funny stuff

I bet you're wondering about the picture. A few days ago I took the girls to a sporting goods store so I could buy myself a pair of goggles (I recently joined a gym and started swimming). The girls were all over the store and even climbed into all of the kayaks and inflatable boats on display. They especially enjoyed bouncing in the top boat in a pyramid of rubber rafts.

Anyway, when I finally found swimming goggles both girls wanted a pair of their own. I had almost talked them out of the goggles when Amelia found the snorkels. She thought they were very cool and was impressed when I told her that I already had one and would let her see it. That evening, just before bath time, Amelia started asking me for "the thing with a 'J'." After thinking long and hard about it, I realized that she wanted to see my snorkel (the breathing tube is shaped like a 'J'). She tried it on, but not long enough to get a picture. Anything Amelia does, Diana wants to do too, so after I put the clearly-too-big snorkel on her I grabbed the camera. I managed to get one shot before she asked me to take it off.

But I'm not here to talk about water sports. Last night Amelia came up with another one of her brilliant one-liners. At the dinner table I asked Amelia if she needed to use the potty or not. After Amelia said, "No, I don't need to," Diana told her, "'Mia, you should use the potty." To which Amelia replied, "You sound just like your sister."

I bet she has no idea how funny she is.

Lisa

P.S. My linguistic note of the month involves how language learners acquire adverbial phrases. Diana's new phrase is "after all" and for a while she was using it at the end of nearly every sentence. (Like: "I want a chocolate chip cookie, after all.") You can learn a lot about language acquisition from a toddler.

Fool me once...

It was a hundred degrees outside today. A good day to let the girls play outside in the pool.

Amelia was the first one in the water. She floated around on her "boat" while Diana took a nap and I worked in the garage. When I first heard the echoes of footsteps through the garage ceiling I went in to check on Diana. She felt much better after her nap and even greeted me at the top of the stairs with a diaper in hand.

As soon as Diana came downstairs she wanted to know where Amelia was. When she saw Amelia outside, she wanted to go outside, too (in fact, she asked that we all walk to Starbucks in the pleasant 102 degree heat).

The moment that Diana stepped outside I asked her, "Do you want to get wet? If you do, I can get your swimsuit for you." Diana assured me that she did not want to get wet, even when I pressed the issue. I asked her nicely, before returning to the garage, to please not enter the pool while dressed.

Anyway, I don't know why I thought Diana would remain dry - she's jumped into the pool fully dressed at least a half dozen times before. Still, I guess there's a small part of me that believes she may, one day, want to keep her clothes clean and dry. Maybe when she's, I dunno, 14 or so...

Lisa

All the trees were there...

Yesterday, our family made a day trip to the redwoods. While we did many of the same things we do every time we visit the Big Trees state park, we also tried some new things and visited new locations within the park.

Driving all the way through the state park we arrived at a parking area near Beaver Creek. When we first brought the girls down to the creek Amelia seemed unimpressed. In fact, she kept trying to sneak away and head back into the woods. (When Amelia wants to leave, she'll cup her hand to her mouth and whisper, "I'll be right back.")

Once the girls walked a few feet down the creek they found it a bit more interesting. And when dad showed the girls how he could get a stone to skip across the water they became excited. Both of the girls couldn't wait to grab rocks of their own to toss into the pool. Amelia was actually pretty good at skipping stones - she did a better job than mommy did, anyway!

After several minutes of skipping rocks, daddy thought the girls might like to play "Poohsticks" - just like Winnie the Pooh and his friends do in A Day for Eeyore. The girls were very excited to play Poohsticks and had a terrific time. As usual, it was difficult to drag the girls away when they were having such a nice time, but there were other things to see and do.

So we traveled on to our more common haunt in the park where around 80 years ago some fool thought it a good idea to fell the largest tree ever seen so it could tour America. Amelia had a great time chasing squirrels here while Diana showed off a pine cone she had found on the ground (she even held her find out to show a stranger telling him that she had found a pine cone).

One again, getting the girls back to the car was difficult, but we got them aboard the Big Red Car in time to visit a nearby playground. This particular playground has one of Amelia's very favorite slides. Amelia and some of her new friends had a great time playing with Amelia's big, red, bouncy ball while Diana had a great time playing with daddy on the swings.

On our way home the girls and I shared a cold pasta salad and a plate of vegetables. Diana fell asleep on the road, but Amelia was awake until we arrived home. The girls went to bed much later than usual, but everyone had a terrific time.

As a funny aside, whenever I spend time with Diana before bed I always asked her if she had fun that day. Almost every night, without fail, Diana says that she had fun "cooking cupcakes." Tonight I promised her that we would buy more cupcake mix. I guess that means I'm in for another mess a bit more anxiety in the kitchen in the near future.

Lisa

A Hoosier in California

So often one of the girls will say something terribly funny and I will forget what it was before I get to my computer. So, I thought I would sit down and transcribe my conversation with Amelia before it left my memory.

