Elmo mania hits home...

I grew up loving Sesame Street. When I was a little girl, my mom made sure that when I started school (at 5) I could count, I could say the alphabet, I could write and spell my name, tie my own shoes, and do several neat little tricks like that. So many kids don't know those things when they go into school.
So, the experts say that watching the telly is bad for kids. Sesame Street has already taught Indiana, at just 19 months to say his ABC's and 123's. He recognizes those three letters and those three numbers when he sees them written down. When you say "One" to him, he says "Two"! He has recently started "sharing" with his stuffed Elmo. He will take a bite of his food, then try to give a bite to Elmo. He doesn't just sit and stare, he gets up and dances and shouts. When he hears the opening bars "Sunny day, chasing the clouds away..." He will drop everything and come running! So, screw the experts, We love Elmo.

Ding Dong the Crib is Gone...

Indiana used to have one of those excellent cribs that converts from a little baby bed into a day bed style toddler bed. Today, that bed found a new home with our very pregnant neighbor and Indiana got his new "sesame street elmo toddler bed"... complete with new sheets, pillows, pillow cases and comforter. He loves it. In the store he hugged the box and shouted, "elmo, elmo, elmo". As his dad was putting it together he had to be in the middle of it all; once it was all set up, he climbed in and took a nap. So, I love it, too!
(you might have noticed how bare the wall behind his new bed looks in the picture... I recently had to move many of his posters from that wall. Anything he could reach he was pulling down to investigate.)

In other news... 5 days ago, I did the unthinkable. For the first time in ten years I got a haircut. My hair, which was down below my waist, now swings lightly across the top of my shoulders. We removed fully two feet of length from my hair.

Break in the Rain...

Boy, is it RAINING! Thankfully we aren't being hit as badly as some parts of the Pacific Northwest, but it is WET. Our local news station out of Portland, Oregon KPTV has the forecast. Nothing but more rain is on its way for the foreseeable future.

We took advantage of a momentary break in the rain to run out and take a few pictures. Indy just grows more and more and more everyday. We are all looking forward to his birthday (5 months away) when we take him out to visit his Florida relatives.

Veterans Day

Veteran' Day has always been a special day to me. Sure, when I was young the day off of school and the big parade in town was probably all I cared about.
Growing up changes a lot of things.
When I think of Veteran's now (not the day, but the group of people) the first image that springs to mind is my grandfathers tattoo. The anchor tattooed on his forearm in a far flung place called Iwo Jima was a lifelong reminder of his service to this country. I think of my dad, the one who raised me. He wasn't a very nice fellow, far from it, but he served his country in Vietnam with the United States Marine Corp. I think of my uncle Jim, who went to that same Asian nation, returning forever changed. I think of Duck's Grandfather, sitting in his bunker with that u-boat in his sights. There's my best friend's father, spending an entire career in service with the Army. My mom's brother Rick, keeping the Navy's F14's ship-shape at Miramar and in the Persian gulf. My grandfather's brother Tom, who's ship was shot out from underneath him, losing many of his friends in the unforgiving southern pacific sea. Many an ex boyfriend sailed the seas and hit the beaches in places most of us have never heard of. Indiana's dad, even, spent his time inside an M1A1.
So, Veteran's day is a celebration of all of those who have served or are serving our country, our community and our family in one branch of the service or another...

Remember, those Veteran's aren't nameless faceless folks. Those Veteran's who risked it all, some paying the ultimate price, those guys are your brothers, your sons, your fathers, your uncles and cousins, Veteran's aren't some strangers in a sea of other strangers, and the day isn't about celebrating wars (past or present), it's about acknowledging the risk and the sacrifice these men (and women) are willing to take on your behalf. It's about holding them close, even if only in spirit or memory, and saying "thank you for making my life better, thank you for making it safer for my children to grow up in this world"...

I miss cleanliness the most.

I remember when a guest could show up unannounced and I did not have to blush and apologize for the state of my home. It seems like a long time since those days, at least as long as Indiana has been walking.

I do not spend a lot of time in Indiana's bedroom. Today I wandered in there to check on his laundry, see if it was time to wash; to my horror, I discovered that of his three toy boxes, none were more than half full. All his toys are thrown haphazardly around his room. So, consequently, today Indiana is going to learn the joys of putting toys IN the boxes. Hopefully it will be a lesson we can learn quickly and painlessly. Hey, I can hope.

