revolution, and the choice in music. I do have board-straight hair.

It's happened gradually over the years, but the other day I realized I'm a bit of a hippie (or something). Here is some evidence from recent months:

-We started cloth diapering. While I looked into it as a money-saving tool, I can't ignore that it put me in the ultra-green camp.
-I made my own yogurt the other day (and it wasn't too bad!)
-We are eating less and less meat and more and more organic whole foods.
-I was looking for a recipe for a tomato/zucchini tart. When I saw a link on a site called "The Weekday Vegetarian," I was even more interested.
-We have a nice-sized garden.
-We compost our vegetable peelings (when I remember).
-Our recycle bin is currently overflowing onto the porch.
-I'm considering homeschooling.
-We don't have a single functioning television channel.

Still, we haven't started living underground.

...yet.

Arizona in pictures

 We've been home two weeks (how?!), and here are the rest of the decent pictures and one fuzzy one:


Uncle Brandon was the first to claim Caroline once we arrived. They got along fabulously:

 Caroline all dressed for church, looking very pointy-eared:

 
I exist! I also still don't know how to smile. Katie and Erin call this my "Blue Notes smile" (from the days of show choir when you smile during the 3rd performance of the day and the smile doesn't reach the eyes).

(who left that water running?!)

 Jonah's birthday cake! Oh man, I wish I had some to eat for breakfast:

 Caroline and Nana, helping Nana work and then saying goodbye:
 

One of those too-good-to-delete-even-though-it's-fuzzy with Caroline and Q. What do you think of his beard, blogosphere?: 

 

Eating breakfast with Aunt Teri:

No one told Jonah or Teri we were taking the picture. Mostly, this is proof that Teri and I exist (as photographic evidence is sparse).

Jonah loving his new boots: