I lied

Remember when I said I had NO pictures from the great camping disaster of '08? I do! I had exactly two. Here is the only one with the tent in it. Here is Back Seat Girl and her friend playing in our tent. Since I was posting pictures I also included the one we took during our hike this past Saturday morning, and the rest are eating smores with the Wonders in the backyard.

A sign I may not be the best person to teach them how to play sports

This evening I got frustrated when my 1 and a half year old--who just started walking--and my 3 year old couldn't play baseball with each other.

I had to actually tell myself to take a step back, breathe, and think about how ridiculous my expectations were. Then I realized I will probably live longer if I just buy another whiffle ball bat and big bouncy ball.

We could have just put the tent up on the edge of a really high cliff and then all of my deepest fears could have been faced

This past weekend may classify as the least successful camping trip of all time if by successful camping you mean to actually camp the nights you had planned on. Instead, I found myself in a hotel room at a well-known Wisconsin Dells resort re-heating chicken ole (a camping favorite in our family) on a camp stove sitting on a countertop while watching the weather channel. This was actually an improvement on just a few hours earlier when I was in a handicap/family shower at the campsite strategically planning the best place to put the kids so I could throw my body over them if the worst happened.



I'll spare you the details, including the part where we were driving to said bathroom in what felt like the dark of night and since it was the first time I had my back to the kids I started hyperventilating, which sparked Back Seat Girl to ask "Mommy, why do you sound like that?". Other than that instance I felt I kept it together pretty well for them. Had it just been Driver and I I'm pretty sure he'd still be trying to scrape me out of that shower. (If you're wondering what I'm talking about just google Lake Delton. That is the area we were camping in this weekend. At least tried camping in this weekend.)



Either way, we have exactly zero pictures from this weekend. Zero. Which means this is the first camping trip we've ever taken where we don't have a picture of the campsite or anything. It also means I don't have a picture of the giant orange tent, which, by the way, stayed up and relatively dry even after we abandoned it. Also-it was awesome. I can't wait to use it again. I think even people in campers were jealous of us. That is, of course, until we all fled. When Driver went back to the site on Sunday to pack up all of our stuff so we could come home he said the park was eerily quiet. He didn't see anyone.



Moral of the story: I lived through a severe thunderstorm with the threat of tornadoes and flooding while I was camping with the kids, and I feel like I should never have to do it again. You hear that weather gods? NEVER.

The big orange monster

We here at Station Wagon Tales are a camping family. We love to camp, and take at least two camping trips every year. Driver and I thought it would be nice to buy a camper while walking through the fair last year. Not a big one, just a little pull-behind, nothing too fancy. Then we realized that we only have the ability to save up for one big purchase at a time, and a new house takes precedence, so we decided to buy a new tent instead. Our old giant tent had a bunch of broken poles, and to be honest, was bought for about $40 on Amazon.

So, we ordered a new tent a couple of weeks ago, and long story short, it arrived yesterday. I went out to the front porch anxious to see it. I bent down to pick it up, and realized it was too heavy for me to just pick up and carry into the house. The thing weighs a ton! I'm not wuss, but I ended up having to half drag, half roll it into the living room. We set it up last night in the yard, and even though it's only a foot wider than our old tent, it seems so much bigger. The walls are not sloped, but high, which makes it much more roomy inside, but also makes it look like we're setting up a small cottage to stay in. We're going camping this weekend, so I'll make sure to take some pictures to post later. Oh, yea, and did I mention it's orange?

Here is a bunch of pictures from May. There is no rhyme or reason to them, but I needed to slap them up there because Back Seat Boy is not going to take a good nap and I've got some major packing to do.

From the spring gymnastics show. She's the one in the middle with the navy blue and red leotard on. This picture does not do justice to how much smaller she was than eveyrone else.
In case you were wondering, yes, it is hard to be Back Seat Girl.

Where did the top of my head go.

Holding a leech!

Driver took the kids on a little nature walk one weekend while I was working, and after he showed me the pictures I said "Do you realize that BSB's shirt is on backwards? The buttons are supposed to be in the back." I still don't think he believes me.

BSB LOVES the sandbox.

He seems surprisingly taller

I would like all of you to know that today Back Seat Boy WALKED into the living room. Back Seat Girl and I were in there picking up toys, and all of a sudden BSB walked in with a proud look on his face like "check me out, ladiez!". To my credit, I didn't completely freak out, but I wanted to.

He has been using those little legs more and more lately, but these last two days, and especially today, he's been walking much, much more. That's not to say I'm about to put him down at Target and see what he can do, but I am relieved he's decided it's not a bad way to get around, this 'walking' thing. He's still one hell of a crawler, though. Man, he should teach lessons.

Also, we were at Bruegger's eating breakfast this morning and there was a man at the table next to us in business attire enjoying a bagel and coffee, when BSG points at him and loudly exclaims "That guy looks like Icabod!".

And then I died. The End.

No-Pants Lance

Last night when I put Back Seat Boy to bed, he was wearing jammies. Both the pants and the shirt. This morning when Driver got him out of bed, he wasn't wearing any pants. When I saw BSB, I asked Driver where his pants were. Driver looked at me with confusion and said "I thought you did that".

Upon further inspection we found his jammie pants in the crib. I really hope he doesn't figure out his diaper.

Hey, I know this guy

I went to highschool with this guy. I really don't know what else to say, but click here and here, and try and tell me he's not the coolest guy you don't know.

Edited to add: I know the first link doesn't work, and now the stupid "Lawrentian" won't let me look at any articles without signing up, but if you click on the second link, just do a search and you'll be able to find the original article.

Not a Cuddler

It's rainy and cold here today, and I'm in 'clean the house' mode, which is rare, and should be taken advantage of. Since we haven't really been following our weekly movie days around here now that it's finally been nice, I told Back Seat Girl she could watch a movie when she woke up from her nap. When she woke up the first words out of her mouth were "Can I watch Cinderella now?".

We went into the living room and I started the movie. Back Seat Boy was still sleeping, and BSG just looked so cute sitting on the couch excitedly waiting for her movie, that I asked if I could cuddle with her for a little while. I was already sitting next to her on the couch, and that was apparently enough for her. "You can just sit there", she told me. After a minute or so I leaned over and gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. She made a face and said "I told you you can sit next to me". Then she touched my leg with her toe and said "See, isn't this nice?"