I actually got up and exercised a bit this morning. Amelia thought my workout clothes were funny and made a comment about my shirt. I read the letters on my shirt aloud to her and told her that it said, "Indiana." (This is one of several shirts around the house purchased at bargin prices just off campus at Indiana University.)

Amelia said, "I live in Indiana." I corrected her by saying, "You were born in Indiana, but you live in California." She scoffed, "I can't live in California."

So I asked Amelia, "Where does mommy live?" She said, "You live in California." Ah-ha! "So, if you live with mommy don't you live in California, too?"

Amelia, without missing a beat, replied, "I can't live with you. You live in California and I live in Indiana."

Can't beat that logic, can you? I guess that means that the beach we visited last weekend was actually Indiana Beach, and I guess she can't remember moving to California from Indiana "when she was a tiny big girl last year" (her phrase, of course).

Lisa

There's no place like home?

Tuesday morning and Diana and I were off to take Amelia to school. Once we had escorted Amelia to her classroom, it was time to return to the car. On our way to the car Diana said, "I don't wanna go home. I wanna see animals." She was very sweet, so I brought her out along the fence that borders Amelia's school so that we could see the animals.

Today we got to see the animals' caretaker bringing fresh water and food for the animals. This made most of the animals happy; in fact, one of the geese jumped into his "bathtub" full of water for a splash almost immediately after it was emptied, rinsed and refilled. (The ducks looked on as they waited their turn.) But many of the birds found the fresh water and feed to be a good reason to assert their dominance over the pen mates. I had no idea that a peahen could spread her rather boring, brown tail just as well as a peacock, but I found out the reason behind her display pretty quickly as she chased a pen mate and pecked at her.

The term "pecking order" actually comes from observations of chickens who chase and peck chickens smaller than they are. Today wasn't a good day to be an immature rooster surrounded by huge hens.

Diana and I tried to find snacks to feed the bunnies and actually found that they liked the green leaves of some nearby weeds. Diana thought it was great fun to feed the bunnies. It was hard to get Diana back to the car.

Once Diana was in the car the first words out of her mouth were, "Don't wanna go home." I assured Diana that we weren't going home just yet and took her to Starbucks. Diana told me all she wanted at Starbucks was chocolate milk, she then proceeded to eat more than half of my morning bun. When we left Starbucks Diana told me, "I don't wanna go home." Luckily for her, I had already made plans (mentally) to visit Home Depot.

Home Depot had almost everything we were looking for, but they didn't have any sage. I recently saw some sage with bright red flowers at a nursery. A few days later, I saw the same sage "all grown up" into attractive bushes. But until I accidentally killed a bush I had nearly killed a year ago (when I transplanted it) I didn't have a spot to put the sage.

As we left Home Depot Diana went through all of the "barns" (storage sheds) assembled in front of the store. On our way to the car Diana said, "I don't wanna go home." I told her that we still had to go to Lowe's to pick up some sage.

Getting Diana away from the fountains in the gardening department at Lowe's was difficult, but we were finally back in the car and on our way. Diana repeated, again and again, "I don't want to go home," but at this point it was time to pick up Amelia at school. Once both of the girls were in the car Diana said, "Don't wanna go home." Amelia agreed, "I don't want to go home either." I took the two of them to the grocery store (where I forgot to purchase peanut butter). Then we finally arrived back home. We didn't have much of a choice at this point - we had to get our groceries home.

At home, Diana helped me plant one of my new sage bushes. I guess home isn't quite as much fun as many of the other places we go, but I'm surprised at how much Diana prefers being out to being at home. Funny thing is: it's still almost impossible to get her changed and dressed in the morning so that we can go out.

Lisa

Disposing of income

Yesterday, while Amelia was at school, Diana and I went to check out a "new" chain department store that had opened in town. The store looked so clean and orderly that a part of me thought it might be fun to work there a few hours a week. (But for minimum wage?) I found some summer items on sale for ridiculously low prices and actually liked a few things after trying them on.

As usual, Diana wanted to help mommy out and offered to carry my clothes to the dressing room. She seemed really over-burdened by mommy's clothes, but insisted she was doing just fine. After making our purchases, I brought Diana over to Amelia's school to look at the animals. She had a great time talking to the chickens, the peafowl, the goats and the sheep. I enjoyed listening to the huge, black pig snoring away in the covered corner of his pen.

The weather was reportedly up to 95 degrees in our home town yesterday. I felt antsy, hot, and a little bored and was eager to hit the road for a trip to just about anywhere. Luckily I found out, when Mike came home, that he had the same idea. I called my mom and after some rushed packing we headed down the coast.

Though the weather was unusually erratic this morning, this afternoon the thermometer on the porch told me that we were enjoying a temperature that hovered around 72 for most of the day. Walking with the family to the beach we were surprised to discover that it wasn't much colder near the ocean. The girls had a great time, and I'm crossing my fingers that the weather will hold up again for tomorrow.

