"Turtles do not need underwear."

Life has been pretty much the usual around here for the past two weeks. Nothing very exciting has happened. Rowan ate Cheerios for the very first time, which was quite exciting to him. He hasn't quite got the whole pincher grasp thing down yet, so he tries to grip as many Cheerios as he can in his little fist and then attempts to cram said Cheerios into his mouth. Sometimes he actually gets one in, but usually they all fall out of his hand and end up on his shirt. He has taken to sticking out his neck and opening his mouth like a little bird, and making "ugh, ugh" noises. Someone usually notices this and will kindly place a Cheerio on his outstretched tongue, which quickly disappears into his happy little mouth.

Lola, too, has experienced a new food for the first time. Wil and I were discussing junk food the other day, and the conversation turned to Twinkies. I haven't had a Twinkie since my college days, when a Twinkie represented a meal on the run. I just don't like to eat something that can outlast cockroaches in the event of nuclear winter. Anyway, Wil bought a pack of Twinkies at Winco, and we decided that it was time for our daughter to experience snack cake nirvana.

Lola was informed that she was about to receive a special treat. She grabbed a towel (she has to have a towel for ice cream, so I assume she was expecting some delicious frozen goodie) and climbed into her chair. Her eyes gleamed with anticipation as Wil made a show of unwrapping the Twinkie, releasing its yellow snack cake goodness. He handed the Twinkie to Lola.

"What IS this?" she asked, clearly dumbfounded, and disappointed that it wasn't ice cream

"It's a Twinkie," Wil answered "it's really good!"

........

"You take a bite" she said.

My daughter thinks that we have poisoned every bit of unfamiliar food we hand to her. The same kid will happily chow down on cat food, but won't eat a Twinkie.

Wil took a bite, showing Lola that no bodily harm would occur upon ingestion of the Twinkie. She stared at it, not quite convinced.

"Look, Lola" I said "It has whipped cream in it!"

Lola is a whipped cream fiend. I poked my finger into the wounded Twinkie and licked off the whipped cream. Finally interested, she tentatively reached out a finger and scooped up a microscopic ammount of Twinkie innerds. She slowly put it in her mouth.

"Mmmmm, I LOVE Twinkies!" Lola declared. She proceeded to happily eat half the Twinkie, generously donating the other half to Daddy.

Tonight I got Lola out of the tub and was drying her off, when she collapsed into a little ball on the bathroom floor. This is a normal routine for her.

"I'm a tiny turtle" she said.

"Ok, tiny turtle, put on your undies" I said, holding out her princess panties.

"Turtles do NOT need underwear." Lola informed me seriously.

"OK" I replied, "Then just pretend that turtles need undies."

"OK" Lola agreed, "but Mommy, turtles really don't wear underwear."

Wow. What a day. What a day. Twinkies and turtles, life doesn't get sweeter than this!

"Adam and Eve didn't follow directions!"

We have been talking a lot lately about following directions. I think they talk about it in preschool too, because for once Lola totally knows what I mean when I say "Lola, follow directions!" That doesn't mean she actually makes good on the words, but I know she understands. So a few Sundays ago, Rowan had his dedication at church. It was very nice, and his Godparents were there to share the experience. Lola stood with us at the front of the church too. Afterwords, Lola went downstairs to Sunday School with the other kids. We sat through the rest of the service and then went down to get her at the end.

"What did you learn today, Lo?" I asked, looking at a crayon scribbled paper with a cartoon picture of Adam and Eve on the front. "Did you learn about Adam and Eve?" I asked, trying to get the ball rolling.

"Yes" said Lola, very seriously, "Adam and Eve were naughty. They didn't follow directions, and they had a biiiiiiiig time out."

I about died! How funny is that?!

Last weekend I had to get out of here, as I couldn't quite get over the tragic death of my beloved Bitty Kitty. We decided on Thursday to drive to Seattle on Saturday for a change of scenery. We were to drive over early and stay with my aunt in her lovely condo. The ride over was awesome! The kids slept or played the whole way, never complaining, even though it took us about 6 hours with so many food and potty breaks.