I'm hoping she keeps this up into her teenage years. Should really reduce that teenage pregnancy risk.

Snatiation

For all of you who are familiar with Driver's weird habit of sneezing after eating too much or being overly full (he often blames the 'bubbles from beer' for making him too full), here is some interesting reading for you. I don't know why we never thought to google it before, but tonight after taking the kids to our local ice cream parlor run by a huge, hairy biker full of tattoos (another reason to love Richfield), Driver was having a sneezing fit, and I casually asked if he'd ever googled 'sneezing when full' before. He immediately sat down at the computer, and a phenomenon that has plagued him for years, something I, along with many of his friends, have been teasing him about since college, finally has a name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneeze
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snatiation

More stubborn (and perhaps smarter) than we thought he was

Dear [Back Seat Boy],
The jig is up. I know your secret. If you didn't want me to find out than you shouldn't have put on that little show at your Dr's appt. Maybe you wanted to make a fool out of mama? I tell the Dr "he still can't walk", the Dr takes you across the room, and you immediately start whimpering and walk across the room to me.

Here's something you should know about secrets. Once you let the world know, you can't make them un-know it. For instance, on Wednesday I saw you walk, without the aid of someone's hand, farther than any of the faltering, falling down steps you've taken at home. Now I know you can walk. The Dr. saw you walk and told me you can walk. I have a witness. This means that you can't pretend you don't know how when we're home. You can't crumple to the ground and crawl to me when I leave you standing somewhere and say "Walk to mommy!". You can't cry and reach for my hand when I tell you to walk the few steps between the rocking chair and your bookshelf to pick out books. You can't stand up, by yourself, in the middle of a room to throw a ball, then look right at me with that shitty grin on your face, slowly crouch down to a crawling position, maintaining eye contact with me the whole time, and crawl to get your ball.

I will admit that a few weeks ago I was heard saying that I really didn't need you to walk, because I love the way you crawl around, and I thought I was going to miss it. I figured this was the last 'baby' thing you do, and once you started walking you would stop being a baby and start being a toddler. I will probably miss the way you 'dance' while crawling, and the sight and sound of you crawling while holding something, but I have video and pictures, and quite honestly--YOU ARE 18 MONTHS OLD!! YOU WEIGH 26 POUNDS! I love you, but this is starting to wear a little thin.

In conclusion: I know you can walk, you know you can walk, and, according to the Dr, you need a little "motivation". Well, I can tell you that we will start walking across the bridge at the playground. I will hold your hand, but there will be no more crawling over all of the playground equipment. Second, I will no longer rush to you to clean off your hands when you hold them up to me, whining, because we are outside and you got tree buds or other miscellaneous pieces of nature on them crawling around the yard. If you really need to be held by someone you really don't like to find the motivation to walk, then I will find a total stranger to come over every day and hold you across the room from me until you figure out that walking is a much more efficient way to get around than crawling. Please, Back Seat Boy, please. I really think you'll have so much more fun this summer if you just get those chubby little legs underneath you and start walking around.

Love,
Mama

Ruining her chances of running for public office one post at a time

This conversation took place while Back Seat Girl was sitting on the potty and the rest of us were in the living room:
BSG: OOH! I smell my poopy!
D: What does it smell like?
BSG: Yucky!!
Pause...
BSG: I've got poopy hanging out!
Small Pause...
BSG: I got rid of it!!

Here are some miscellaneous pictures. The family one was taken at the Twins game. We did some self portraits (held the camera out in front of us) which I thought were pretty cool, the problem was that half of someone's head was always cut off. I guess that's what you have to deal with in a family full of large-headed people.

Still doesn't like haircuts

"Smile like this?"

concentrating

"Excuse me, but you are sitting in front of a ball I would very much like to play with."

Singing AND getting her picture taken. That's multitasking for you.

I took the kids to get some long overdue haircuts today. We always get the first appointments, and Back Seat Girl is always first. When she woke up this morning the first thing she said to Driver was "I'm going to get my hair cut today!".

Today's appointment went like the first two times I've had to take them both to get cut. The hairdresser says "Who wants to go first?" and BSG bounds over without a backwards glance. After I gave instructions for her haircut I took Back Seat Boy over to another waiting hairdresser, and as soon as he realized he was going to be put down into the chair he started crying. Frosted animal cookie? No, won't even look at it, much less grab it. Look! Barney on TV!! Nope, not looking at that either. He cried and drooled and ate just enough of his cookie that the front of his cape was wet with slightly frosted drool. Then, just to make his point, he managed to drool so much that it was running off of the cape onto the floor. He got mad. He reached for me. He got all red and splotchy. The second I picked him up, he stopped. I wish that kid would understand I'm paying pretty decent money to get his haircut and it's hard to get a good haircut when the subject is screaming and reaching for his mommy the whole time.

Meanwhile, across the room, BSG chatted happily with the girl cutting her hair. Every once in a while I can hear her say "[BSB]" in a sing-song way to try to get him to stop crying, but for the most part she's just talking away. I made my way over to her with her brother, who looked like he had a beard since his hair was stuck to his wet face, and got there just in time to hear the hairdresser ask her what color her hair was. "Blonde", replied BSG matter-of-factly. "How did you get to be so smart?" asked her hairdresser. BSG had no answer, so the hairdresser turned and told me she'd been counting and talking and carrying on. In fact, BSG was so charming she managed to get a free braid out of the deal. I'm telling you, that girl charms the pants off of strangers. I rarely go anywhere with her without having a conversation with a total stranger either about her or started by her. Really, if she's acting like a brat around you, you should take it as a compliment--she feels comfortable with you. If you're a stranger she'll be on her best behaviour.

Dear March,

I know today is just a tease. You can't fool me. Don't try to get me all excited about spring again, March. I won't fall for it twice.

Hugs and Kisses,
Shotgun

He is Risen!

Happy Easter!!

[insert picture of a happy family here. Not a family where the little girl is eating jelly beans out of an egg holding it just out of reach of her baby brother who is freaking out and reaching for the "ball, ball!", with a mom and dad trying to look happy and peacefull and failing miserably.]