Happy Halloween (yesterday)...

Happy Halloween!

Trial run

Our fair city (ok town) does a wonderful event for Halloween. On the Saturday before Halloween, the businesses in downtown throw open their doors and offer treats to the city's costumed children.
This served as a wonderful trial run for us to see if Indiana would wear his costume. He enjoyed it! When he was done (he decided that an hour of walking the pavements of old town was enough) he plopped onto a bench and started removing his costume.
Later:
We took Indy through a local haunted house, where he tried to get the monsters to pick him up. He smiled at them and giggled in delight, not the least bit frightened.

The kid is a natural at Halloween!

New over-alls

Every now and then a package comes to us from the other side of the country. Yesterday a package came with two of the most adorable sets of overalls, of which this is one. Both of them fit perfectly (which is always a challenge for the relatives on the other coast as they don't see him everyday except through this blog). Anyways, I love them, thank you Grammy and Moo.

Tomorrow the city of Albany's downtown association is hosting a trick or treat session with downtown businesses from 11am to 1pm. Then, on Tuesday, our local mall will open its doors to young costumed candy fiends at 6pm to provide a safe, warm, dry, place for the local children.

Pictures of his Halloween costume to come...

Peek-a-boo!

Indiana is nearly ready for Halloween! He can shout "Boo" in a voice loud enough to wake the dead. And, although he hasn't yet mastered "trick or treat", he can chant "candy candy candy candy candy candy candy" until you either give in or your head explodes.

We have been practicing our scary "Boo" while playing peek-a-boo.

Indy recommends...

For those of you who have not recently been to see Daffodils and Dragons, Now is the time! She has recently posted a bunch of new brilliant desktop quality photos.

I hope she continues to post on a regular basis again, as her work with her camera and photo editors is amazing!

Playing into the sunset...

Sometimes I wonder if Duck likes basketball as much as his dad and I do. Sometimes I wonder if Indy will like Basketball as much as I do. All I know is that if we start him this young, we got a shot!
Duck got his first hoop before he could crawl, so did Indiana. We have even worked it out wonderfully... Duck will be a senior in high school and just the right age to coach Indy's first kindergarten basketball team. He gets to learn from the best.

I still don't know what team Duck got on, but I will let all of you know when he lets me know!

like father like son

Sometimes it surprises me just how like Chris that Indiana is. They even sleep the same way. Now, I admit that Duck looks an awful lot like me, but at least he has some of his dads mannerisms. With Indy, I got a clone baby. Anyways, it amuses me to think what Chris will say when he sees this picture I just took of the two of them sound asleep... Wonder if I should have told him before I posted it.

Try Outs are coming!

It is that time of year again. Try outs for basketball season are this coming week. I know that if Duck applies himself he can make the A team. It is all up to him, and we are all proud of him no matter which team he makes.

Duck: Good Luck at try outs! I hope you make the team that you want to make, no matter which one that is. I love to watch you play, and as long as you are happy playing, I am all in behind ya!

Sleep tight, sweet prince...

"Always Kiss your children good night, even if they are already asleep."
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Never ordinary, Indiana cant even sleep the accepted way. Always, some part of his body is hanging off of his bed. We picked up a "yellow foam fold out Sesame Street couch" to cushion his landing when he rolls out of bed during the night. Apparently it works, since he doesn't usually wake up when he rolls out onto the floor.

Not like Mom!

My mom is absolutely amazing at photo editing. It seems like she can do anything. I cant even remove all the red eye from a picture, so i have to make it black and white to share it.

Indiana's schedule is screwed up again. 130am and he's up and frisky. Man this makes me nuts that he cant get his sleep schedule ironed out. I can't wait to be not tired anymore. When does that happen?

Come and get it!

There are a number of steps one must take to prepare for dinner in our home:

1) Remove clothing.
2) Ceremonially spread the big white tarp on the carpet.
3) Chase a screaming toddler three times around the house.
4) Plop the recently caught toddler on the mat.
5) Retrieve dinner from kitchen.
6) Set plate on mat.
7) Retrieve toddler from bathroom (where he has run as soon as your back was turned)
8) Park toddler on mat.
9) Offer toddler fork.
10) Duck. (this is optional, as he will probably hit you whether you move or not)
11) Pull noodles from your hair.
12) Pretend to take a bite of toddlers food (he wont eat it if you don't)
13) Try desperately not to laugh when you see this:

After dinner Indy enjoys a long warm bath and mama drinks.

