Must remember...

Adorable and good...adorable and good...adorable and good...adorable and good...adorab...............

Backwords Bug

Ever since Bug began to talk, he's gotten hyphenated words backwards. We repeat the words back in the correct order but he persists in using the reverse order. When he grows out of it, I'll miss these signs of his little boy world:

whitey-tighties

top-tanks

talkie-walkies

Supporting the Solo Grocery Run

My phone, which had been through an entire battery by lunchtime today, rang again. Eyes rolled skyward, I answered bluntly and found my husband at the other end. Phew - not from work! I was about to drop my guard and enjoy the call when I realized he was calling from the grocery store. *sigh*

"Should I get a lot of hamburger meat? The avocado's not ripe so I need a different dinner."

"I don't think it's a good idea. The freezer's not fixed and I'd hate to have more meat spoil. We'll stock up again after the parts get here." I ignore the part about the avocado, figuring all will become clear eventually. My call-waiting beeps and we hang up.

A bit later the house phone rings, another call from the store. "What kind of wild rice do we get? I thought it comes in a box but all they have here is bags. Long grain?"

"The wild rice comes in a yellow box, the size of box mac & cheese. It's down by party couscous (tricolor - very festive)."

"Oh! Right. Not in foreign foods. With the other rice." I hear cart noises and picture his path from imports to domestic carbs. A beat or three after the cart noises stop, he says, "I don't see it. Long grain & wild?"

"No, just wild. Yellowish box. Either on the very top shelf, or down toward the bottom. Around your knees. The only kind of all-wild rice they have," I offer, "We get it all the time! You must remember the box?"

"Welllllll..." There's a pause, then he begins to ask about salsa (which is right next to domestic rice in that aisle. He sounds much less stressed while talking salsa than he sounded about the rice. I think I should be worried.

"We like the lime & garlic salsa. Did you find the rice?"

"Oh! No. But salsa's right here. Lime & garlic store-brand?"

"That's fine. The rice should be toward the bottom. Do you see the party couscous?"

"HERE it is. On the bottom, near my ankles. How will anyone know to buy it if it's down there?"

More phone-support follows, on topics like cereal and baking supplies. I wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to just go myself. I wonder that every single time I don't go on the grocery trip. I wonder if I can use these calls on my resume in case I'm ever out for a telephone tech support position. Anyone who has ever sent her spouse out solo for groceries would probably hire me in an instant.

15 Home Games!

WAHOO!!

You may even be able to see the video clip...

Bling Bling!

I spent my weekend playing in the Hockey Fights MS tournament in Allentown, PA. A few women from my team (the Wings) joined forces with another team that didn't have a full roster (the Blades) and the "Blings" were born. We all had a great time! The Blades and their coach welcomed us warmly - by the second day we were chatting and teasing like old friends. Best of all, I even scored a couple of goals! Much fun!

All proceeds from the tournament benefited the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

I'm off to Chicago for a few days for work...

A little flood, anyone?

Our usually calm trickle-creek took over the world this afternoon. I can't really say we had rain - it was more like Niagara Falls decided to go on vacation and was passing through our town on the way to DC or something.

The pictures are a little foggy, as I had the camera under a gallon size baggie to keep it dry (it was still pouring out). Thankfully, the creek is at the lower edge of our property. We got some water in the basement but the houses down the hill from us were much worse off. Also, for some magic reason, we're the only house in the road with power. Chris thinks they're afraid I might rewire something if our power goes off. Go figure!

Endangered Monkeys

In case you were worried, monkeys in our backyard need not fear; they are protected by the self-proclaimed (and self-dressed) "Monkey Rescue Boys" who, aided by the dragon, will ensure that no monkeys are lost or stranded. The MRB set off just after lunch, with their father and "some REAL rope."

In case you weren't worried, maybe you should consider it.

Who's crazy?

The gods must be crazy. Either that, or my husband is. "The Gods Must Be Crazy" was on TV and it seems he paused on the channel long enough for it to become of interest to the kids. They spent a good portion of dinner tonight recounting the hilarity for me (I worked in the city today), laughing so hard that tears spilled out and hiccups were had. We may need a copy of our own so they can enjoy repeat viewings without the annoyance of commercials.

