Thursday, April 22, 2010

out with the old

but the new won't be in for a while.

















My Nonikins is growning up.

I am so torn. 
I love the way she says accesth and recesth but the loss of these two little pearlies means we are one step further away from my baby being a baby.  There are times when I still wrap her in a towel, hold her close like the baby I miss so and try to ease my mind back to those rock-a-bye moments.  Then poof! There she is with her gappy little smile looking all fierce.  Instead of developing a kind relationship with the big dipper during midnight feedings I am looking down the road at braces and watching the clock for curfew. 

Sunday, April 18, 2010

what to do on a beautiful day...

...get moving on the landscaping that has been begging for a sunny, obligation-free day...
...throw a rock or two



...pose with a guilty expression after rolling in the dirt
...catch up on your reading

...observe the wonders of Kingdom Plantae

...marvel at little niches and little succulants



...get your burn on


... be mesmorized by the flames


...stuff your face in s'more-y goodness


...and a beautiful day would not be complete without being annoyed by your camera-slinging mom.

Friday, April 16, 2010

the unfortunate result of a physics lesson

Dearest Nadia (or better yet, Nadia's front teeth),
Meet skateboard.

Skateboard,
Meet Nadia's front teeth.

You should have heard the sickening-crunch when I popped them forward again.

Sweet Noni,
Try not to get so chummy with the skateboard next time.
Love you- with or without your teeth.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

my ego, it's a hurtin'

As Tony and I passed in the hall, he coming from Nadia's room and me from Aidan's, he whispered that Nadia told him he had a better accent than I do.  That would be a Spanish accent.  The language that I studied in high school, the one that I thought I bested him at.  Come on Nadia, Dude took Russian in high school! 

Pssshht.

I snuggled down with Nadia for a little girl time.  She had invented a sash of sorts for her Baby Jack to wear that would hold all of his school essentials.  There was a convenient hook for his lunch box, his paper was to go in the fold on the hip and so on.  Her response when I complemented her on being a wonderful inventor was "you know mom, you sure married a good man!"  How sweet!  Oh, but this part is just too good not to quote, "You know that you two work together, with like one brain.  You invent things and then he builds them.  You guys just do great work together.  And sometimes when you get off your lazy bum..." and this is where I need to pause.  She stopped, realized what she had just said, and without missing a beat said with her nose all crinkled up cute and thoughtful like, "well I only said lazy because you know sometimes you like snooze on the couch." At this point you need to picture my Noni-Sweet dramatically lounging back on her mountain of pillows making exaggerated snoring sounds.  On no, it gets better.  She draped the back of her hand across her forehead.  Seriously child!  She went on like this digging deeper and deeper and while my ego is a wee bit damaged, she is right.  I did marry a great man. 

Tony-
Know this my love, you have your family behind you in all you do.  We love you and believe in you and are thankful for all you do. 
Love your lazy-bum wife, stinky-like-cheese son & of course, your don't-know-when-to-shut-it daughter

Monday, April 12, 2010

Gordon

Aidan has an armpit hair that he has named Gordon.  It is mearly the peachiest of peach fuzz. It went something like this...

Aidan: Dad, meet Gordon.
Tony: (head shaking in utter disbelief with a smile of weirdness-comradery) Go show your mother.

And this is how I came to know Gordon.  Welcome Gordon.  I hope you enjoy your stay in Aidan's smooth, pale armpit and learn to love the loony bin that we call home.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

eggs and stuff

eggseggs
eggseggs

eggs
and stuff.

Friday, April 2, 2010

where is all of this coming from?

I feel like I, or we rather, are emoting all of the place.

...A night or two ago I had a dream that in a word was disturbing. I was in the pantry of my childhood home. As an aside, this pantry planted the incorrigible pantry-fanatic of my current obsessive mind with its wrap-around counters and cabinetry a plenty, a real dumbwaiter and a full window. In the dream I stood staring out that very window beholding soft waving grass of the pasture out back . I looked down unbelieving at the red formica counter that held a gray and pink mass of brain that I knew instantly to be a lamb's brain.  There was no surprise at how or why it got there because there was a scapel to the right and an awaiting jar to the left.  When I turned to ask my dad whether it was indeed meant for my classroom he stood, leaning against the dining table with the lamb nestled in the crook of his arm.  Without my preamble he asked if I would help him put the little glob back because this lamb wasn't ready to be done with its brain matter quite yet.  The sweet lamb turned to look me at me as if to support what he was saying and then craned its neck out to me as my dad lifted the top of it's skull, skin and all, like the hinge of a jewelry box.  In the dream it all seemed perfectly natural to take and replace brains so casually but upon waking I was left in a slight state of emotional unrest. 

...I implemented an April Fool's handed down from my lovely sister like so many other treasures on my wee bairns.  Early Thursday morning I told them that the principal called and she was cancelling spring break because some kids got into trouble.  I hurried them to dress, brush and grab their backpacks.  Aidan could not believe the injustice of it all and Nadia was ready to find each kid and serve them some sort of punishment herself for 'stealing her family days'.  We pulled up to the school after a car-ride full of complaints, bargaining and a moment or two where I felt like I was more the fooled and less the fooler as they neared tears.  I made a show of asking where all the kids could be and just where was that principal's car anyway?  I asked them what day it was to which they both replied, "Thursday, JINX, you owe me a soda!" Disregarding the teachable moment that we are from the northwest and say POP in these here parts not SODA like Tony insists, I reminded them that it was April Fool's Day!  Aidan was certifiably ticked and Nadia's biggest worry was that I made her get dressed for nothing.  I drove through the parking lot and directly over to Viera's Bakery where I made it up to both of them with donuts and chocolate milk.  We plotted how they could get back at Auntie M for giving me the idea during the ride home. 

...We sat three abreast on the couch, Tony studying, me reading and Nadia burrowed between watching Marley and Me.  It wasn't long before the books were down and the tears were streaming.  With Margo wound around his feet Tony said it is sad, but dogs die, you know that going in.  It took until the scene of the mourning kids fluttering their letters into the grave for him to choke up.  I tucked Nadia up on my lap and we sniveled.  It was our own doing.  It is like when Nadia and I see Steel Magnolias running we have to stop and have a good cry.