A Poem

By: Back Seat Girl

Perfume, perfume
I got a friend with two Perfumes
His name is Fred

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

You knew I was going to mention this eventually, didn't you?

I just finished reading the "Sports Illustrated" Special Tribute Edition on Brett Favre. Cover to Cover. I read every word, every photo caption, everything, and I relished it all.

Favre played 16 years as a Packer, which means I was 14 that fateful day when Don "The Majic Man" Majkowski got hurt and he stepped up to win the game. He started every game for the Packers after that. For 16 years. That is amazing to me. I hate calling in sick to work, but I've still done it from time to time, and for the past 4 years I haven't even worked full time. Also, as I look back on my almost 8 year career at the VA, I can't recall a time when anyone has ever open-field tackled me in the lab.

I remember the terrible times before Brett Favre. All of those losing seasons. I think the last time they made it to the playoffs before Brett took them there in '93 was in 1982. That's just getting to the playoffs. They hadn't even gotten to the post season in 11 years. I remember Randy Wright (Randy WRONG), Anthony Dillweg, and, of course, Don Majkowski. I also remember Majkowski's sexified commercials on local TV, but that's beside the point.

I was in Winona during their Super Bowl years, and I felt cheated. I was in MN, where most of my classmates came from somewhere in MN, and they did not like Brett Favre or the Packers. Luckily we could get local stations from LaCrosse, so I did manage to watch a lot of Packers coverage on the news, but at my parent's house the local news is from Green Bay, and their lead story of almost every newscast during the football season was about the Packers. Everything you've heard about the mania in that state regarding their football team is true. It's something, and it's really fun to be a part of. I used to regularly argue with my teacher in gradeschool on Monday mornings about the Packers. "They should play this guy", "No, he sucks, they should stay with this guy".

I'm sad to see him go. No matter how the season was going, he was always fun to watch. I know that we probably won't hear from him much now. He'll resurface when they induct him into the Hall of Fame and then disappear again. I'm glad that I will get to tell my children and grandchildren that 'yea, I remember watching Brett Favre play', and even though they will roll their eyes and wonder why I think they care, I'll care.

So there you have it. The post I've been trying to avoid writing since I heard the sad news two weeks ago. I guess my WI roots just won't let me be quiet about the subject. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my cheesehead and get back to work.

A picture essay

I have to admit I, like many other people who live in this state, have started having very dark thoughts about living in this state. I mean, last week Back Seat Girl went sledding and made snow angels. It's just the time of year that everyone hits the wall, I think. The wall being When Is Winter Going To Go Away? We all know it won't oficially be warm for a very long time, but days like today give me hope.

Driver took the plastic off the sliding glass door in the kitchen last night after the kids went to bed. The first time Back Seat Boy was crawling around the kitchen this morning he smacked his head on the glass. He just turned around and looked at my like "what the hell?" It was pretty funny.

And following are some pictures so you can see how each day has slowly gotten better. Except for the first picture. That picture is just so you can see the kind of girl I live with. The kind of girl who, when asked if she has a particular card in 'Go Fish' answers "I do not indeed".

Don't act like you've never cleaned up your room wearing a pink leotard and dance skirt. I was just happy she was actually cleaning her room like I asked.

Pictured above is our walk from yesterday. We also took a walk on Tuesday, which was much nicer what with the sun and all, but I didn't bring the camera that day. This day we were all pretty cold when we got home.

That is BSG waiting for a bird to fly onto her finger. When I told her I thought that it probably wouldn't happen seeing as how birds are afraid of humans, she replied "But Mary Poppins did it. She got a robin to land on her finger. Then she sang that song!" I stand corrected.

This is the best shot I got of BSB from that same day. He was on my back in the carrier, so I just held the camera up and hoped for the best.

This is today. We had our afternoon snack outside. Notice BSG in a skirt. She actually kept it on for at least 5 minutes before declaring she was freezing and going in to change. BSB does not understand the concept of looking at the camera.

That face. It kills me. I have to restrain myself from eating him a million times a day.

See-more sensible pants.

Also-BSB got to try out his new shoes outside. I held his hands and he walked around on the cement and the wet grass. He must pay attention to us, too, because after we got inside the first thing he did after I set him down on the rug by the door was hold up his feet for me to take his shoes off.

The definition of a sensitive boy

To be fair, I should mention that at one point he actually beat the baby in the head with the ball.

If only you could bottle it

After Back Seat Girl's last gymnastics class, Driver and I decided to enroll her again for the spring session. Before I go any further, I want to say this: "Spring session"? Who are they kidding? Why don't they just go ahead and be honest and call it the "Last part of winter where you want to curl up and die" session?

Anyway, we were the only people who signed up for the pre-beginner 3 year old class. They offered to let me into the class that's a step up for the same price as the pre-beginners, and though I was a bit nervous we showed up Monday night to see how it would go. BSG was in her leotard with pants and boots on, ready for some gymnastics action.

Well, after waiting for half an hour at the gym for the class I thought BSG was going to be in to start at 5 it turns out that the next class up that was being offered this session is actually the beginner 1 class for 5-7 year olds who have passed all of the pre-beginner classes. It runs from 5:30-6:30, a half an hour longer than her other class. I don't think I saw BSG do anything other than heavily assisted front and back rolls on inclined mats in the last class. Well, I guess they did do some walking on the low beam while holding the instructor's hand, but still. When I was shown the class she would be in I almost got up and left. The only thing that stopped me was the look on BSG's face. She wanted to go so bad. I was told to stay and let BSG observe the class with me.

People started filing into the gym and I looked around. BSG, who is already small for her age, was tiny compared with the girls I saw around me. We walked in and she saw the girls who were ready with the instructors on the floor doing warm-up excercises. Poeple were still arriving as the instructors (all high-school girls) started to explain the rules of the gym to the seated class. BSG watched them and started asking if she could take off her pants and boots and join them. I knew there was no way she would be content to sit and watch with Back Seat Boy and I, so I let her strip down to her leotard.

