The Day After A Birthday

Happy Birthday Shotgun!
Yesterday was Shotgun's birthday. Not a particularly festive one . There was no party, you even had to make dinner, but it was your favorite and there were fresh flowers on the table. And for dessert, two free Coldstone sundaes (one for shotgun's birthday, the other for back seat girl's). But, lets not forget, after the kids were in bed, you got to experience a few fleeting moment of bliss, laying in bed with your new sheets, watching the Twins shut out the White Sox, and reading some food porn.
I've seen quite a few of Shotgun's birthday celebrations in the past 10 or so years. This has to be one of the smallest. Usually the days before and after July 28th are part of a days long celebration of the shotgun's entrance into this world. It's something I always look forward to. This year was a bit more muted, but I have no doubt that the Shotgun birthday festivals will make their return sooner than later.

I love you,
Driver

Scenes from a Birthday Party

Four years old

This morning when you woke up you forgot it was your birthday for a few minutes. After we reminded you and got a round of birthday hugs, you were baffled. For starters, your voice didn't sound any different. Your hair was still long. No major changes had happened overnight while you were sleeping.

I wanted to tell you that no, these changes don't happen suddenly. They sneak up on you. First you're the tiny baby we brought home from the hospital, the first baby, the baby we sat and stared at and wondered what the hell we were doing. Then you were the tiny toddler who could talk in full sentences and start conversations with total strangers wherever you went. Now you're this little girl. A little girl who can't wait to go to school. A little girl who loves princesses and pink, yes, but also fishing and bugs. A little girl who really isn't scared or intimidated by much of anything -- except maybe thunderstorms.

So, Back Seat Girl, while you're terrifying us with all of this growing up, we want you to know how much we love you, how much you've taught us, and how much we can't wait to watch you grow and learn in the years to come.

Love, Mom & Dad (and your little brother)

For another great shot of BSG, click here.

Toilet water and its many uses.

The days that I don't work here's how the mornings usually go around here: Kids wake up, I make breakfast, we eat, then they get down and run around the house in various stages of undress while I clean up the kitchen. They are always very good about entertaining themselves during this time, so it's easy for me to, hmm, I don't want to say "lose track" of them, but I definitely don't have an eye of them every minute.

Monday morning they were playing while I did dishes and talked to my mom on the phone. Suddenly I heard BSG say "Oh, [Back Seat Boy]!" from the bathroom in a very disapproving voice. I turned around to find BSB pushing the play mop in front of him, happily pretending to clean the floor, but this time, the mop was actually wet. "[BSG]" I called, "is that water from the toilet?" "Yea", she answered back. "Did you flush the toilet when you were done going poopy?" "No."

One word. Gross.

So I hung up with my mom and walked into the bathroom in time to see BSB plunging his mop into the toilet again. Luckily BSG's poop was very small and well-formed, so the mop wasn't actually touching poop, but still. It was touching toilet water than contained a turd in it. I took away the mop and put it where I thought BSB couldn't reach it, then flushed the toilet and started washing the trail of wet left behind by the mop.

I was in the kitchen on my hands and knees when I heard BSB's familiar little staccato steps behind me, and turned around to see him holding the mop over his head while drops of water fell into his hair. Awesome.

8 Years

Happy Anniversary, Driver!

Can you believe we aren't driving home from any vacations or camping trips?


From those crazy college years, to those care-free DINK years living in uptown, to the small children and mortgage payment years, I wouldn't change a thing.

Cicada

It's summer, I can't think of anything to write, here's some pictures

Hi there-Man have I been neglecting this blog lately. We've been too busy around here going places and doing things and trying to wring the fun out of every last drop of summer this latitude will allow us.

It doesn't help that Mama Wonder is on maternity leave, so we've been hanging out, and every time we go anywhere I forget the camera.

Here are some pictures from the 4th of July, which we spent at my parent's house in rural WI. Bonus: my brother and Driver's sister were able to join us!

If she could roll her eyes, she would

Back Seat Girl passed gas the other night, and me, being the immature person I am, immediately started laughing. BSG looked at me out of the corner of her eye and smiled. When it became apparent that I wasn't done laughing, she stopped smiling, put her hand out at me and said:
"Mom, it isn't necessary to laugh when I toot".

Then she left the room.