Boba Fett

Chris's Halloween pumpkin... Boba Fett's insignia. I haven't gotten to Indy's pumpkins yet. I am hoping Duck will volunteer to come help me (hint hint).

Bored?

Ever feel like you have nothing to do? Do you seem to have too much time on your hands? The solution is here... Hang out with a toddler all day long. You wont believe how busy a tiny person can be. Everything is interesting and must be poked at, mushed up, climbed on, jumped off, pulled at and thrown about.

doesn't he "look" like he's as innocent as a new born lambkin? He aint. Don't let the smirking face fool ya. He's a speed demon who can throw a new stick of deodorant into the toilet faster than you can turn around and shout "NO"!

So, today i went to target and bought new deodorant.

i know i never will say thank you.

This is not an Indiana post. This is not a Brother Duck post. This is a life lesson post.
I have a lot on my mind. It started out innocuously enough:
I got an offline instant message from an old boyfriend. Said old boyfriend will be in town for two weeks and would i like to see him while he is here. I haven't seen him in a few years, so yes i would like to see him... BUT... Chris (that's the spouse for those of you not in the know) cant stand this particular ex. He likes every single one of my friends and ex's EXCEPT this one.
This ex he detests.
So, this devolved into a discussion of history and my past and my "feelings". Those who know me KNOW i HATE discussing my feelings. I detest sloppy mushy stuff. There in lies another problem. You see, the spouse brings up a totally off topic point. This post is about that point:

I have another old friend who is coming to town in December (you know who you are). Chris wants to meet this old friend because he has heard many, many old tales from Melody (my best friend... Since Teresa dissolved into the mist many moons ago) and myself about the good old days. This December-visiting friend has always been kind and funny on his own blog, polite and ironic when commenting on ours. We were talking about what this old friend meant to me. I told my husband all kinds of funny things: the time my friends parents told me they thought i was a vampire, the apple tree around the corner from my house, the time we all got drunk at a party and he crawled home through the snow (leaving my other friends and i to frantically check the lake for cracks, hoping he didn't fall in, since he didn't tell anyone he was going home), me choosing this friend FIRST when we played football even though this friend couldn't play to save his own life, me choosing this friend LAST when we played football because he couldn't play to save his own life, how the friend's parents grounded him from ME as punishment for everything, about the time the friend scored an against all odds touchdown in the next block, and how we would sit on the phone together from 11pm to 3am saying nothing... Just being there. I told my husband that without this friend i wouldn't have made it. No way would i have lived through my life without my friend. I told my husband that i was about the (curse word alert) Shity-est person in the world because when it came down to it, i wasn't a friend to my friend. When it came down to it, i hurt him, i used him, i treated him like shit, and i never ever once said thank you, not ever. i probably never will. Years ago, instead of being a self absorbed, self centered, (curse word alert #2) bitch, i should have told that friend, "Thank you for saving my life. Thank you for always being there for me no matter how bad things got. Thank you for holding my hand when i needed it and holding my hair when i drank too much. Thank you for sitting quietly on the other end of the phone when i couldn't say anything. Thank you for living the bad years with me. Thank you for being you, because without you, i wouldn't have made it." I never will tell him thank you. Even now, as i write this, i say i "should have" but i never did. And now, the years have passed, the friendship has waned, lost over time.

I want to see them both when they come to town. The ex, because once i cared, and i am curious, but no loss if i don't see him. The friend, because maybe this time i will tell him thank you. Maybe this time i will tell him I'm sorry. Probably this time i will just buy him coffee, talk about old times, i wont say thank you, i wont say I'm sorry, and i will walk away feeling lousy and he will walk away feeling smug, and we will see each other again in 3 or 4 years and i will again have another chance that i wont take.

Scenery, as promised.

Oregon's coastline is some of the most beautiful 304 miles in the world (320 driving miles on hwy 101). We visited the central Oregon coast, hitting the highlights in Newport, Depot Bay, Cape Foulweather, Devil's Bunch Bowl, and Lincoln City (we came home via hwy 18 & hwy 22 stopping at Spirit Mountain Casino for dinner and a picture of the sunset to conclude the day). It was around 70 degrees (Fahrenheit), which is phenomenal for a late October day. No rain, and only mild wind. So, that is all the narration for this photos i will give , they speak for themselves (oh i have to add that all of these pictures were taken from ground level).