that's what kids are for

blog fodder, right?

pooka has always been advanced for her age, in everything from smarts to attitude, but lately, i think it's getting a little out of hand.

i have intercepted my first love note as a mother. and it comes complete with graphics:



pooka's young enough where this is still charming and adorable in a dismissable way. the funny thing, it appears completely mutual. way back for pooka's birthday party, the boy's mother told me about the card he wanted to buy for pooka. it read: "to my wife."

we had a grand laugh, but pooka didn't hear about it (i don't think). so to see this note come about a short while later tells me there truly is some feeling there. i'm not about to arrange a dowry or anything, but i think these two will be lifelong friends.

she doesn't know i snatched this note, either, so don't narc on me.

p.s. i just realized that i never posted about her birthday party. oops. check back later for pics on that.

make a wish trip day 1

so, we went to california. pooka's wish to meet m*ley c*rus finally happened. it seemed so strange in the days leading up to it. we couldn't believe the day had actually arrived.

the 4 of us were picked up in a limo at 7am on wednesday morning. i was nervous about how bug would behave on the 5 hour flight. she was not horrible. she had her moments, but she only slept about 20 minutes, despite the benadryl we had administered. we were all out of whack when we arrived in cali. we had only had a small snack on the plane and our bodies didn't know what time it was.

we got hung up at the car rental place due to a small error on my part. apparently when i went online to add carseats to our order, the system 'lost' the fact that make a wish was paying and not us.

by the time we got to the hotel, we didn't know whether to eat or just collapse into bed. we had to call for a crib and to let the front desk know that we had someone's nasty month-old leftovers in our fridge. i didn't want them charging us for an empty mini-bar when it was never full to begin with.

we finally got ourselves gathered enough to go looking for food. we drove our mammoth vehicle (in l.a.? hello?) out to find a restaurant. after going several blocks in the wrong direction, we realized that we should have just grabbed the stroller and walked. we were a mere 4 blocks from the ocean and the food was even closer than that. we stopped in for pizza at a place we thought was going to be a lot bigger. i was disappointed that we were eating pizza, again, on our trip. i wanted something less run-of-the-mill, more 'california-y.' (but cheap, cuz i'm like that.)




despite my crankiness, we enjoyed our food and then took a short trip to overlook the beach. it was windy and a bit chilly, so we didn't get close, but we did walk around the 3rd street promenade a bit.



we discovered a candy store that made pooka's eye bug out. bin after bin of chocolate covered items, old-style penny candy, jelly beans. i picked up a few choice items; not exactly stuff you can't find anywhere else, but stuff i don't look for or get often. pooka went for the jelly beans she begs for every time we go to the grocery store. they even had exotic treats like scorpion lollypops. the lady had signs out: "yes, they are real." "no, i haven't tried them." that made me laugh.


two more errands stood in our way before bedtime: a grocery store for some emergency staples (no need for room service for hungry kids at odd hours), and a drugstore for kisu's forgotten meds. after we accomplished both of those, we headed "home." we got our beds situated and we were all asleep by 830pm, cali time.

cheese is contagious

so last weekend we did it again. this time i made the excursion, dragging along pooka and my niece danica.

at first, pooka didn't want to go and she pitched a fit because she thought we would make her eat everything and wouldn't let her choose one or something like that. i'm not sure exactly, kisu us the family psychotherapist on her. i get too frustrated.

anyway, we bravely ventured into the cheese fridge at westborn market. that place is freezing! they had everything nicely sorted on wire racks. an entire 4' wide, 6 shelf rack of cheddar! one for swiss, several shelves for italian, blue, and french. the featured selections this month are irish, naturally.

pooka cheered up and decided to participate when i pointed out a chocolate cheese fudge. forgetting, momentarily, that we tried it and didn't particularly like it at the cheeshaus in frankenmuth, i allowed her to buy it.

