Great Falls

Everyone woke up in the worst mood yesterday. (Our idiot neighbors are college kids who spend way too much time drinking in their yard late at night instead of sneaking into bars, where they belong; kids today, I tell you.) By 7:30am it was clear that we had to get out of the house or the consequences would be ugly. I was thrilled when Sue called and suggested going to Great Falls.

Liam fell asleep on the way there. This was the only photo I got of him that wasn't a blur of movement.



Daniel was wearing a shirt that I loved on Liam, and Dash, too, I think. Isn't Daniel the cutest little muffin? I think here he was saying, "Ah goo."



The girls had a blast climbing on the rocks. Thea almost refused to go after Todd jokingly and off-handedly said, "You're not going to fall into the water again, are you?" About two minutes later she told me quite adamantly, "Mommy, I'm not going to the park. I will fall off the waterfall." D'oh! It took forever to convince her to get in the car.



It also took a while to convince Tina to get in the car. Poor pup gets carsick. Yuck!

She, like the rest of the family, came home exhausted.

Eh-mo!

Nothing beats kicking back with your sippy of milk and watching Elmo after a busy day hanging out with friends and petting farm animals.

Conked out

It was kind of a long day.

Video of our 2.5 kids

Thea has learned to swing by herself. Liam loves the new jogging stroller we got off Freecycle. And Tina just wants to chew her bone, can she have five minutes of peace to just chew her bone, please, GOD!

Remember Frosty?

Yeah, you remember Frosty, don't you?

Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher," said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven who also said that he believes the Earth is 14,000 years old. "The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. ... The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."

He was on the Daily Show last week. Insane, or crazy like a fox? [Via Slog.]



And while I'm linking to things from The Stranger: Poor Jesus. We can all relate, can't we?



[Jesus Christ's Cool Blog.]

Imaginary friends

Nylonthread's post about Rosie's imaginary friend reminded me to mention Thea's imaginary sister. Or, most specifically, it's her "stister," as Thea pronounces it.

Her name is Gita, and I like to imagine that's short for the Bhagavad Gita. Sometimes Gita, like Thea herself, is a horse and sometimes she's an owl. Putting Thea to bed when she's a horse is a challenge, let me tell you.

Anyway, all I know of the Bhagavad Gita is from art history classes. I should really put it on my Must-Read list, along with all the other books I'll never get around to, like Ulysses and The Brothers Karamazov. How lovely is this:

Truly free is the sage who controls
his senses, mind, and understanding,
who focuses on freedom
and dispels desire, fear and anger.
(Fifth Teaching, v. 28)

Vignettes

Friday night Don and I tried to go to a movie, Blades of Glory. He's had a shitty couple of weeks at work, and I needed a break from the kids. We got there late and missed the first 10 or 20 minutes, but were both laughing louder than the rest of the audience so maybe that was a good thing. Sue thought we were both just giddy at being out of the house, but I think I found it so funny because for some reason it struck me that I was the Will Ferrell character and Don was Jon Heder.

Anyway, about 15 minutes after we sat down, Don got a call from Sue that their son Daniel had had another episode and they were heading to the emergency room. (He has a problem that causes his heart to stop. Everything seems to be worked out. They've got him on a new medication and he's back on the heart monitor, an inconvenience but not too terrible.) I drove Don to Children's Hospital, but managed to get lost on the way. Lost on the way to the emergency room, AGAIN. I totally suck.

So their daughter Lila spent the weekend with us.
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Saturday was actually quite fun. We took the kids to get their hair cut and then out for ice cream. I was going a bit over-board with the goofiness, my reaction to stress, I guess. At one point Lila said to me, "That's not funny, Kelly." "I know," I replied fake glumly, "I'm not funny." Thea immediately chimed in, "But you're cute and smart!" Aaaww.... Thanks, honey!
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Saturday night I decided to take Lila home so she could sleep in her own bed. She had woken up at 5:30 a.m. with a nightmare, and it was rather disconcerting that I was there and not her parents. Poor kid was exhausted.

I made the mistake of telling her the plan without adding that I was staying with her. Lila got really upset and it finally dawned on me that she thought I was taking her back to her place to drop her off. Alone. By herself. For the whole night. DUH. I felt like such an ass.
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Sunday I took Lila to visit her family in the hospital. (One of the saddest things ever: tiny hospital gowns.) That helped a lot, because she could see that everyone was fine. Exhausted and stressed out, of course, but basically fine.

A very nice lady offered Lila a stuffed bear as we were saying goodbye to Sue, which seemed to make Lila even more upset. I completely understood; somehow random kindness makes me lose my veneer of control, too. She started crying, and then I started crying. We were a mess. I was carrying her to the car and her head was on my shoulder, and at some point she looked up to see me crying and said, "Are you making fun of me?" I said, "No, I'm sad that you're sad!" She sniffed and laughed a little, and said, "Silly Kelly."
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Monday I kept Thea and Lila with me while Liam went off to daycare. I took the girls to work with me for an hour, mostly just to check in and give us something to do in the morning. They were a huge hit with my co-workers, and oddly were friendly to the ones I like and stand-offish to the ones I'm also wary of.