As soon as her clothes were off, she started running. I stopped her and said "[BSG], if you feel like you don't like it and want to stop you can come and sit with me and watch, it's OK". She turned around and said "OK, mommy, but I think I will like gymnastics class a lot" and ran, without any hesitation, out onto the floor with her blonde ponytail bobbing and sat down in the midst of a group of girls, none of whom she'd ever met before, who were all at least 2 years older and much bigger than her, and started listening to the instructors. I sat BSB down and took off his jacket, and whispered into his ear "She's so small". At first my heart hurt a bit to watch her. I wanted to have her sit with me so I could protect her, because I don't ever want her to feel like she's the worst at something, to have such an unfair disadvantage to these girls, because really, do any of us ever want to see our children hurt or disappointed?

After a while, though, I realized something. When do we lose that confidence? That complete lack of self-consciousness. When do we get the fear that maybe we won't be good at something, that maybe we'll be the worst at something, that maybe we'll make huge fools of ourselves in front of a bunch of strangers? I know that it will happen someday to BSG. Some day she will be afraid to try something or go somewhere because maybe she doesn't know how? Or she doesn't know anyone! Or she might get embarrassed! That thought makes me sad, because I see how she is now, and I always want her to have that confidence. I guess it's my job to make sure she retains as much of her can-do attitude, her confidence, her lack of self-consciousness as she possibly can.

It turns out that they allow two levels to have class at the same time and are split up according to age. BSG and one other little girl are the only level ones in class right now, and they have two instructors dedicated to teach level one, which means basically one on one instruction. BSG had a GREAT time. I am no longer allowed to watch, which means next week I will be dropping her off for an hour with only the supervision of a bunch of teenage girls. You know what, though? I'm pretty sure she can handle it.

Winona, MN

This past weekend Driver and I went down to Winona, where we attended college at Winona State University from 1994-1999 collectively. The one thought that kept crossing our minds while we walked around on campus was why all of the college students keep getting younger while we don't age. I felt a little better when I came to the realization that the people we kept seeing on campus were most likely freshman and sophomores, since upper classmen tend to live off campus in crappy old houses that probably used to be really amazing but are now chopped up into five seperate apartments.

We had a really good time, mainly because we had nothing to do all day Saturday except make sure we got to "A Praire Home Companion" on time. We slept in, went out for coffee, walked around campus, went to one of our favorite places for lunch, and killed the afternoon by driving around, walking around the lake, and going to one of our favorite bars for happy hour.

The one thing we were really disappointed in was the fact that many of the buildings on campus were locked. We were able to get into Kryzko commons but that was about it. We noticed that they had keypads near the doors and at one point saw two poeple enter the science building with a key, but other than that we could only look in with our noses pressed against the glass. In 2004 they opened a brand-new science center and we had to miss the open house they had. We were really looking forward to seeing it considering the building we had our science classes in was built in, I don't know, maybe the 60s? And man, it hadn't changed AT ALL. Imagine our grand disappointment when we realized the building was locked. We looked longingly in and when our eyes adjusted and we could see past our reflections in the window we realized there were two students at a table looking back at us.

Pasteur Hall, the science building Driver and I spent a lot of time as students. There used to be a street in front of the building and there was always this really nice red Chevette--that's right, a Chevette, parked out front. I also once pantsed Driver on those steps there, something he will never let me forget.

Here is Driver looking longlingly into the new Science Laboratory Center. I bet when we were students there we never would have wanted to get in as badly as we did this weekend.

I have a few other pictures and anecdotes to post, but the whole time I've been typing this I've been ignoring the sounds of Back Seat boy in his room, talking and banging on the wall after his not even one hour nap. I'm not happy about that, because I know he'll be horribly cranky tonight and won't understand it at all when I tell him that if he had just taken a decent nap this afternoon his outlook on life would be SO MUCH BETTER.

The McAghon's Were An Interesting Bunch

We've all heard about the murder, but what about the yachtsman, the policeman, the labor mediator and the woman's field hockey superstar sisters from the 30's. They were all McAghons. I've known about the New York Times archive for awhile now but haven't searched it. I has some time over lunch and took a look. Here are some of the articles that I was able to save, the rest I had to pay for. There were a ton of articles that I couldn't save regarding the McAghon Sisters field hockey stardom in New York City and Justin McAghon, the well respected labor negotiator and Catholic Layman.

Here are links to some of the articles.

http://www.box.net/shared/04yoe7yo8k
http://www.box.net/shared/5a6urcdicw
http://www.box.net/shared/w1trfi5mo0
http://www.box.net/shared/mf8sgqtwo8

This is the year she realizes how far north we really live

Back Seat Girl announced she was "Sick of being cold" after she walked out to the car to go to daycare this morning.

On our way home this afternoon she started naming off all of the things she could do when it is summer again:
"Wear tank tops!"
"Wear shorts!"
"Wear flip flops!"
"Walk barefoot outside!"

The poor girl. We have weeks upon weeks of this left. I can't even tell her how many 'dark naps' and 'light naps' there will be. Too many to count. She's bumming me out.

A tiny giant

Today Back Seat Boy decided he would try to get inside the small play tent we bought the kids for Christmas.

Because I'm not good at keeping baby books

Some of the things Back Seat Girl has said to/asked us in the last week or so:

"What happens to your bones when you have diarrhea?"

"Why did God make people?"

"What happens to your brain when you are sick?"

"When my next tooth comes in it will be shaped like a tube. Yea, like poop."

We are teaching her to play Uno:
Driver: "I don't have a two or a yellow card so I have to..."
BSG: "Here, I have a two!!"

Driver: "I'm all out of cards, I wo..."
BSG (handing over her cards): "Here, I have these cards left."

We are downstairs, I'm pretending to be her baby, she walks up to her play kitchen:
"I have to cook supper now. Supper isn't going to cook itself!"

"What happens to you when your brain gets a hole in it?"

Sick Season

I know people always say "something must be going around", but I have to say based on the last two weeks I think that has definitely been the case around here.