danica picked out one, i chose one for me and one i thought kisu would like. we grabbed a baguette and headed home. $30 in cheese, people!

we tried to prepare a proper cheese tasting board, with a selection of crackers, baguette, and apple slices. elegance went right down the drain, however, when i dropped two hunks of cheese on the floor downstairs. pooka had to retrieve one from under the couch. the cat licked up the smears.

a very short time later, we were crumb-covered, lactose-saturated, and lethargic. we also had some new data for our cheese files:

chocolate cheese fudge: meh. one bite cheesy, one bite chocolately. neither in a good way. pooka liked it, so she will be getting it for lunch desserts for awhile.

white stilton with lemon zest: a (poorer) cousin to the mango/ginger variety we had last time. good flavor, but the zest left a gritty feel. paired well with the apple slices.

chevre with honey: i like goat cheese when it's incorporated with other things, like as a binder for a portobello filling (which i've done), but not so much when it's the main flavor. kisu and danica enjoyed it and the small portion we bought was eradicated.

formaggio with roasted garlic, tomato, and basil: like a pizza without the crust. so much flavor! i think it would be perfect melted onto the baguette, but we couldn't be bothered to go back upstairs.

a dutch cheese labeled vlaskaas: not sure if that is the brand name or the type. it was a hard cheese, similar to parmagiano reggiano, but not as pungent. it was described as buttery and sweet. it was fairly strong, but i decided that i liked it. good on the apple slices.

a good haul, but left us only wanting more. danica wants to participate again and we have already marked out 2 to try next time. i want to avoid too many mix-ins, like the herbs or the fruit. they're good, but i want to experience the natural flavor of the cheeses first. the inherent character infused by the bacteria that create each individual type.

wow, that makes it sound kind of disgusting.

bye bye binky

both my girls were pacifier kids. with pooka, we had to have 5 or 6 stashed around the house for the chronic misplacement of it.

bug is not quite as attached, but it is a definite cue of naptime/bedtime for her. at daycare, they stopped offering it, oh 6 months ago or so. at home, we were still employing it. occasionally i would tell her, "when you turn 2, the binky is gonna go bye-bye, ok?" and she would agree. i thought i was doing a good job preparing her in advance.

until last weekend, when i actually set us back a little. she wasn't feeling well and i let her carry the bink around the house pretty much all weekend. during the week i realized my mistake and decided to correct it. permanently.

thursday night, the bink got 'lost'. when i put bug to bed, i told her i would bring it in when i found it. she was fine with that, but golly gee i never did find that thing. friday night when she asked about it, i just redirected her. that worked fine until 5 am saturday when she woke up too early. usually the reinsertion of the bink puts her right back to sleep. this time it took a little backrub. when she woke up much later, i saw that my timing for her binky-intervention was not the greatest: she had a fever and was feeling lousy. of all the days to not have that self-soothing tool. i wasn't sure how naptime would go, but ultimately it was fine.

sunday afternoon she saw the binky on the kitchen counter. "dere i' is!" she declared.

oops.

once again a little redirection avoided any further attention and as soon as she was out of the room i buried that sucker(!) in the trashcan. with 4 nights and 2 naps under our belts, we are officially done with the binky.

now i'm thinking: perfect timing or too soon? we have this little trip coming up. long flight, strange bedroom. recipe for cranky toddler or one less thing to pack/lose/replace?

let's pray it's the latter.

cheese extravaganza

kisu and i don't consider ourselves foodie snobs, but we do think that we know how to appreciate the finer goodies in life. to a certain extent. we are both at least willing to give everything a taste test. often, the most pretentious items just don't suit our palettes. for example, neither one of us cares for caviar or wine, really.

what we do like, though, is cheese. i would even consider a trip through europe based primarily on cheese-tasting, in fact. (and i have seen them advertised, btw.) we are perfectly fine with american slices on grilled cheese, but also enjoy a nice, sharp aged cheddar or a smoky swiss. periodically we get cheese on the brain. several months ago i scouted the cheese case at the grocery store and came home with a garlic cheddar (great on lunch sandwiches) and a cranberry wensleydale that was like dessert.

last weekend, we wanted to scope out a more upscale place but neither of the girls were up to leaving the house. we actually attempted to get a babysitter so that we could go out and buy cheese together.

