The Birth of a Diplomat?

Today while we were eating breakfast, Aubrey went off in to this monologue. She used big words, half sentences, and went on and on. I listened. I tried to understand. But the only part I really got was when she said, "Our house is really dirty. No one told me. I teached it to myself." When she was done with the rest, she whispered, "Our house is dirty."

Do you think she was just trying to break it to me easy?

Lathen is a man-ling of simple needs. That has resulted in a like-wise simple vocabulary. For the past few months, he has found Da-da, Mama, thank you (na-nu), Amen, and Uh-oh more than sufficient.

That was before he had ice cream, though, and he can now say 'more.'

So Sorry Spencer

Today is an apology dinner. I don't feel that bad when my husband comes home to a messy house, crying kids, or me in sweats. I don't feel that bad when I forget to do things. To be frank, I'm amazed I remember to do anything with a two year old and a one year old running around. However, sometimes I make mistakes worth a real solid apology.

Last night, that mistake was called chicken meatballs and ricotta stuffed peppers. Sounds good on paper, I know, but it didn't translate well in a dish. And since the one thing I really like to do is feed my man great food, I felt I should go into appeasement mode.

Tonight's apology is termed puerco asado. In my experience, it has a forgiveness rating of 100%.

Motherhood and Mothergood.

Yesterday was the kind of day I have day dreams about. No tantrums. No sibling attacks. I was woken up with kisses from our sweet baby-kiss hoarder. I was told how precious I was. Every snack Aubrey got was precipitated by the question, "Can I share this with Lathen?" I had window washing help. When Lathen got cranky at the grocery store, Aubrey started jumping around like a monkey in a successful bid for laughs. In short, it was a day like I've never had.

I like to think it's a blessing in preparation for the storm that should arrive on (and hopefully not a day after) March 1.

Or maybe it was just a fluke. It's 8:30 AM and I've already cleaned up the shrapnel from poop in a tub, negotiated a pink vs. blue panty crisis, and mopped up a yellow puddle on the floor. I haven't yet seen to the cascading waterfall of milk and rice crispies.

Kitchen Saga-city

This is how I looked while making our first ever mortgage payment. It also has nothing to do with this post.

Before we ripped out our old cabinets, we needed to solve a plumbing issue: our dishwasher is far from the sink and there is no existing dishwasher plumbing. I called in a plumber who told me this would be an 'easy' job. It would be $475 and take a couple hours. Yikes!!! Is that what easy costs these days? Too much for me. And then, the plumber sent me an estimate reminding me of the price, which all the sudden jumped to $695. Imminently unaffordable.

Which is why Spencer and I wound up at Home Depot talking to their plumbing expert, and left the store with $60 of materials. Some hours later, after pipe cutting, blow-torch wielding, and endless measuring, it was time to turn the water back on. Nothing happened. Which, if you are plumbed correctly, is exactly what should happen.

And that is the story of why it is appropriate to marry a genius. Love you S.

Fingertip Power

When I sell things via craigslist, I generally google the name & see if they're weirdos...family people...under some sort of criminal charges...etc. Facebook is so revealing, and Arsen is definitely not getting my old cabinets. Sorry, creepy tongue guy.

Does Halloween make you this Happy?

That's how happy it made Lathen. Punk. At least he had fun playing in the hay, and the corn sandbox, and petting rabbits, and eating cider doughnuts, and watching duck races, and riding the hay wagon, and picking out a pumpkin, and riding the cow train...wait. That was me. I had a lot of fun.

Wing-ed Fauna

I was looking for a dinner recipe in our office when I heard an unsettling thud. Out the window, a huge Steller's Jay had decided to stop for a drink in our rain gutter (Spencer, if you read this, I think we need to clean out our rain gutters). I stared in open mouth adoration as this blue mohawked birdie hung out a few feet from me. Lovely. It's really a shame they don't see much wonder in us. Wouldn't it be great if one of them would catch a glimpse of me, typing away on this computer, and get all his buddies to come stare through the window at the human, while I stared back? Actually, that would be really creepy. No wonder they don't like people that much. Peopling Toms.