About two weeks ago Driver came down with a cold. Bad enough to make him feel crappy, but still managed to drag himself to work. A few days later Back Seat Boy started getting a stuffy nose and that morphed into a high fever, tons and tons of disgusting green nasal drainage, and an ear infection. He is FINALLY starting to get back to being himself after 4 days of antibiotics. Back Seat Girl has a nice runny nose, but she is acting fine. She ran a fever for one night but then woke up the next day like nothing was going on. The last two days at work the sick board has been full of names of people who normally NEVER call in sick. Through all of this I have been perfectly fine. I felt like I was bathing in BSB's mucous, but amazingly no runny nose, no fever, nothing.

The last two days, however, I've been a little "off". I'm not saying I'm coming down with it, but if I do, Driver will be pretty happy. I think he's getting sick of hearing me go on and on about my amazing immune system.

I swear she can read

We were at the pet store picking up food for Kahlua. A nice Petco employee was feeding the small animals and latched on to us. She showed Back Seat Girl the animals and asked lots of questions. At one point she asked BSG how old she was, to which BSG replied "three and a half". I don't know where she got that, but as of the 25th of this month she is three and a half. Maybe she can read the calendar? Sometimes she scares me.

Immediately after that BSG is looking at a cage of gerbils, and asks "are these the common mice?". Um, "common"mice? The Petco employee looks up at me, a bit startled. I shrug my shoulders. I don't believe I've ever uttered the phrase "common mice" before. Then the Petco employee takes BSG to the cage right next to that one where there is a sticker on one corner announcing that those were the common mice.

Dude. I thought we were just learning letter sounds. I'm a bit freaked out.

Look what came today!!

I am a bit ashamed at how excited I was. I also really wish those rain boots came in my size.

Reasons why my tummy hurts, by Back Seat Girl

"Because you are filled with curiosity, just like Bear" (Bear is a character in one of her books)

"Because your tummy thinks it's growing"

Also-I have a sickness. This sickness has to do with my obsession with children's shoes. It was manageable when I just had one kid, but now I have two, and it looks like Back Seat Boy will be walking in another month or two, so now I have two pairs of feet to outfit in shoes. Luckily, Vincent shoes is having a sale. If you know someone who has little feet who might need shoes go there now. Sizes are starting to run out in some styles. I will admit that I bought Back Seat Girl a pair that wasn't on sale, because I've been lusting after them for a long time and they are obviously never, NEVER going to go on sale. I'm also a little mad because the pair I bought her for Christmas are now 50% off and I bought them at full price. Ah, well, I got two pairs for Back Seat Boy that I'm hoping will last him through fall next year. I can hardly wait to see him cruising around in his new shoes. (He walked along the entire length of the couch today!!)

Gotta Love MN

I love living in a place where skin is referred to as exposed flesh on the weather report.

GO PACKERS!!!

Other parent rant

Yesterday I took the Back Seaters to the library. Back Seat Girl has been wanting another Babar book, and it looked like it would be the last day that the temperature would go over 0, so I packed up the kids and the kleenex, and off we went.

I was nervous about Back Seat Boy. The library is a place where all of the books are in order and they like it quiet. One of BSB's favorite things to do is pull himself up on BSG's bookshelf and take all of the books out of it, and he also really likes the sound of his own voice. I knew when we got there he wouldn't be content to just let me hold him while there were all of those books just begging to be pulled off of the shelves. I brought some toys and snacks and hoped for the best.

After asking the librarian where I could find the Babar books, we made our way over to the little kid's section and I took all of our coats, hats, etc. off and set BSB down. There was a large wooden box with stuff all over it to play with--wooden beads to push along a track, that sort of thing. BSB made a beeline for it and was very contented to sit and play with it while BSG and I searched for Babar. He was being very well behaved for a 1 year old in a library when a boy probably around BSG's age appeared. I had seen him before with his mother, so I didn't pay too much attention.

That is, I didn't pay attention until I heard the wooden box making a lot of noise and I looked up to see the little boy pick it up, which was quite a feat I might add, and carry it away from BSB so he could play with it himself. I looked around, the mom was nowhere in sight. BSB sat where he was, reached in the general direction of the boy and the box, and made his "I want that" noise. I looked at the boy. He looked back at me. BSB started crawling towards the boy, the boy picked up the box and moved farther away. Still no mother in sight. Now BSG noticed and said indignantly "That boy is taking the toy away from [BSB]!". I was proud of her for being kind of angry, but instead of telling her to go and beat him up (she totally could, she would have righteous indignation on her side), I got some of the toys I had packed for BSB and distracted him. He was very good and focused his attention on the toys and the giant bear sitting on a bench. He enjoyed throwing himself at the bear repeatedly while BSG and I read books on the bench, all the while the little boy was watching us and playing with no mother in sight. Finally he came over and dragged the huge bear off of the bench, when suddenly his mother appeared and said "Oh, is that bear too big, [preshus]?" and laughed like it was a funny little incident, even though the kids and I were about two inches away from the bear and it was very obvioius why her kid had taken the bear away and was now struggling to drag it as far away from us as possible.

First of all, where was this mother? I bet it took at least 15 minutes for us to find a book and read and stuff, and the whole time this kid was unsupervised. If the mother was watching and I just couldn't see her, why didn't she intervene when he took the toy away from BSB? If it had been BSG doing that, I wouldn't have just ignored it. Then when the kid pulled the bear down off the bench, why did she just make a little joke? Once again, if it had been BSG, I would have instructed her that they were playing with the bear and we needed to put it back now. Even if it had been BSB, I would've put the bear back. This was a giant bear, people. It was obviously not there to be moved around the children's area.

I am not the best, most responsible parent in the whole world, and I'm sure there have been times when I've taken my kids' side just because they were my kids, but there have also been plenty of times where I've seen that my kid is the one being the jerk and done something about it. It's OK to admit it when they are misbehaving. They're kids! They aren't perfect. Obviously, neither are their parents.

Still here...

I had internet problems for a while (OK, maybe I was the problem, whatever), and I know you all missed my wit, but now Driver is home and he fixed the internet (OK-me) and you can all look forward to my wit just as soon as I can think of something witty to write about.

For now Back Seat Boy would like you to know that he really, REALLY does not like having his hair cut. Having pieces of frosted animal crackers put in his mouth barely makes it bearable.

Music to Play While Reading the Next Post

I feel so dirty.

