And Baby Makes Three!

OK, ok....a cheap ploy. I don't blog for what, 2 weeks - give or take - and then I drop a headline like that?! Not fair I know. Especially because it should really say And Baby BEAR Makes Three!
Yup. A Bear. The "mascot" of Quinn's preschool class. At the end of each week, one lucky kid from the 4B class is somehow chosen to bring Fred home. To love, honor, and cherish. The whole weekend long.
A couple of weekends ago, it was Quinn's turn. Hallelujah! He had been waiting for this since school began. Each Thursday when I'd pick him up, I'd ask how his day was. And he'd reply [rushed voice, eyes slightly down-cast]: "FineSo-soGetsToBringFredHomeToday."
But alas, it was finally his turn!
And so, for the weekend, it was a 3 kid household. Yup, Fred was treated like one of the gang. He even sat at the table with us, with his own sippy cup and plate. We also had to make Fred his own special bed, right next to Quinn's, with his own blanket and pillow.
Quinn really did take fabulous care of him, which was very sweet to watch. Fred came with his own bag of belongings- including PJs, several changes of clothes, a few hats, and some tennies. And Q made sure he was dressed appropriately each day. Of course, Fred's stuff was usually strewn all over Q's room, so there was still a 4-year old element to all this. Nonetheless, here's how it went down.........

Fred joins his weekend siblings in playing with the Word Whammer.

While Keira's napping, Q convinces me that Fred very much wants to watch Buzz Lightyear of Star Command!

And check it out: Fred is a natural at air hockey!

Now Keira is awake from her nap, but pouts about Fred taking her place as Q's playmate.

Yikes!! Fred is Bear-Napped by a jealous sister!

The ransom call is placed.......

A bit of a tussle ensued....adult intervention was required....but in the end, Fred was returned to his rightful guardian.

And now, Fred is gone. Back to Room 4B. Ready to head off to another unsuspecting preschool family.

And even though Fred has left our home, his spirit lives on.....Quinn hasn't stopped asking for a baby brother since!

Two...Moo...Blue

Those 3 words don't have a whole lot in common, other than rhyming and describing a little bit about what is going on around here....

TWO. As in, Keira will be 2 years old in about 2 months. And her words are coming fast and furious, 2 by 2. She speaks in 2-word phrases a lot more. She's been saying some 2-word phrases for a while now. Mostly repeating things she hears: Mommy mine (from her fav book), love you, oh wow!....you get the idea. A couple of weeks ago, she came up with her own: Ball mine! Since then, she's added many more 2-word Keira-isms, like "no way", "no bite" and "no try". All favorite dinner-time mottos for the Mighty One. Recently, she upped the ante and began speaking in 3-word phrases. Her first: No, Mommy, No! in response to me putting the kibosh on her super-extended hand-washing ritual. She's also said "no try bite" or "no like bite"...we aren't sure which. Not that it matters, we got the hint. In addition to the words which are somewhat decipherable, she babbles on and tells us many, many [ahem] important things. None of which I can figure out, but to which I almost always reply "Is that right?" This drives Quinn crazy. He doesn't understand why I'd reply in the affirmative to something I really have no idea about. My guess is, in about 30 years, he'll be doing the same thing.

MOO. A few weekends ago, we attended the Country Fair at Conner Prairie. The weather was great. We ate great food. Well, make that we grown-ups ate great food. The kids wanted nothing to do with BBQ pork, fresh apple crisp, and kettle corn. Go figure. Q was happy with a hot dog and Keira survived on fumes. They were most happy about checking out the farm animals. Although they primarily kept to looking, not touching. Of course, as I mentioned before, these kids are city all the way. Remember this? Well, here's my country boy again, amazed at the livestock.

He didn't want to get too close to the head, but was ok to pet the rump of what will some day be some pretty tasty roast beef or hamburger or sirloin. Later, Q and his sis saddled up. This is as close as they wanted to get to anything horse-like.

All in all, it was a fun day. And even better once we capped it off with a caramel apple. Yummy!