No change

I managed to give myself permanent blue hair highlights this week, using cyan ink from my printer (I was trying to fix the printer…it was hot, I was pushing hair off my face…didn’t realize I had ink all over my finger!). After several curious looks and guarded comments (as if they thought I maybe liked odd blue patches in my hair) during meetings yesterday, I resolved to try to fix my hair. So, this morning, I spent half an hour worrying my hair would fall out/turn pink/break into frizzy shards while I colored it, wondering if blue streaks would be better than a hot pink head for an important meeting tomorrow. In the end, it seems I picked a good shade to use – the blue streaks are no longer visible and my hair is exactly the same color as it usually is. Still...while this result is exactly what I wanted, it’s sort of disappointing to go through the whole coloring your hair dance for absolutely no change.

In love, again, some more

I've always thought Sean Connery is fine to see and heavenly to listen to. On recommendation from my Mom, I got "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," a 1959 Disney film, off Netflix. There he is! Sean himself, all young and dreamy! The film is a cute, very predictable Disney, but I'll watch it one hundred times if Sean will be in each showing...

Rafting with Rob

We spent a beautiful afternoon rafting on the Delaware with our friend Rob. We used to (read: before kids) go every year but have missed at least seven summers. This is the first year the kids are old enough to enjoy the trip and boy, did they! Rafting has plenty of adventure with mild rapids, rock climbing, and bus rides (to and from launch points) and just enough relaxation - floating in the river, lounging on a warm rock. Add a bit of food and a whole lot of sunscreen and you have a perfect day!

Lars, hockey guy & birdwatcher

Lars has adopted our enormous guide to North American birds. He carries it around on his tour of the day almost as faithfully as he carries Glubby. The three of them may often be found on the front porch, trying to match the birds on the feeder to pictures in the book. He knows exactly where to find Cardinals, Blue Jays and Canada Geese (although we thankfully haven't got the geese at home - they hang out at the school). He can find the woodpecker section but he's a bit unclear on which woodpeckers we have - usually you can hear them better than you can see them during full foliage. I'm impressed that he's learning to use the index. I'm impressed that he hasn't abandoned the book (it's pretty bulky and heavy). If he hasn't got the tome along when he spys an unfamiliar bird, he will usually tell you a made-up name with great authority. These fictional monikers used to be easy to spot ("largle winged tree bird" or "andoblesson walder") but lately I've noticed the non-names are getting trickier. Today, for example, we beheld the mighty sight of a "banded blackwing wren" and if he hadn't been staring so intently at the 'band-aid' wrapper, I might have missed the jump from reality to not quite. Kids keep you on your toes!

What doesn't kill you...

I made it through the clinic! I didn't require any hospital visits or extra oxygen (although quite a few band-aids and an awful lot of gatorade went to the cause)! I got a nice patch with an acheivement stick for surviving. I plan to get it put on my team jacket so anyone who knows what this clinic is like can be all impressed:


Chris and the kids came to watch the last hour tonight and then we all went out to Rita's for ices after. Yum!

Do not try this at home (it's a waste of good wine)

According to Chris, white wine and club soda do not make a very good poor man's champagne. *sigh* The things he gets up to while I'm out playing hockey!

Self improvement

Since I took up playing ice hockey last year and found that I enjoy it, I've made a point of taking lessons and going to clinics in an attempt to improve my fledgling skating skills. In January, my rink started advertising a week-long power skating clinic for beginner to intermediate skaters. Chris encouraged me to sign up for it and, after consulting the calendar and my bank account, I did. Flash forward seven months to today, the first day of the clinic. It was not as painful as I've been fearing and I did not perish halfway through the first session...but I do have that, "Oh, I'm going to be sore in the morning," feeling. We'll see how I feel on Saturday when the whole thing is over. Is it sad that I'm glad there are a bunch of under 11's in the clinic so that there are at least a few people I can out-skate?

Things to do in San Francisco, part 1

Besides lose your heart...

Tour the Boudin Sourdough Bakery. Who knew watching bread being made could enthrall kids for an hour and a half?


Feed the birds. We did, twice.


Get ice cream at Swenson's. Jody's right, Chewy Crunchy Chocolate was totally the best pick.

Test out a west-coast playground. Good ratings were given by both reviewers.


House hunt. In my next life (or when I have $142M, whichever comes first...), I'm living here:

More words the kids have taught us

Intendo - the handheld version of a video game console which causes you to forget whatever it was you intended to do.

Specific Ocean - the one touching the USA West Coast, right by where the wedding was. As in, "Mama! Come this way! The Specific Ocean is RIGHT HERE!"


Terrorgraph Hill - the one with all the steps and parrots in San Francisco or an amusement park ride Chris would rather avoid.