Dear Cub Foods,
I know, I know. You haven't seen me in a while. I will admit that I was lured away for a time by the sleek new SuperTarget. It takes two to tango, though. I am not the only one at fault here.

Listen, we both know our relationship hasn't been the smoothest. I do love a lot of things about you, and I guess Dr. Phil would tell me to talk about those first. I love you for your comfort, for the fact that I know where everything is and could make my grocery list in order of where I will find it in the store. I loved your size--big, but not too huge, with plenty of selection. I loved that I almost always found what I was looking for, except for a few rare ingredients that I would have to go to Lund's for. Let's face it, you and Lund's--two different stores. I like that you don't pretend to be something you're not. You're a grocery store, plain and simple. I appreciate the fact that your checkers know what ginger is without looking it up on that plastic list of barcodes and then having to call over the manager. I like the old ladies who fawn over my children and the old men who hang out and drink coffee. I even like the crazy old lady who pushes a cart full of miscellaneous cleaning supplies, including a large broom which is obviously very old, wearing latex gloves (she adds charm).

All of these things are great, yes, but there are some things about you that I do not love. First of all, Cub, what is the deal with the big carts? I'm talking about the ones made for those of us with more than one child, the ones with the plastic cars on the front. Those things suck!! They are all old, don't push right, and never, ever sit on all the wheels at the same time. If the front ones are on the ground the back wheels are about an inch above it and visa versa. I am, however, actually happy when I find one because they are never all nice in a cart corrall somewhere. No, they are scattered around outside. Sometimes they are just next to the building but nowhere near any door. Many times they are out where the red-headed step child carts are, stuck in a puddle or the snow. This is really great when you have a small child who's walking and another you are carrying. Yes, honey, just scale the snow mountain and step right inside, I'm sure it will be fine. It's also great when it's snowing or raining. I love nothing more than setting my baby down in a wet, cold cart while my 3 year old looks at me like I'm crazy after suggesting she get in. Even she knows it's ridiculous.

Then there is the matter of that one checker. The young man with the beard who very well may be the slowest checker. in. the. whole. world. That guy has got to be trying to go that slow. It's not like he's new. I've lived here for over 5 years and he's been at that store the whole time. You must do something about it. At least now I know to avoid his line.

I also really don't like it when you leave random boxes in the aisles. This happens a lot in the produce section, but it can be anywhere in the store. I'm already having trouble navigating with the piece of crap cart I've dug out of a snow bank and dried off with a towel I'm now smart enough to bring along, now I've got to shimmy past a few boxes and the shelves of cereal? You've created a road block. All traffic must come to a halt while we take turns squeezing by the apparently useless boxes. And what if I need something behind those boxes?

OK, OK, I didn't mean to upset you. Nobody is perfect, but you understand why I had to wander off the reservation, don't you? I mean, SuperTarget's allure is pretty easy to understand. I can get all of my errands done in one stop, which is important now that I have a baby boy who does not take as well to errands as his sister did. Plus, it's new. It's all shiny and new and clean. Also--they have a Starbucks in there. AND a D'amico and Son's deli food, AND those Bruce's sweet potato pancakes we all love. COME ON! It practically sat on the corner in a short skirt and begged me to come in. (Not that I'm attracted to people in short skirts...)

After a couple of big grocery shopping excursions, though, I must say, I missed you. First of all, where is the cheese? The front of the store? Yep--some of it is, but lots of it is also in the back with the rest of the dairy. The aisles in the produce section run diagonally, which I CAN NOT STAND. Since it's new I don't know where everything is and when I miss something and need to go back it feels like a maze. Speaking of not knowing where everything is, I hate that I don't know where everything is. It really bugs me that I can't just make my list, whip in and out of there, and be done with it. I know that is maybe more about me then about Target, but either way, I don't like it. The checkers? I know you're all new to this, but hello? It's ginger. It's not that exotic. Then there is the matter of selection. While it's not horrible, it's not that great, either. Basically, it'll do for when I need to pick up a few food items along with more toothpaste and deodorant, it won't do for my big grocery shopping trips.

That is why you saw me there yesterday, with my daughter up front in the plastic car talking and asking me questions even though I can't hear her that well when she's all the way up there, and my son sitting near the handle bar reaching for everthing he may be able to grab and making his 'I want that' noise. Nevermind that he doesn't know what 'that' is, he'll decide later whether it's worthwhile or not. I was back, pushing the cart I had to walk halfway across the parking lot for, but my list was all in order and we were in and out of there in half an hour and I got everything on my list.

So, Cub, thanks for taking me back. I guess I needed to see what else is out there to realize how good I had it right here with you. I was wondering though, about those carts, maybe there is something you could do?

My proudest moment as a parent and a scientist

I thought I was going to write a post about how the proudest moment I've had since becoming a parent was this past Sunday. My oldest child was at the front of church, singing in her very first Christmas program, while my youngest child was sitting on my lap excitedly slapping the pew in front of us because his beloved sister was waving at us and saying "Hello, [Back Seat Boy]", over and over again in the tiny little voice she reserves just for him.

I was going to write about that, but then this morning happened.

Back Seat Girl woke up with a bit of a cough, and over breakfast she was asking me how she got it. I told her she had caught a germ and it was inside of her making her cough. She thought about this for a moment and then said "I wish I would get a white blood cell to eat the germ in me and make me all better". After swelling with pride for a moment I told her she already has white blood cells, we all do, and they are trying to eat the germ right now. She has been talking about her white blood cells all day, and while I was telling her about how they eat the germs she asked, very solemnly "will it hurt?". She has also asked me how long it will take.

Now, if Back Seat Boy will just learn to say adenosine tryphosphate, my life will be complete.

Also-I tried another thing that's not very easy with a 3 year old and a 1 year old "helping"--scrubbing the kitchen floor. It didn't take long to remember why I usually wait for naptime to get out large buckets of water.

Two things I've attempted in the past week that proved very hard with a 1 year old and a 3 year old involved

1. Decorate the Christmas tree.

(BSG-What's this ornament? Why is it delicate? Where did we get this from? Why do you

keep saying that it's delicate?)

(BSB-Look at all of these balls to throw! Oh, wait-this is obviously meant to be stuck in my

mouth! Hey, if I bang these two things together it makes a really great noise!)

