nana

tomorrow is nana's birthday. she'll have attained the venerable age of 83. i didn't send her a card and i probably won't call her, but i will talk to her and wish her a happy birthday. i figure that she'll get just as much out of that conversation as any telephone call. sadly, in my mind, the nana that i knew and loved is already gone. even though her body- her traitorious, dysmorphic body- still breathes in a nursing facility, her once sharp mind and fiesty spirit have long since departed this plane. i miss her.

i miss the nana who would tell ribald stories of her youth to my husband.

i miss the nana who would drop her lead foot driving down the road.

i miss the nana who would fiercely defend her origin as a British subject from "the North of Ireland".

i miss listening quietly but passionately to bagpipe music in her cramped apartment.

i miss you, nana.

i regret that i didn't treasure you more. i regret that i didn't collect and document more of your stories. i lament the fact that we cannot benefit from the wisdom you have gathered after all these years.

i hope that in your easily confused state, you are not afraid of where you are. of the strangers around you. i hope that your nearly extinguished memory which prevents you from recognizing your family members prevents you from missing those same people and feeling lonely because of it.

i pray that you will receive merciful deliverance from your agonies.
God bless you, Sadie.

superpooka and her sidekick stinkbug

we were sitting at dinner discussing an upcoming event. pooka asked a question about logistics that i hadn't thought about. when i said that i didn't know and i would have to think of something, she said, "i have an idea!"

after explaining her idea, she punched a fist into the air and shouted, "superpooka to the rescue!"

and then she farted.

and said,"that's my super power."

and then bug giggled.

and then bug farted.

you'd think i had a house of full of yucky boys instead of sweet little princesses.

i don't know what it is with this otherwise adorable infant. she doesn't have much trouble with her digestive system, but man is she GASEOUS! and not cute little baby puffs, either. these are rip-roaring NOXIOUS blasts. where does a baby hide a midget nuclear reactor?

famous faces

a pain in the ice

we went ice skating today with tito noel and aunt nancy. it was the first time i've gone in at least a year, so i was just a little rusty and i actually took a spill. ironically, i was not doing anything fancy, just trying to show pooka how she was supposed to skate. uh, like me, only don't fall.

actually, pooka did an excellent job. for most of the hour and a half session she used the traffic cone, but i made her abandon it towards the end. her actions were more like riding a skateboard: one foot stationary while the other one kept pushing. i managed to skate backwards in front of her holding her hands for a couple laps. finally, i let go and made her do it with no support. she DID it! she was skating by herself. she complained the whole time that she couldn't do it. typical pooka.

she went up and down the middle of the rink about 3 times without any support. she fell quite a few times, more frequently the longer she skated. she was getting fatigued and apathetic. sadly, even though she did a really good job, she never exhibited a sense of pride in her accomplishment. she maintained up to the very end that she couldn't do it, and even when we pointed out how well she did and how proud of her we were, she didn't seem happy about it. she likes skating well enough, but she doesn't think she's good at it. and she vehemently refuses to take skating lessons. what is it with this kid? the only lessons she'll deign to take are ballet...

when we left, we were both complaining about being sore and tired. i hurt my wrist when i fell and i know i am going to pay dearly tomorrow. pooka's dupah is going to be black and blue.

leaving the building we felt strange as our bodies tried to acclimate from approximately, what?, 40 degrees in the rink to the easily 85 degrees outside. we were dressed for the cold, not the hot. additionally, i had forgotten my hat and gloves, so i was REALLY cold. (speaking of forgetting: despite laying out not one, but two pairs of socks, pooka hadn't actually brought any. i had to get ripped off at the pro shop so she could be properly equipped to skate.) i felt rapid fluctuations in temperature as the chill emanating from my flesh came in contact with the heat of my fast warming clothes. very eerie sensation.

dressing up and dressing down

today we went shopping with granny to find bridal party dresses. i dreaded it because i hate shopping, especially dress shopping, especially in the heat with a potentially temperamental 5 year old on steroids. i was expecting the worst.

fortunately, i was pleasantly surprised. allison has made it easy on us by doing the make a match plan at david's bridal. her two colors only come in about 4 styles of dresses. i had already scoped them out online, so i pretty much knew which one i wanted. all i had to do was try it on and make certain.

although she started the excursion being mopey, pooka perked up once we actually got to the dress store. she was patient and helpful while i tried on my pieces for size, and was nearly giddy while we picked out and then tried on her dresses. of course, she absolutely LOVED every single one of them, but we finally narrowed it down. we even took a pic and sent it to aunt alli for confirmation. camera phones rock! then i fed brigitte while granny looked for her dress. and pooka was even well-behaved for that.

after dresses we went to the mall briefly to look for bridal party jewelry and then back to dad's house to visit, since we haven't seen him in about 2 weeks. for a short while pooka was fine, but then got crankier as she got more tired and begged to leave. all she had to do was pick up the mess she made upstairs and we could go. after surviving the difficult shopping trip, this simple task is what made her break down. she ended up refusing and descended into a tantrum when she was punished for her defiance. when we finally got home, she was sent to her room for the rest of the evening. she actually threw ANOTHER tantrum and got more punishment. once she settled in her room, she promptly fell into a deep sleep.

kisu and i believe her numerous tantrums this past week stem largely from lack of sleep. her counts were fine at clinic, but she still has dark circles under her eyes. she has been going to bed at 9 or 930, falling asleep later than that, and still waking up at 630 to have breakfast with me. she refuses to nap, so she is just not getting the amount of sleep her body needs.

more than meets the eye

so kisu and i have both seen transformers the movie. we both liked it. i was just going for the free movie aspect; kisu really wanted to see it, having fond memories of the cartoons as he was growing up. when i asked him to verify some of the plot lines and background, he was able to give me a detailed account of the genesis of the story per the original series. he says he can even replay the shows in his mind. i can't even remember what i did last week. dude, so not fair.

God Bless America!

we spent the day playing board games, visiting the park, and hanging out in the back yard. kisu went to see transformers. and then we had spaghetti for dinner. is that not the antithesis of the fourth of july? we almost had enchiladas, but i thought that with the current state of mexican invasion in our country, that would be absolutely treasonous.
>we did play with some sparklers around dusk. i got some cool pictures, too. and then pooka got to watch the neighbors blowing off fireworks in the street as she was falling asleep.

bonus day gone astray

we got out at noon today, so i thought i could have some nice bonus time with the girls. after grocery shopping, pooka wanted to run through the sprinkler, so i hooked it up. i had bug outside on a blanket, i was on the lounge chair with a book: nice, nice. then pooka turned into a chicken. she wouldn't actually get in the water because she said she was afraid of cold water. i tried forcing her and she started getting sassy, so i sent her to her room. it went downhill from there.

c-e rules!

i love my job. they are sending us to see transformers on company time on the company dime. SWEET! i wonder if they'll suplly popcorn and candy, too?

family pictures

today we went to get bug's 3 month portraits taken as well as an updated family photo. pooka was reluctant to go at all, but was cooperating until we actually arrived at the studio. then she became very surly. she would not smile for the world and even tried to bury her face. i guess i should have tried to do bug's pix first to loosen pooka up. oh well. we finally got her to participate when i asked her to hold bug's hand down away from her face; the baby had really woken up by this time and was trying to chew on her hands. we eventually managed to snap a keeper. then we moved on to trying to get the girls together and then bug by herself. by the end of the session i was ready to go take a nap. geez.

we pick them up on 7/18, just in time for the picnic!