We set up camp in my aunt's two bedroom condo, with Lola, Wil and I in the guest bedroom, and Rowan staying in the living room. He has always been a noisy sleeper, and keeps the rest of us awake if he stays in the same room. I wish I had recorded his "goat noises" that he used to make when he was tiny. It was as if he was clearing his throat over and over. Very cute but extremely annoying at night.

Anyway, it was such a blast going to the "big city." The first night we took the kids to The Old Spaghetti Factory to meet a friend we hadn't seen in two years. She hadn't even met Lola yet! The kids did great! In fact, Mr. Piggy ate a huge meal of baby food and formula, and then crashed in his high chair. We just watched him sort of keel over slowly until I put a blanky under his head and he fell fast asleep there. After that we went home, had baths and put the kids to bed, which amazingly went really well. Minimal complaints from Lola, and no whining from Rowan, who just rolled over and went to sleep the minute he hit the porta crib.

The next morning we took the kids to the aquarium, which Lola adores! Her favorite exhibit is, of course, the octopus. She still loves the stuffed octopus we got there last January. It is the weirdest toy a little girl could pack around, but at least a stuffed octopus is hard to lose in a crowd of dollies. Anyway, she played there for and hour and a half, which is a record for little miss ADHD. We had to drag her out of the building. After that we had lunch with Wil's brother and his wife, and they got to meet Rowan for the first time. Then we headed home and amazingly got both kids down for naps.

I was absently looking at Petfinder.com, when I suddenly saw my dead cat looking back at me. Well, it wasn't him, but his twin! Wil and I couldn't believe the resemblence, so we left the kids with my awesome aunt and headed off to look at the cat, which happened to be a few miles away. Of course when we saw him in person I burst into tears, and had to take him home. We named him Spooky, but I call him "Little Black Kitty" which fits in better with the dumb names the rest of our cats have.

That night I cooked a great dinner for my aunt and my other aunt and uncle. The kids were still on their best behavior. Amazing! We ate and chatted, and then it was time for bed, as we had to go home in the morning.

In the morning we packed up and headed out to breakfast with some friends. The meal was amazing, and Rowan fell asleep again in the highchair. We followed up breakfast by going to an amazing chocolate factory, where I bought and consumed waaay too much chocolate. Mmmmmm. Then it was time to head for home. Of course we had to stop at the fruit stand on the way back, where we loaded up on yummy squash and fruits. Little Black Kitty entertained us on the way home by riding up on the dash. He sprawled across the dash, one leg hanging down, as if he owned the whole car.

Coming home was nice, but I wish we could have stayed longer. I wish we could go on a real vacation, for several days someplace warm with sandy beaches and palm trees, and umbrella drinks.

Until then I will have to be content with a toasty livingroom, a Miller Light, and a cuddly kitty. I think I can survive!

"Our kitty went to be with Jesus"

This morning I was up early rocking Rowan and watching the news. It was peaceful. Lola was still in bed and Wil had gone out to feed the horses. Suddenly there was a frantic knock at our door. Taking Rowan along I ran to the door to find our neighbor from 3 doors down crying on our doorstep.

"Your cat has been hit by a car" she said. "I saw him in the ditch, I think he is still alive!"

I handed the baby to her and ran, pj's and all, down to the gravel road. I could see his limp little body in the ditch. There was no movement except the wind in his puffy fur. When I got closer I could see he was dead. His little body looked so sad and defeated there in the grass. I picked him up and carried him to the porch where I laid him down. Numbly I wrapped him in a towel and thanked the neighbor for telling me. Just about then Lola woke up and I had a terrible time keeping her from coming outside to see the mess. She saw one paw peeking out from beneath the towel and asked what happened.

"Well, Bitty got hit by a big car" I answered, as best I could.

"He went to be with Jesus?" Lola asked.

"Yes, he did, Lo, he did."

Then the tears came. I had taken this little guy in three years ago almost to the day, just before Lola was born. He was left at the clinic, a pus-eyed ball of gooey fur that no one thought would live. I took him home with me for the weekend because I didn't want him to die alone. Three years later he was a beautiful sleek black cat with a famously puffy tail. Bitty was an amazing mouser, a good playmate for the kids, and a neighborhood favorite. He was the only cat I knew with a sense of humor. I hope to remember him the way he was rather than the last time I saw him, and I hope he didn't suffer. Losing a pet is so very hard. I guess heaven will have a lot fewer mice now!