2. Take Christmas card pictures.

Scientific proof that bears are not a type of animal

At supper table, talking about how I have to go to work and she has to go to daycare tomorrow...
(before daycare provider's husband called to tell me she would be closed due to illness....Bah!)

BSG: But you love me so much, you might cry a little at work!
Me: Yea, I might. Do you think you'll cry at [daycare] tomorrow?
BSG: No, I'll see myself.

************************************************

BSG: When I was a baby, I was just like Baby Jesus!

************************************************

While eating her carrots during lunch...

Me: Eating your vegetables will make you grow big and strong.
BSG: Yea, strong like a hippo.
pause...
BSG: or maybe like a rhinocerus!
Me: Which do you think is stronger, a hippo or a rhino?
some deep thinking by BSG...
BSG: A rhinoceros, because they have horns.

***************************************************

While reading the book "Never talk to Strangers", where all of the 'strangers' are different kinds of animals. We were on the page with a bear knocking at the door...

BSG: But a bear isn't a stranger because he's not an animal.
Me: Yes he is. A bear is a type of animal.
BSG: No it's not.
Me: Yes it is.
BSG: No it's not.
Me: What is a bear if he's not an animal?
BSG: It's a type of monster because it has scary teeth. See? (points to book, then touches bear's teeth in the picture). Ouch! Those teeth are sharp!

*******************************************************************

Radio: "I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause underneath the Christmas tree"
BSG -: Mommy was kissing Santa Clause?!

****************************************************************

They can only stay babies for so long...

The kids got their hair cut today. It was Back Seat Boy's first ever haircut. He did not enjoy himself, but at least he sat still while he screamed, which is all I cared about. Here are a bunch of really crappy pictures I took after we got home. They are all of BSB except the first one, not because I'm playing favorites, but because I couldn't believe how much older he looks now. Also-very hard to take a picture of him because he was constantly crawling around playing with all of the toilet paper he dragged into the living room from the bathroom. Back Seat Girl fell and knocked it down. That's how things go around here.

BSG, looking down so I could take a picture of her hair

I had to lay down on the floor and then hold the camera up over us and hope I got some of his head in the shot.

Hey--did you know there was tons of this stuff in the bathroom?

Hello, Ladiez!

Thank God he doesn't have BSG's ears

All of this happened today and I didn't make any of it up. I swear.

As we were driving down the street in our fair city today I saw a woman walking down the sidewalk carrying a sweater-clad cat. If we end up moving out of Richfield I'm sure gonna' miss stuff like that.

This morning I was trying to get the kids dressed. Back Seat Girl does most of it herself, but it takes a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time for her to complete the transition from jammies to street clothes. She gets distracted by, oh, I don't know, everything. So she is in her room with Back Seat Boy and I'm in BSB's room getting clothes for him to wear when I hear both of them giggling. "Mom, come in here, BSB has a funny hat on!" BSG calls. Before I even poke my head in I know what I'm going to see, which is a scary fact in and of itself. Sure enough, BSB is sitting on BSG's rug with a pair of her underwear on his head, and they are both laughing.

I had a day off today which is rare, because Tuesdays are the one day of the week I am practically guaranteed to be at work. The reason has to do with the fact that yesterday was a federal holiday, and you can all go ahead and groan and roll your eyes, I don't care. Anyway, if you'll let me finish, that means the kids and I were home when the cleaning ladies got here. Before I proceed I just want to say I am a bit hesitant to write this because I know the cleaning ladies may occasionally read this website, and if they don't read this entry, I've heard one their daughters enjoys to read here so they will probably hear about this. I will also be calling them Cleaning Ladies for two reasons: 1--I hate to use people's real names without their consent, and 2--BSG called them that the whole time they were here, even after she learned their names. It's like she was meant to be brought up in a family with much, much more money. Man, don't you hate it when it takes forever for people to make a point?

OK, so the kids and I are at the table eating lunch and the Cleaning Ladies are in various parts of the house doing their thing when BSG announces: "The Cleaning Ladies have boobs". I had no idea if they had heard her or not, and if they did they chose to ignore it, but I said a fervent prayer that that would be the last time she talked about it while they were here. It was. Two SuperTargets and no more mention of boobs--God really does answer prayers.

One Year Old

updated:now with photos--finally!

One year old. I really don't know how this happened. I know I said it before, but I really am in a little bit of shock here. I promise this is the last comparison I make to your sister, but it seemed to take much longer for her to make it to a year. Now here you are, crawling around--a little person, so far removed from the baby in the picture up there.

You have always had a sweet disposition--happy and content, though now you are throwing age-appropriate tantrums. I say age appropriate because I took you to the Dr. yesterday and he asked if you were tantruming and I realized that yes, you are and when I said that he seemed almost pleased. You get mad when I take things away you shouldn't have, when I set you down when you want to be carried, when I don't set you down when you want to get down, when you wake up at 5 AM and realized that we aren't in your room to get you up but to try to get you to fall back asleep, and when you are sitting in your highchair and there is not food in front of you RIGHT. NOW. We switched your car seat to front facing yesterday and for the first time you threw a fit when I went to put you back in it after running errands. You straightened your little body out so I couldn't strap you in, crunched up your face, and grunted with rage.

This past week it's like you were completely aware that you knew you were about to turn one. You started waving bye-bye and crawling. You suddenly seemed so much older. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I noticed something was different. I know I'm not completely crazy, because Driver mentioned the same thing to me yesterday.

You have started holding your socks up to my nose after I take them off of you so I can smell them and say "P.U.--stinky!" You blow on your food the second you see anyone else at the table do it. You are mimicing everything we do--though your favorite thing to mimic is clapping. Tonight your sister and I were making tooting noises with our mouths while we were eating supper (oh, yea, we are that classy) and you thought it was hysterical. After you got done laughing your adorable little laugh, you tried making the same noises with your mouth. The problem was that all of your toot noises weren't quite 'toot' and more like blowing raspberries, but you still thought you were pretty awesome.