Lisa

First cooking lesson

Recently Amelia made a strange comment regarding the origin of pastries. It seemed she had no idea that you could actually make cakes and cupcakes yourself at home. So I decided that I would help the girls make cupcakes for the first time.

Amelia chose chocolate cake and chocolate frosting for her first baking experience. I did everything I could to keep our cooking lesson from turning into a disaster. I had the girls sit at the kitchen table, brought all of the ingredients together for them, grabbed the biggest mixing bowl I could find, and let them try things slowly - one at a time.

Because my recipe called for three eggs (and I had more than a dozen on hand), I thought I would give both of the girls a chance to break an egg. First, I demonstrated how to break an egg into the empty bowl. Then I let Amelia break the second egg. Her egg came out scrambled by the time she got the shell open, but there wasn't a single piece of shell in the bowl (that I could see) and I was proud of the job she did.

Diana did okay with her egg, but watching her with a raw egg in her hands was very nerve-wracking. Once she had tapped the egg a few times on the side of the mixing bowl she brought the egg down to her lap to better crack the egg open. In my mind all I could see was a lap full of runny, raw egg. I kept reminding Diana, "Over the bowl. Do it over the bowl," But she got irritable when I tried to move her hands and said, "I do it!"

Eventually I got the bright idea to slide the mixing bowl under Diana's hands and she got all of her egg into the bowl. Sure, there was one large piece of eggshell, but it was easily spotted and removed by mommy.

The girls did a good job with the water, the oil and the mixing, but weren't particularly good at separating the paper cups at first. In fact, when I handed Diana her half of the paper cupcake cups she wasn't sure what to do with them, even after a demonstration. When I took her cups and divided them in half again for her, she put the two small stacks of paper cups into two recesses in the muffin pan and proudly declared, "I'm done!"

Though Diana was a good helper at the kitchen table, she wasn't exactly the image of patience waiting for the cupcakes to bake. After about five minutes she started bouncing with irritation and crying, "I wanna cupcake!" When they came out of the oven, it took all of my wiles to keep the girls distracted long enough for the cake to cool before it was frosted. Even then, Diana started eating her cupcake as soon as I took my eyes off her and before I had given her any frosting.

The whole thing was a great experience. I would have chosen white frosting, but other than that everything went perfectly. I don't think the girls are quite ready to stir fry anything, but I may try to let them help me in the kitchen a little more in the future.

Lisa

Amelia's first week of preschool

So far, so good. Amelia has enjoyed preschool this week. After her first day of school, she didn't want to come home. It didn't help that her sister was there. The two of them quickly found some toys to play with and hung out for several minutes after class was officially over.

I met one of Amelia's teachers and she seemed very nice. She said that the only problem she had was in getting Amelia to stop doing whatever game or project she had been doing and to move on to something else. I told her that wasn't surprising and to also look for Amelia's tendency to believe that there is one and only one right way to do something. I told the teacher that Amelia even tells her little sister the right / wrong way to play with her toys. The teacher said, "I see, she has to be in control."

That's it, Amelia has to be in control. People have, on occasion, said that about me as well. I guess neither of us like it when things aren't being done a particular way. Maybe Amelia will have a career as a Marine Corps drill sergeant. I can see it now...

Lisa

Because sharing is caring

This is just a short note to let all of you know that we haven't forgotten you. But, unfortunately, most of us have been sick. It started with Diana, then moved to me (despite the fact that most adults have already had herpangina and won't catch it). Once I was over the terrible virus it seemed that everyone was doing well, and we were thankful that Amelia didn't get sick.

On the one day that everyone was relatively healthy we all went to the zoo. The weather was good, and most of the animals were out and easily photographed. Each of the girls got to choose one ride before we left the park, and Amelia chose one that reminded her of the teacups at Disneyland. Diana chose the carousel, and decided that she wanted to ride on the back of a gorilla. At the end of the day I asked Diana what her favorite animal was at the zoo and her answer was, "Gorilla!"

Though we all had a good time, Amelia woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. Just when we thought the virus would pass her by, she got zapped by the same bug that had already hit Diana and I. Her fever actually climbed higher than mine, but she was over the virus fairly quickly.

Luckily, Amelia had no fever at all today. This is important, because tomorrow is Amelia's first official day at preschool, and her school's policy is that you must be free of any fever for 24 hours before returning to school. That certainly makes sense to me, since we don't want to pass around our germs.

Amelia's excited about school, and I'm excited, too. Still, nothing changes the fact that this is just one more indication that Amelia's getting to be a big girl now. When I think of Amelia going off to school, especially when I think of her going off to kindergarten, I get a little sentimental. I keep thinking of that ABBA song that always makes me weepy...



Who would have known I'd grow so mushy in my middle years?

Lisa