now you're talking

me-
"finally your room is organized and clean,
you should pick a color for your walls."

g-
"i'd like brown."

me-
"light brown?  dark brown?"

g-
"just brown."

me-
"like sand?  chocolate?  dirt?"

g-
"no mom!  just brown! 
like the top of a maple iced donut."

me-
"now you're talking."

truth is tweezy

me-
"hey, why do you have the tweezers?"

k-
"so i can dig tiny rocks out of the earth."

me-
"you can not use those for rocks - i need them!"

k-
"so you don't grow a beard?"

me-
"uh...  yeah...  well...  yes.  pretty much."

sheesh!

honest and to the point

Der Santa,

I hav ben good and bad.
Ples bring me presnts.

Luv,
K

the tenth year

one new bike
two lost teeth
three harry potter books
four beautiful seasons
five dollar footlongs
six sides of the trouble dice
seven new friends
eight gymnastics meets
nine point one on bars
ten crackle-polished toes

it has been quite a year.
happy birthday to m, the big 1-0.

crazy eight

dear g,

you are eight!
i have something to tell you.
you may already know this,
but i am a tomboy.

when i was little,
i loved -
bikes,
blue jeans,
basketball,
creeks,
bugs,
frogs,
salamanders,
rocks,
and old bottle caps.

forts,
cap guns,
matchbox cars,
baseball cards,
pocket knives,
war games,
legos,
comic books,
star wars,
and superman.

i still do.

so, on your birthday,
i just want you to know
how fun it is to have a boy.

i thank my lucky stars for you,
today and everyday.

happy birthday, g-money.
xo,
mom

happy mother's day

guest poet, m.

You stand out in a crowd.
The best mom in the world.
Food is great.
Shelter's cozy.
Helping me with homework,
giving me advice.
Great sense of style,
and awesome clothes.
I love you,
and you love me.

wordless wednesday

new earrings.
to go with the new holes in her ears.

bunny liaison

for future reference.

on saturday m made a list for the easter bunny.
it looked a little like a christmas list to me,
but i kept quiet.

she put her list in a folder and went to bed.
she also wrote a note to the tooth fairy.
and put it under her pillow.
did the tooth fairy know the easter bunny?
could she tell him what she wanted for easter?
you know, relay the message?

when she woke up the note was gone.
and in its place was her list.
from the folder.
we can therefore deduce (deduct?) that
the tooth fairy read the list
and delivered the message to the easter bunny.
case closed.

but then.
the "other two" got wind of this occurrence.
(happenstance?)
they immediately got busy writing their lists.
both looked a little like christmas lists to me,
but i kept quiet.
they schemed and hoped and wheeled and dealed,
and begged m to put their lists under her pillow last night.
along with yet another note explaining the situation.

we told them we weren't sure if the tooth fairy
did indeed know the easter bunny personally,
or if she would even be out checking
again for teeth so soon.
or she might be busy and not enjoy being
the easter bunny's bitch liaison.

no, we were assured, she delivered for m,
she would do it for them as well.
she wouldn't mind a bit.
duh, obviously.

and sure enough,
this morning the note was gone,
and their lists were moved from under m's pillow,
to the breakfast table.
much excitement followed.

so to sum up -
the tooth fairy knows the easter bunny -
they are great friends -
and apparently don't mind helping each other -
checking for teeth or delivering baskets/messages,
as needed, interchangeably.
every night.

and i can only speculate,
but the tooth fairy must be completely exhausted
all from digging a large hole trying to help a bunny out.

that's my girl

the little kids and i watched
pirates of the caribbean
while mm and m were away.

i debated because the skeletons
are a little creepy,
but i figured i could fast forward
if i needed to.
(turns out we didn't make it that far,
might finish it this weekend)

g asked a million questions,
i had to pause it several times
to answer all the -
"who's that?"
"what?"
"why?"

k was pretty quiet.
until the sword fight scene
in the blacksmith shop.

she leaned over and whispered,
"he is really cute."

i whispered back,
"who?"

"will turner."

that's my girl!
but that's my legolas.
ahem.

shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen, and wrong.

"m says my hair is turning brown."
k said this morning.