Your favorite thing to do is make noise. You love to bang things together, or bang objects against anything close to you--the floor, the wall, the refrigerator...whatever will make a nice, gratifying noise. You also love to take baths. You have no problem with getting a cup of water dumped over your head, and you have a great talent for bending over to try to take drinks from the bath water. Your favorite thing to do is to splash as hard as you can. You throw your whole body into it, and when water is dripping off of all of us and the walls you squeal with glee and do it over and over until I've had enough and pull you out of the bath to dry off.

You have this really annoying habit of trying to get out of peoples' arms when they are holding you. You wriggle and squirm and all but throw yourself forcibly down on the ground, but then when you do get set down you start to cry and turn around and hold your arms up to get picked up again. I really don't know what that's all about. Maybe once you get down you realize the floor wasn't as glorious as you once thought. I thought crawling would do away with this, but that is not the case.

I know I said before that this year has flown by, and it has, but I have a hard time remembering clearly what it was like before you were here. Before you were born the thing I was most apprehensive about was the changing of our family dynamic. We only had Back Seat Girl, and it was hard for me to think about a baby who wasn't her. Especially a boy baby. But then you were born and we fell in love with you and I can't remember what it was like to have just one baby. I can't imagine not having you in our lives, just like those nights when Driver was at school and Back Seat Girl was in bed and it was just me and my belly and my thoughts, and I had a hard time imagining what it would be like to bring another baby into the house. I can't believe how lucky I am that you were the baby in that big belly. I think about that all of the time, when we are out and people are admiring you, but especially when it's just you and me and I don't have to share you. I think about how lucky I am that out of all the people in this world, I get to be your mama, that God chose me to care for you and teach you and love you, you precious baby boy.

I love you so much.

Happy First Birthday, Little Man.

One year old- APlace Holder

Back Seat Boy-

I don't know how it happened, but today you turned one year old. In the past week you have weaned yourself, started crawling and waving bye-bye, and now this birthday on top of everything---I don't know if your old mom can handle it.

It's getting late and there's a lot to do before I go to bed, so I'm not going to have time to write you your birthday post today. It's really you're fault--you didn't take a very good afternoon nap. I didn't even have time to finish the Desperate Housewives I TiVo'd. Good thing it was your birthday, I had to forgive you right away. I guess the fact that you are so frickin' cute, your birthday, and the fact that you got a bazillion shots this morning all added up to you getting away with murder today. I would have almost let you eat all of your sister's pop beads.

Anyway, I hope you had a good birthday today (except for the part where we almost got in a car accident and ended up on the curb in the wagon inbetween a fire hydrant and a telephone pole), and I promise that soon, very soon, I will write you your birthday post, complete with pictures, and, if I can figure it out, a video.

I love you!!
MaMaMaMaMaMa

The Ups and Downs of 3

Living with a 3 year old is very unpredictable. There are days when I cringe inwardly every time I realize I did something heinous like suggest we eat Cheerios instead of Honey Nut Bunches of Oats. I have to mentally gear up for something like getting dressed in the morning, and God forbid I do something like pick out long sleeves to wear even though its 50 degrees outside. Yes, there are days like that. But then...then there are days like today.

Today, Back Seat Girl woke up in a stellar mood. Cereal for breakfast? Great!! Play some really cute imaginary game totally by myself while my mom cleans up after breakfast? You bet! Going to the park when my brother wakes up? Great!! Leaving the park when mom says it's time without resisting even a little bit? Sure!! Nap time? No stalling here! Sleep from 1 until 4:30 when mom finally wakes me up so I will go to bed tonight. No problem!! Then there was the clincher. After supper I gave her a scoop of chocolate ice cream. She was so excited. She ate with great pleasure, and then right before she was about to drink the "ice cream milk" she said, with total sincerity "Thank you Mommy. Thank you so much for the chocolate, Mommy." Could she be any cuter?

Oh, yea. She can. Tonight we reprised the game she played all by herself earlier today, with a few changes. We fed hippos in her room, chickens and chics which had to come downstairs from my room, and giraffes in the kitchen. It was rather involved, and not only did it involve imaginary animals and imaginary food for said animals, it also included her having to build a zoo and me having to fill a pie tin with water so a giraffe and a goat could swim and drink. Don't worry, she took them to the bathroom so they wouldn't pee in the water. As in, she actually took them into our bathroom, but then explained to me that she didn't have to flush the potty because it was just pretend pee. Here are a few pictures, with one of Back Seat Boy thrown in as a bonus.

Ah, Love

I know a couple who recently celebrated their 32-year anniversary. On the big day, the Wife woke up as usual and got ready for work. Before leaving, she went back into the bedroom to say good-bye to the Husband and ask if he would be home that night for supper. She was going to throw in a "Happy Anniversary", but then decided to wait and see if he would remember. The Husband said he would be home for supper and left if at that.

The Wife left for work. No problems, she thought, he'll probably remember in a few hours and call. The wife went about her work day, not giving much thought to the whole situation. It was, after all, 32 years. Not 30, not 35, so she wasn't expecting much. Maybe a card, maybe some flowers, but for sure some sort of recognition that 32 years ago that day they had started a new life together.

At around 10 that morning the Husband shows up to the Wife's work. "Come out here", he said, motioning toward the door that leads to the parking lot, "I have something to show you". The Wife, understandably, gets very excited. Wow, she thinks, I wasn't expecting anything. This is great! I wonder what he got me?! She follows the Husband out to the parking lot, her heart beating wildly.

The Husband points to a black pick-up truck. "I got a new truck!", he says excitedly. The Wife knew the Husband was going to get a new truck for his business, but this was not the surprise she was expecting. She stood by the truck quietly, listening to the husband talk about his new truck. After a couple of minutes the Husband pauses and looks at the Wife. "I know you aren't really into this stuff. I just wanted to bring it by to show you." The Wife nods. They say their goodbyes. Just as the Wife is about to step back inside her place of work she turns to look a the Husband. "You know, I am happy you got a new truck. I guess I'm just a little disappointed, considering this is our anniversary. Do you know how hard my heart was beating when you said 'come here, I have to show you something'?"

The Husband immediately looks down at his watch, rechecking the date. "Oh, #%$^!!", he exclaims.

That night the Wife came home to a beautiful bouquet of flowers and was treated to a nice dinner out.

And so began their 33rd year of marriage...