If you live close by, it's not to late to visit the CP Apple Store to get your own. They are open through November 4 and we grown-ups are plotting a return visit just for this treat. An apple a day....

And now. The last of the "oooo" words.

BLUE. And this time, not Blue as in COLTS. But Blue as in Blue Man Group. Oh yeah, hubby and I are having an official date on Friday night. And we are seeing the BMG here in Indy. It's a surprise for Chris. Obviously I'm banking on the fact that he'll keep up his not-so-religious blog-perusing schedule; and therefore won't see this til after the fact. Not only did I get tickets for this mystery date and take measures to be sure he didn't have to work Friday night, but I also got us a real, non-grandparental babysitter. This is rare for us. I'm so proud of my skillls. (Ha!)

With this under my belt, there's no telling what I'm capable of next. Watch out. And watch this space!

So that about wraps it up from here for now. Have a good weekend, kind readers. And when all else seems unpredictable, know this for certain: After this weekend, the Colts will STILL be undefeated. Mark my words.

Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It

I'm talking about my camera here, contrary to whatever else might be going through your head! My. Super. Irritating. Digital. Camera. (Think slow, nasal-y voice, like Ben Stein in Ferris Buehler's Day Off.)

If you aren't aware, my digital camera woes go back to our time in China. We had our "old" camera then. It was on the fritz, but somebody (ahem, ahem) somehow remained immune to my incessant complaining about this prior to the trip. And so we traveled to China with the old camera, muddled through with a minimum of I-told-you-so's from me to you-know-who, and came away with one fabulous daughter and many less than fabulous-quality photos. A month after being home, ykw decides that the camera is cr*p and that we need a new one. Uh...no kidding.

Anyway, here we are today. About 9 months with "new" camera and I am getting equally frustrated. We have a Sony SuperSteady Shot DSC-H2, or something like that. Loved it at first. It even made a cool clicking noise when you took photos, reminiscent of a camera from "back in the day". I felt like a real photographer. Ha. Then, somehow someway, it starts freezing and acting like it can't focus. That delay you get when snapping a shot on a digital camera? Well, that would seem like a nansecond compared to the delay we get now. Of course, me and ykw both deny that we ever changed any settings - knowingly or unknowingly. I want to just take it to a camera shop and have somebody in the know take a look. YKW actually gets out the manual (for real! there's a guy on the planet who consults the manual - and I live with him!) to try to figure it out for himself.

In the meantime, I get this:

Granted, I'm so in love with my kids that I even love the tops, sides, and backs of their heads, but I'm missing some really great smiles. Of course, I am also grateful that I'm not paying cold hard cash to get film developed only to see such head shots - there is a certain satisfaction in the digital world of just deleting that which is annoying. But still. There has to be something better. Right? Something within the budget of a SAHM, eh?

Anyone? Anyone?

America's Next Top Model?

Contrary to my son's belief (who filled his head with that stuff anyway??), girls can do anything they want. :-P
For example, when Miss K grows up, she could be.......

...a pilot?

...leader of a think-tank?

....construction worker?

...Super-Hero??!!

...acrobat?

....or maybe, just maybe, a SUPERMODEL?! Oh yeah, America's Next Top Model may be right here in on own house. Go ahead. Click that link. Watch for SuperGirl in the opening slide show. Fabulous, no? Makes you want to order a shirt, eh? Just to be as cool as K?? (heehee)

So, while we are on the topic of fame (OK, I'm stretching it a bit, but work with me here) and parents-with-websites-who-make-cool-stuff, check THIS out. I'm pseudo-famous now because - can you believe it? - there is a purse named after me!! Woo-hoo!! Yup, scroll on down (no, not so far -- it's not the leopard love purse, you wacko) and there it is. Lovely, eh? A good friend, great mom, and super-creative woman I know makes these marvelous handbags. And it is even better in person. Lucky me.

And, although you may find this hard to believe, K and I haven't let this fame go to our heads. Oh no. We are the same demanding girls we've always been. Just ask the 2 boys who put up with us!