**ahem**

anyway, i consented to let kisu go alone and he came back with a smoked swiss, apple cinnamon monterey jack, and mango ginger stilton. the first and last we adored. the middle one was only alright. you could see the apples, but not really taste them and monterey jack itself is a very mild cheese. i ended up putting it on pooka's turkey sandwich this week. the mango/ginger was pretty much killed in a day and a half and the swiss is gone as of today.

this weekend we are putting another expedition on the to do list. we will drag the children if necessary. that's how tight the grip of cheese is upon us right now.

thank goodness we're not lactose intolerant.

january catch-up

wow. i guess i did get distracted by facebook.
that and the switch around at work doesn't leave me the same freedom to blog during the day.

anyway, here are some of the things we've been up to since the last post:

• we got all dolled up and went to see wicked with noel and nancy.

• we rang in the new year pretty quietly with the girls and danica (well, really bug was already asleep).

• we met some new friends at a board game party for adults (thanks, jen!)

• the girls were cute

• we discovered that bug needs a real haircut but will never sit still for one.

• make-a-wish gave us tickets to the jo bros.

there are some cute videos to be seen, but i haven't edited them yet. maybe i'll get around to that before next month....

christmas day

it was a nice, fairly quiet day, although it started waaay too early. i had told pooka the night before that if she woke up before we did, her stocking was fair game. (i tried to ensure the girls would sleep in by keeping them up a little later than usual.) i never expected to be startled awake at 3 am with her looming over me complaining, "this is all that was in my stocking!"

i sent her back to bed, only to be woken up at 5 by a whining bug. something unidentified woke me up at 730, at which point i couldn't go back to sleep. at 8 we got the kids up and started unwrapping gifts. this year the gifts were few in number, but great in meaning. pooka was disappointed that she didn't get the ds she's been asking for all year, but she was thrilled with her mp3 player and her heated mattress pad. we only had to remind her a few times that it wasn't about how many gifts she got, but how great those gifts were. bug actually was interested in opening presents. a little bit. she loved her new bear and wanted me to open the play-doh right away, but i wasn't ready for that.

we cleaned up, got some breakfast and then retreated to the big bed to watch a dvd. this caused bug and i to need naps. later in the afternoon, dad and tina came over and the gift cycle started over again. kisu was thrilled with the new single cup coffeemaker. now we need some visitors to come over and test its versatility. both girls were very happy about their personalized weekender suitcases, especially bug who know has her own 'bock-ock'.

then we got dressy and headed over to kisu's parents for dinner and more presents. thanks to (childless) uncle adam, pooka got a giant makup kit. oy. kisu knew what he had bought and apologized to me in advance. i wonder how long until she uses everything up. she tends to go overboard on things like that.

bug had only had about an hourlong nap, so i was nervous about how crazy she would get. by the time we sat down to eat (which took her all of 10 minutes) she was wound tighter than a spring. when we let her down from the table, she started spinning in circles and laughing like a maniac. the adults were entranced, waiting for her to crack her head on the solid wood coffee table with the super-sharp corners. (that house is not even kid-friendly, let alone child-proof)

it was a pleasant day, the gifts were not out of control and we all just enjoyed each other's company. although i was not feeling very much in the spirit leading up to the holiday, i did enjoy the day. i am thankful to have a lovable and loving family and also for the birth of our savior.

merry christmas to all.

snow day

it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. the storm was so well predicted that everybody was prepared for today to be a snow day.

everybody but me.

i forgot to have pooka bring home her snow pants and i left bug's snow boots at daycare. i also left my desk at work with half-finished projects (some of which are christmas related).