"It was bumpy!!!"

We have had an eventful week. The highlight was Lola's first day of preschool. We got up early on Monday and got dressed up in school clothes. Then we waited for the school bus. Lola's bus is adorable. It is the proverbial "short bus" with only a few seats on it. The local pastor drives it, and it is filled with 2-4 year old kids. After weeks of whining to ride the bus and go to big kid school, I was worried that Lola would finally get her chance and back out with fear once she saw the bus. Oh, no. I didn't even get a goodbye. She barely humored me with a picture before climbing those tall stairs and sitting next to her little friend from church. It was sad to see my baby girl going off to school, but I know she will have loads of fun this year.

Later that day I picked her up from daycare.

"Did you have fun at school today?" I asked, "How did you like the school bus?"

"It was bumpy!" Lola replied. Interestingly, a friend's little girl said the exact same thing when her mom asked her the same question. Must have been a bumpy ride.

Last weekend was Palouse Days. We all had fun watching the parade, looking at the car show, and catching the ping pong balls dropped out of a helicopter and trading them in for prizes. We had a huge stash of candy in the stroller from the parade, and Lola wasted no time in getting into it every chance she got. Lola and Rowan especially enjoyed the park and the new swings that we finally got put in down there. We have visited the swings 5 times since they went in last week! Rowan absolutely loves the swings, and giggles every time we put him in. Lola found an old wasp nest, and thought it was a pretty cool toy. In other news, Rowan got to move up to the 6-9 month toy stash this week, and he especially loves the animal train. I especially love the music this toy makes....it brings back fond memories of wishing the batteries would run out!

Well, it has been a long week, and sleep is much in order. Will update more later, when I am less deprived.

"What's your favorite chicken, Gramma?"

Today we went to the fair. I packed up both kids, the double stroller, and my grandma, and we drove 30 miles to the local county fair. This was made much more interesting in that Rowan had his 6 month shots this morning and has been a bit of a pill all day. I wouldn't have even attempted this endeavor, but I had promised Lola that we would go see the animals, and she has been holding me to it for the last few days. Lola was like a pinball in a pinball machine, ricocheting from one animal cage to another. Her favorite had to be the poultry barn.

"This one is my favorite!" she said, pointing to a weird rooster with a puffball hairdoo.

"This one is my favorite!" she said again, this time pointing at a loud goose contained in a hay bale enclosure.

You can see where this is going. She had to have at least 20 favorites.

We saw the goats and the bunnies, but couldn't see the pigs (darn!) or the cows (double darn!) because the kids were showing them for ribbons at that time. Instead, we walked through the craft and food barns. Rowan took it all in. He actually thoroughly enjoyed his outing.

After Lola endured the arts and crafts barns, we let her go to the carnival. She insisted on riding the helicopter ride, which cost me two bucks and a trip to the ticket booth, complete with a lovely interaction with a toothless carnie. Anyway, Lola did a wonderful job riding the helicopter like a big girl all by herself.

After that we rode the carousal. Well, first we had to visit Miss Toothless again, as Mommy lost two bucks worth of tickets. Arg. Then we played one carnival game, and another freakin' 2 bucks won her a tiny stuffed fish, probably made in China and tainted with lead.

Overall, we had a great time. We ended our outing by eating a gigantic elephant ear, which I learned is different than a funnel cake only because the elephant ear is made from a dough while the funnel cake is made from a batter. Yikes.

This was our second big day in a row. Yesterday we went to ride the combines with Grampy. I nervously handed my kids up at least 10 feet to my dad for a very good picture. Then Lola got to go for a combine ride while Rowan posed in the wheat, and tried to poke his eye out with the wheat stalk. After Lola's ride I was able to convince her to pose for a couple more pictures, but she wouldn't look at the camera. This was because the entire area was teeming with gigantic hopping grasshoppers. She couldn't stop obsessing about the bugs, and we ended up catching one later. I think it might still be loose in my Jeep. Probably a crispy critter by now. Oh well, it should fit in nicely with the moldy goldfish crackers and other debris under the seat.

Overall our week was pretty good. I have enjoyed having some time off from work, but am coming into a 5 day on call stretch. Hopefully I will come out the other side alive and kicking, and will be ready for another break with the kids.