"yes, it does look a little darker,
but i'm sure it will lighten up again
this summer."
i said.

"NNNNNOOOOOO!!!!!"
she shouted.

"what are you shouting about?"
"i want brown hair!"
"but why?  your blonde hair is so pretty!"

"m's hair is brown,
g's hair is brown,
daddy's hair is brown,
YOUR hair is brown,
and THEN I GET STUCK WITH THIS!!!"
she points at her head.

oh good lord.

smagze

"mommy, can i smagze your feet?"
"yes, but what's a smagze?"

really, you shouldn't have

"mommy, this ring is for you!"
"thanks, k, i love it."
(put on finger)
"wherever did you get it?"

"oh, i just found it, in the parking lot."
ew.

nerd

k, at her first 3D movie, whispers,
"daddy, i think these glasses make me look like a nerd."
(the r sounds more like a w, norwd)

comfort/conformity

m loves dresses.
and skirts.
and skorts.

so last week when she came home
and said she needed sweatpants,
i was a little shocked.

"sweatpants?!?"

"yeah, it's a little cold at school."

"cold?!?"

"well, that and i want to be comfortable."

"comfortable?!?"

"and also, everyone else is wearing sweatpants."

"oh."

OMG!
and so it begins.
help!

wordless tuesday

wow.

no computer monday

at the urging of our seven-year-old,
we declared yesterday,
"no computer monday"
- which is no problem, really, because
we don't use the computer that much.

or so i thought.

it was infinitely more difficult
than i could have imagined.

i sat down in front of the screen
no fewer than 6 times to check my email,
facebook, blogs, etc.
before reminding myself
the computer was off.

g did pretty good
with no starcraft.
we almost chucked the whole idea around 4pm,
but persevered until the bitter end.
we are not quitters.

thank goodness monday is over.
until next week.

all the difference

this weekend i missed
nyc by about 400 miles.
bah.

instead i spent the weekend in western ny
at mm's high school reunion.
fascinating people watching, btw.
with casinos.
fun times.

as i was getting ready,
i was also bathing kids,
multi-tasking-yo!

i put on makeup,
i know, weird!
and dried my hair.
with.a.hair.dryer.
i know!

i walked into the bathroom
for some hairspray - i know! -
and g says from the tub,

"wow mommy! you look different!"

"yes, i dried my hair."

then he says,
"that and a little lipgloss,
makes all the difference!"

so true.
i know.
i just forget sometimes.

no laughing matter

this past weekend our good friends
from college stopped by for the night.
they are driving from
maine to florida.
this after driving from
florida to maine.
with their three kids.
and their dog.
saints.
complete saints.

they came bearing lobster.
we talked while the kids played.
we laughed.
the next day it poured the rain.
the kids played anyway.
i always forget to play in the rain.

when i was putting m to bed,
she asked me to sit with her for a while.
"tomorrow,"
i answered,
"i want to talk with my college friends now."

"ok,"
she said,
"what did you do in college?"

"oh, we laughed, a lot."
i said, reminiscing.

"you used to laugh?"
she said, pondering.

really? has it been that long?

middles

as an eldest,
i don't think much about
being stuck in the middle.

mm is also an eldest,
so it doesn't cross his mind either.

what's the big deal?

g is the only boy
stuck in the middle
of two of the girliest girls
on the planet.

i'm starting to see how the middle kid
gets the shaft.
can't do what the eldest does,
then when they finally get their big chance,
the baby gets to "do" at the same time.
super stinky.

lately, i've been trying to think of
different things where
the "middle"
is the best part.

oreos
burgers
middle earth
donuts

can you think of any others?
here's to middles!
and oreos.

to the nines

our baby is nine today.
i am in complete denial.

i don't know when it happened,
but suddenly she is different.
a little more self-assured,
a little less shy,
a little more comfortable in her skin.

she doesn't need me as much,
yet she still wants me around.
most of the time.

she listens, usually,
eats anything, mostly.

sometimes she asks questions,
i don't really have answers to.
that scares me a bit.

her feet are the same size as mine,
she likes to wear my high heels.
that scares me a lot.

i can't carry her to bed anymore.
even piggyback.

but she is forever our baby.
the original.