this really screws with my pto time, too. i only had one day left, which i planned to use on tuesday to take pooka to clinic. with both the elementary school AND daycare closed (that never happens) i had no choice but to stay home. i could take pooka to work with me, but there is no way i can contain bug for 8 hours at work and actually get anything done. so tuesday i can either try to hurry and get to work for half a day or have poppa take her. pooh. i had planned on movies and a haircut with her.

once i dragged myself out of bed (after being rudely jolted out of a doze by bug who was wielding a pen all over my sheets, my devotional book, oh, and herself) i decided to make the most of the day. but when i asked gleefully who wanted to play in the snow, i was greeted with silence and blank stares. my new boss had ok'd me staying home, but as it turned out, kisu forgot his meds and i was going to take them to him. uh, that is, i was gonna try. we got about a mile away before concluded that the effort was not worth it. even in zed, the roads were slow going with at least 8 inches of snow and no plows in sight.

so we promptly turned around and i convinced the kids to play in the yard, instead. while pooka went inside to add more layers, i took bug for a sled ride. i started too fast for her at first and she was nervous. when i slowed down, she started to enjoy it. we were heading in for a break, when she leaned over to look at something and stuck her face right in a snow bank. she laughed until she realized how cold it was.
once pooka (finally!) came back out, i put both of them in the sled. it's amazing how much harder it was to pull with two kids in it. they both enjoyed it, though, until the end of the ride when i dumped them out. pooka's legs actually ended up planting bug deeper into the snow. she was pissed! pooka was laughing, though.

it was a lot colder than it usually is when snow is falling (how does that work, anyway?) so we didn't stay out long, only 10 minutes or so. when we came in i got the girls changed and in the big bed to warm up. i threw the wet stuff in the dryer for a potential return engagement and made some hot cocoa. it might have been bug's first try and since i put it in a sippy cup, she downed it superfast.
we spent the rest of the day sleeping, basically.

well worth the 40 cents

it was so hard to keep a straight face, but she had no idea what we were laughing at anyway.

kisu and pooka had been taunting each other throughout the evening and kisu threatened to put a dirty diaper in her bed. she responded with, "you better not or else!"

after he finished emptying the diaper champ, he got a clean diaper, filled it with tap water and put in smack dab in the middle of her bed. this is itself was funny. however, the fact that she was so oblivious to it made kisu nearly pee his pants.

she climbed the ladder (we were already grinning, waiting for her reaction) she opened the covers (i snorted and had to make up a reason for my laughing) she reached a hand back to steady herself (squarely on the diaper) and finally, she laid down right on top of it.

still no reaction.

kisu was doubled up laughing, which she correctly got defensive about, and sat up to throw a teddy bear at him. at this point, she noticed the diaper and hurled that at him instead. "gross, gross!"

kisu literally had cramps from laughing so hard.

after we got her contained back in bed, she didn't find it funny. she got quite mad about it, actually. she's such my child.

sometimes i hate cars

not really, i just hate when the time comes to spend money on their maintenance. especially when said money is hard to come by.

two weeks ago, i got the girls loaded into the truck and headed for daycare as per usual. i left pooka in the running vehicle because it was freezing! and quickly dropped bug off. then we headed over to latchkey to drop pooka. this time i shut the truck off. by the time i came back, it was dead.

turning the key, i heard an abbreviated startup kind of grinding, then lots of clicks and the dashboard lights starting flashing.

oh, hell.

after a brief prayer, i tried again, with no better result. i called kisu and let him know. he suggested i call dad, but dad couldn't take me to work after the tow truck dragged me to the garage.

i waited 45 minutes for the tow, and kisu met me at the garage whereupon the manager told me it was going to be "major surgery." always nice to hear.

halfway back to work, the garage called and gave me a laundry list of things that need to be replaced. predictable, right? when i asked what caused the non-start this morning, he said, "oh, that was just the battery."