After the hot chocolate was spilled on my computer, I realized the folly of this plan and we went home to play in the yard. At one point, the girls were taking turns pushing each other on the swing set, laughing and playing so sweetly, and I was throwing the ball for Tina. It was all so idyllic that it just seemed like everything had to be okay.

Ice cream after haircuts

SCOTUS attacks; my uterus is mad, too

I'm sure you've heard the recent Supreme Court decision regarding late-term abortions. I'm a bit apoplectic about it. These kinds of abortion decisions are not made lightly by women who have decided, "You know, I don't think I really want a baby right now after all." To read real women's experiences with this procedure, check out the Republic of T and I wasted all that birth control.

As Cecily points out, the distinction between the "life" and "health" of the mother is a big one. And as other people have pointed out, this means potentially carrying a terminally ill fetus that could affect future pregnancies (not to mention the mother's mental health) [Shakesville], sacrificing a woman's uterus [Bitch Phd], and the overturning of Roe v. Wade [The American Prospect]. If you get a chance, definitely check out the American Prospect article, Miscarriage of Justice, which discusses how the ruling has grave implications for all pregnant women, not just ones seeking to end pregnancies.

Or, just check out the incredibly adorable Jen's Hungover Feminist Weekly Report, via Feministing:

Liam is 17 months old today

It's funny how distinct people's personalities are, even as kids. At this age, Thea was just as adorable, but she was wary around people she didn't know well, a trait I completely relate to. Liam, however, is very friendly and free with his affection. He smiles easily and laughs a lot. He's just this sweet, jovial, good-natured kid. I wonder if they'll keep those basic personalities, even as they grow.

Some other things about our sunny 17-month-old son:

Liam has the biggest smile.


Liam has the bluest eyes ever. (Ignore the runny nose. I try to. *shudder*)


Liam is very physical. He loves to throw balls for Tina.




And he's fearless. He's learning how to swing, insistently by himself.



I do wish he had a smidgen more fear in him, though. At the Nalezyty's the other night, he crawled up on the couch and launched himself off the edge several times before Todd put pillows down on the floor, a small measure against the broken bones and concussions inevitably in store for us.

This pretty much sums up my feelings

Yesterday's tragic events on the Virginia Tech campus have left us all horrified and bewildered. Like most parents, Todd and I joke about home-schooling and bubble-wrapping, but we know it's an act of faith to even have kids. You open yourself up to a world of suffering that can come suddenly and randomly; you have very little control.

Anyway, when words escape me, I steal someone else's:

Today is a horrible, horrible day. I have absolutely nothing to add that is insightful or anything. I will just do what I always do when faced with something that is that powerfully damaging to the emotional core: I will begin to repress it and I will swallow it and I imagine that thirty years from now someone will spill juice and I will freak the fuck out.

— Jon Stewart, 04/16/07

"DDM, Conquering The Use Of The 'R Word', One Friend At A Time"

Steve at The Hygiene Chronicles had a fabulous idea: "swapping stories as a great way to share posts with other bloggers, but not our regular readers who include co-workers and families." Or, in the case of True Confessions Of Developmental Delay Mommy, her troll. The harassment got so bad recently that the writer, DDM, had to make her blog private, which is terrible for a lot of reasons. She's a great writer — funny, smart, and warm — and her blog is a wonderful resource for parents whose kids have health issues. I laugh, I cry, I cheer, I curl up in a fetal position and suck my thumb, I come away more sensitive to my fellow human beings.

DDM's almost-6-year-old son, whom she calls "Bugga," is globally developmentally delayed and has very significant sensory issues. (She tells hilarious stories of him barfing in restaurants at the sight of noodles; no, really!) He also was diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Malformation Type 1. Here's a recent post:

DDM, Conquering The Use Of The 'R Word', One Friend At A Time


I positively froth at the mouth when I hear someone use the word retard. I have smacked a couple of my husband's firefighter comrades for saying it, threatened to stop the car in the middle of the freeway and throw them out. My Godson, age 12, has been using it regularly, much to his mom's dismay. She asked me how to combat it. When she discovered he'd been using it in text messages to his friend, she handed Godson the phone and made him read the messages directly to me. I think it worked. My sister has used it regularly, and every time she does it, I either hang up on her or ask her if she can say that sentence again using the word ridiculous so she gets the satisfaction of the "RE!diculous" pronunciation without offending me to the point of wanting to kick her in the head OH MY GAWD.

One of my dearest friends has used it a lot in the last year. Only I haven't found a way to tell her how much it bothers me. She's a grammar snob. Always has been, and yet she uses that word. Today, she used it in reference to a Nurse within our mutual OB/GYN office. It stung, I was silent and let her finish her sentence. And this time, I found a way to remind her that the school labelled Bugga Mentally Retarded at his IEP this past Fall, specifically in reference to the same OB/GYN we were discussing. A few sentences in, she stopped and said, "I am really embarrassed that I keep using the word retard. I am trying to stop, I don't know if you are sensitive to it or not, but I hate that it's become a habit and I feel all Britney Spears every time I say it, and I'm sorry."