"Summer's over Mommy"

Well, I guess summer isn't officially over until the end of September, but it sure feels like it. There is a chill in the air, and we actually had to turn on our heat yesterday morning. Wil resists turning on the heat like it might cause the plague or something. It took me pointing out that Rowan's fingers were turning blue for him to allow me to set the thermostat at a whopping 65 degrees. Ooooh, tropical temperatures here! Not!

Lola is sad to see the summer go. I put away her pool, and cleaned up her water toys. She asked me this morning if we could have another summer. I told her that we would have to wait a whole year for another one. Unfortunately, Lola thinks her birthday is always just around the corner, and that Christmas is always next week, so the concept of an entire year is out of her grasp.

I got a lovely break from work last week...6 days off in a row! Wil had to work, however, so we were looking for things to do since the weather was so crummy. I happened to be breezing through a gem book looking for info on garnets, when I stumbled across a page about opals. It mentioned that there used to be an opal mine in a small town nearby. I was pretty sure that the town had long since disappeared, but I knew that there was a road with the same name near here. I drove the kids over to my mom's and picked her up for a road trip.

"We going on an adventure, Mama?" Lola asked...to her any trip in the car is an adventure!

We drove to the road I was thinking of, and sure enough found evidence of homesteads and a grain depot that marked the spot where the town once existed. I was driving down a gravel road when suddenly my mom spotted an old iron gate amongst the thick bushes off to the side of the road. We backed up and got out of the car to explore. The gate marked the entrance to a cemetery! The trail up the hill was overgrown with wild grasses and rose bushes. It was eerily quiet and very peaceful. We trecked up the hill and found very old headstones and grave markers hidden in the thick brush. It was obviously uncared for, but strangely pretty there. Hundreds of iris grew in the grasses. This place must be beautiful in the spring. I can only imagine the hundreds of iris blooms among the gravestones.

We spent about 1/2 an hour exploring the cemetery. Lola thought that this was a great adventure and helped us find the old headstones in the overgrowth. Of course she had no idea the significance of the special ground we were exploring, but she seemed to enjoy the outing. I took several pictures of the lonely burial ground hidden in a thicket in a wheatfield in the middle of nowhere.

The kids and I came home refreshed somehow from our experience on the hill. I spent the rest of the day feeling blessed that we live in such a pretty place, and thankful for our family and our lives.

"Farewell to my tree" and "Mommy, look a building!"

Well, our tree is gone. I'm actually a little sad about it. Seems that our big white birch tree ended up catching some weird tree disease. It leafed out this spring, but slowly turned brown as the summer went on. I was in denial, but Wil had the neighbor (who apparently is the local tree expert I guess) look at it and he declared it dead. This tree was not only very pretty, but it was the only tiny source of shade on the west side of our house. Without it, I'm afraid we will fry even more than normal on the deck. Above is a nice picture of my tree when it was alive.

And here is the series of events leading up to its tragic end.


Lets all have a moment of silence for my tree.


Ok. Moving on. Today we were all in the Mom-mobile going to town to run errands. Lola was jabbering away in the back seat as usual. Suddenly she was quiet. Wil and I stopped talking...it was a deafening silence. Lola is never quiet....it was as if she was pondering something great. Usually when she is quiet like this she is preparing to say something immensely adorable. At this point we were driving through the suburbs of the city. We waited, knowing that she was about to say something awe inspiring and amazing.

"Mommy! Look! A building!!!"

Wowee. Really.....a building, in the city? No way! It was as if she had just now noticed that buildings exist in this particular town....we laughed and laughed, and of course then she laughed too, but with that "why are we laughing, oh well, I guess I will just join in" kind of laugh.

Rowan spent his day learning how to manipulate his hands enough to grab his binky and maneuver it slowly into his mouth. This is a major milestone in my book. Forget rolling over and sitting up, my kid can pick up his own damn binky!!!

Our awesome neighbor (the tree expert) brought us some fresh green beans tonight. Instead of asking for her usual goldfish night time snack, Lola wanted green beans in her monkey bowl. Ok, whatever, more power to her! What kind of kid eats raw green beans for a snack? That would be my kid!!!