We met Boomer!
And took silly-face self portraits!
And whined about popcorn until Mom and Dad bought us some!
And made up “jokes” then texted them to each other!
And I think some people were playing basketball, too?
Jan 252012
Dec 062011
Dec 052011
After a couple weeks of coughing with no other symptoms, Henry started running a fever on Sunday. A trip to urgent care earned him a diagnosis of bronchitis.
The doctor’s prescription:
five days of azithromycin
Mom’s prescription:
drop Eleanor off at preschool, return home for uninterrupted snuggles
unlimited episodes of Ben 10 and 1970s Hanna-Barbera Godzilla cartoons (Henry says Guardzilla, please nobody correct him)
Doritos and chocolate Santas at lunch
afternoon snuggles
pre-bathtime Mario Kart, including one extra race snuck in when Daddy and Eleanor weren’t looking
snuggles before bedtime
After feeling puny for a few days, Henry was doing naked karate after bathtime tonight, so I think he’s on the mend. I’ll let you decide with prescription worked best, but my money’s on the snuggles.
Nov 252011
Today was a monumental, historical day.
No, not just because today in 1867 Alfred Nobel patented dynamite. Or because in 1986 Reagan revealed the secret arms deal that uncovered the whole Iran-Contra affair thing.
But because my husband, voluntarily and of his own free will, SHOPPED ON BLACK FRIDAY.
Andy uttered the phrases, “I could go with you if you want,” and “if you’re going to regret not buying the electric griddle, just go ahead and buy it.” He went to Target. AND Wal-mart. AND Kohl’s where he stood in line for half an hour.
This event will probably happen only once in our lifetimes. Perhaps it should be recorded in something more important than this blog. The Congressional Record, maybe? Lugar’s still our senator, right? Who’s got his number? Today needs to be woven into the fabric of our country’s history.
(p.s. I did buy the griddle. $9.99! GO AMERICA!)
It’s really, really hard to type a blog post on an iPhone whose battery is almost out of juice. But I don’t feel too bad about not crafting a well written, thought out post, because seriously. It’s 11:14 pm on the night before Thanksgiving. Nobody’s online right now reading blogs, everyone’s either baking pie or resting up in preparation for eating themselves silly or perusing Black Friday ads while bitching about consumerism creeping into Thanksgiving day. I’m off to do the “resting up in preparation for eating myself silly” thing, much needed after a five-hour road trip earlier today that felt about seventeen hours too long. And that last sentence seems like it doesn’t even make sense, and the red bar in my battery indicator just became a red sliver, so goodnight!
Nov 212011
I always saw myself as a one-pet-at-a-time kind of gal. Almost ten years ago we got our dog, Bentley, and he’s awesome. That’s the only pet we’ll have, I thought.
Then we moved to Indy. And felt bad about leaving Bentley by himself while Andy and I worked all day. So we got Bentley a kitten, Simon.
Simon and Bentley make a great pair, and for the past almost-ten years I’ve been a one-pet-at-a-time kind of gal who makes a special exception for the two best pets ever. We added twins to the mix, and our house seemed very full of people and fur. Our family seemed complete. I even had surgery this summer to ensure we added no more creatures to this household, remember?
Well, meet Millie.
Millie showed up at our house this fall and decided we were her family. She appeared one afternoon while Henry and Eleanor were playing outside. They were in heaven and followed her around all day. The next day, she showed up again. And then the next. Andy and I did the whole “we do not need another pet we are NOT getting attached to this cat” routine while we attempted to track down her owner. Except then we started to worry about her at night, so we allowed her to sleep in the garage. And then we got tired of calling her “the cat” so we spent a morning texting each other name suggestions.
After a few days we determined that her original home was one block over from us. As the dad and son carried her back home, the kids kept it together, but then Eleanor sobbed her heart out for the rest of the night. Our animal-loving girl was heartbroken, and we were heartbroken for her.
The next day, we received an email from the neighbor’s wife. When they had brought Millie home the night before, she wriggled and squirmed until she broke free, and darted back in the direction of our house. No pressure, the neighbor said, you can choose what’s best for you. The cat obviously loves your family, so if you’d like to keep her, we’d let her join your family.
So, in a nutshell, it’s been over a month now, and we apparently have a second cat. I knew we were going to keep her when I heard Andy call her “sweetums” one night while trying to coax her upstairs. The kids adore her, she’s super friendly and likes to chat, and seems to be slowly getting used to Simon. She’s definitely made herself at home and has her rotation of good napping spots.
(photo by Henry)
Her name? We wanted something to play off her white fur. Betty (as in Betty White) was out because it sounded too much like Bentley. And she just didn’t seem like a Vanna. So she’s named after Milli Vanilli. Millicent Vanilla, we like to call her.
We weren’t planning on working our way towards a menagerie, but when the pet chooses you, how can you say no? I’ve somehow gone from a one-pet-at-a-time gal to a one-dog-and-okay-two-cats-but-seriously-that’s-it-we-are-NOT-adding-any-more-animals-to-this-family-I’m-serious kind of gal.
Sep 202011
I just did my very first guest post, which is up today over on the awesomely-named The Third Boob. It’s about preparing for twins—go check it out, and fellow multiples parents, let me know what I forgot. Because, admit it: two babies at one time means not remembering much of that first few months year.
Aug 222011
Words I need my kids to stop saying every 1.7 seconds
fart
butt
farts
farted
butts
•••
Four reasons why I was not surprised Apple spent time last week as the world’s most valuable company
•••
Sentences from the Femme Fatale tour Wikipedia page that make me excited for tonight’s Britney concert
For the finale, she was revealed to wear a kimono, with an anime version of herself silkscreened on one sleeve, over a sparkling, black bodysuit with LED lights built into it.
This is followed by a video intermission that contains the beginning of the music video for “My Prerogative,” and in which a stalker reveals that Spears is a secret agent.
Spears returns to the stage wearing a golden outfit and performs an Egyptian-inspired version of “Gimme More,” containing a barge and fireworks.
After the song changes back to the original version, Spears starts flying in a platform with giant angel wings.
She reappears to perform a martial arts-inspired version of “Toxic,” in which she defeats a group of ninjas.
(Ninjas, people. NINJAS!)
Sure, Cupid can wear my Snuggie.
Tents LOVE cheese.
Well, that’s between you and your monster.
No poopin’, no wipin’.
Henry, let Eleanor take her turn stomping on the frog.
I’m everybody’s skee ball machine.
Please quit pretending to fart and eat your supper.
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