I cried. I don't think she knew that I was crying, but I was totally bawling. I told her that yes, I'm very sensitive to the use of the word, and if she wanted my help in curbing her use of it, I would. I promised to call her "Britney" every time she did it. It feels like an enormous victory.

I'm certain that none of my readers here use that word. Would you do me a favor though, and call people around you out on it? The words 'retard' and 'short bus', are far too often used as insults to others. My child has been labelled with the former and rides the latter. He's a wonderful, loving, sweet, HUMAN BEING and deserves to be treated with respect and adoration. Expect better of the people around you.

Cuddling a nutcracker

A co-worker and I went to a thrift store on our lunch break today. I didn't get this, because it gave me the serious heebie-jeebies, but I kind of wish I had. *shudder*

RIP, Kurt Vonnegut

"Kurt Vonnegut, Writer of Classics of the American Counterculture, Dies at 84," NY Times, 11 April 2007

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

— God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Wha? Really? Wow

I'm shocked and honored to have been nominated for a Blogger's Choice Awards in the Parenting category by one of the cool kids, Weirdo Karrie. Thanks, man!

I'm actually just as shocked and honored that anyone reads my blog at all. Like most mommy bloggers, this is primarily my way of keeping friends and family posted about what's going on with the fam without having to send weekly e-mails that say, for example, "I think I've given Thea a life-long fear of bunnies," or "Liam likes slapstick!"

They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses

Thea had nightmares last night, so Todd and I took turns lying down with her until she fell back to sleep. This morning I asked her what she dreamed, because she wouldn't talk about it last night. Wait, is 3am last night or this morning? Anyway, she said, "There were bunnies! In my room! With big shadows!!"

Of course. It must be bunnies.

Mark loves Elmo

"Rules, boundaries, and limitations"

Have you seen The Dog Whisperer? Heh.



I just finished Cesar Millan's book and picked up The Gift of Fear. It wasn't next on my list of things to read, but I got it a couple days ago for a dollar at a used book sale and have heard tons about it. They're surprisingly similar; one of Cesar's main points is that you should project the right kind of energy to your dog, while the other book is about trusting your intuition on the kind of energy other people give off.

Anyway, until recently, I'd been unable to get Tina to take walks (the other thing Cesar advocates heavily) using just the awesome power of my calm-assertive energy. I think she may have been kept at a place with an electronic fence before coming to live with us. She's been afraid to leave the yard and would lie down at the threshold, dead weight that wouldn't be moved even for treats. I finally got her out the fence for a walk by running with her around the house several times in increasingly wide arcs, closer and closer to the fence, then out the fence and down the street before she could think about it.

I feel quite clever and smug.

How did Todd and Liam end up dressed alike?

Sanjaya takes down behemoth AI; culture vultures rejoice

This is what it's like to watch AI with Todd. I hope the kid makes it past tonight! From Best Week Ever:

BWE-DITORIAL: American Idol, Sanjaya Malakar, And The Postmodern Condition

All kidding aside, I happen to believe that Sanjaya Malakar will go down in TV history as the single most important personality ever to emerge from the American Idol phenomenon. Not because he’s funny, not because he’s cute, and not because he can’t sing. Sanjaya will be remembered not for who he is, but for what he represents — the inevitable subversion of an increasingly destructive institution in the pop culture landscape.

American Idol isn’t “jumping the shark” this season, it is being hurled over the shark by the growing number of people who have stood by idly as the Idol sensation has doggedly dominated the American consciousness going on 5 years now, during an increasingly dire time in this nation’s history. With wars and terrorists and global warming and political corruption and disease and starvation and suffering, who wouldn’t want to turn their attention towards a big, shiny, sugar-dipped karaoke competetion night after night?

Sickie

Yesterday Thea had what we think was an allergic reaction to something she ate. (We think it might have been melon.) Around 7pm we noticed that there was a rash around her lips, and she said her throat hurt. We called the doctor, who said to give her Benadryl or Claritin and just watch for hives or trouble breathing. No real worries. Then around 10pm, whatever she ate gave her the worst stomach ache. She woke up screaming hysterically and shaking. I was totally prepared to take her to the emergency room, but by 11pm she threw up and felt a lot better. She still woke up crying every hour or so all night, but it wasn't the same kind of pain she was in earlier.

So today we took her to the doctor, then spent the day watching movies. Side question, after the 50th viewing of Lady and the Tramp: Are Jock and Trusty boyfriends? They act like an old married couple.

A visit from the Easter Bunny

Hey, kids, who's out there?


Oh my word, did you see that?


I think it was ...


I'm pretty sure it's ...


The Easter Bunny!

He really unnerved the kids, who all agreed that they liked seeing him just fine from behind locked doors, no need to invite him in or go out to greet him, thanks anyway. Apparently they have an aversion to furries (especially Rosie).

Once the Easter Bunny was safely away, it was time to find the eggs he had hidden.



The boys shared so sweetly. This was before they realized there was candy in the eggs.



Thea's take:


Liam's take: