What a Life!

I talked with my parents yesterday, as is my usual custom on Sunday. The first thing my dad had to say was to ask if everything was okay since I hadn’t posted for a while. Yes, everything is okay. I just have a bunch of things going on with nothing that’s finished enough to be worth talking about. Know what I mean?

I’m hating my camera so I’ve taken pictures but haven’t downloaded any. It’s a great camera, really. But my skills as a photographer have simply outgrown it. I’ve figured out how I want to upgrade as well as how to pay for it, but I haven’t had the opportunity to tell my husband about my plans, something I really should do before hitting the “Purchase” button.

I also am in the process of changing how I backup my computer. I found some reputable external hard drives that cost less than a year’s worth of backing up online, but I haven’t switched over to that system yet. Such a project requires one to sit down and actually think, and opportunities for such a project have been extremely limited as of late. In fact, frazzled would be a good word to describe the current state of things. Frazzled is not a good state of mind for serious projects. Ach!

Today Joey is officially nine months old. He started pulling himself up last week, but he hasn’t yet learned how to get down once he’s gotten up, other than to fall over, which usually involves hitting his head on the floor. So he’ll pull himself up somewhere and then start whining because he’s stuck (which, of course, adds to the frazzled state of things when you’re having to stop what you’re doing all the time in order to go rescue a cute little boy). When they learn a new skill like that, they’re so driven to practice it…which leads to not sleeping well and so forth. Saturday I went to my knitting group, and even though Joey had taken a two hour nap in the morning, he fell asleep on my chest. Usually when that happens, if I move or talk, he wakes up; but Saturday, he was so tired, nothing could disturb him. He’s back to sleeping more at night, but naps are still hit and miss.

[Deep breath]

I do have a couple funny Ben stories, though.

……………

The thing about having kids is that you learn things about yourself that you might have never noticed otherwise. Sometimes it’s things in their personality or how they act; other times, it’s the things they say and do.

Lately, when I ask Ben to do something, like, “Ben, Mommy needs you to take your shirt and put it in the laundry hamper,” Ben will reply, “Okay, I can do that,” in this confident, reassuring tone of voice. It’s so cute I almost giggle every time he says that.

But seriously, where did that line come from? It’s a mystery I’ve been pondering for a few days now. After observing our conversations for a few days (okay, maybe a week), I’m thinking it’s something Steve and I say to each other when we’re discussing things that need to be done and deciding who is going to do them. We’ll discuss what needs to happen and how, and then we’ll tie up the conversation with things like, “Well, I can do that.” That’s how tasks get parceled out around here.

Truly, there are many things that parents say and children repeat. Dare I humbly congratulate myself that “I can do that” happens to be one of the things that my child has picked up and repeats?

……………

One more story…as you know, Ben has been riding the Potty Train lately. Yesterday morning, he was running around the house in his underwear, all happy and completely delighted, and I couldn’t figure out why. Well, he had figured out how to use the hole in the front of his underwear. I’m telling you, it was hysterical. I can’t describe exactly what he did – I can tell you that your imagination will probably do a very good job. Laugh on!

Dear Elmer…I mean, Joey,

Is there some reason why you’re sticking to me like glue?

Is it because you’re crawling now – like hands and knees crawling instead of that army-crawl thing where you pull yourself with your arms and push with one foot in order to slide around on our slick wood floors? Is this separation anxiety re-visited? You can’t even venture behind the couch – one of your favorite hang-outs – without crying and coming back out searching desperately for Mommy? I’ve nursed you until you spit up milk, something which you haven’t done for months, so I know you’re not hungry. And your diaper’s dry – I just changed it.

Are you teething? You just got two new teeth a couple weeks ago. Are you getting some more? If so, where are they? Mommy’s looked and she can’t see anything trying to pop through.

Are you transitioning from two naps to one? You can’t seem to sleep for longer than 45 minutes and you wake up wailing for Mommy, with red eyes and tears and everything?

Two weeks ago, you were almost sleeping through the night. I’d put you down to sleep around 6:30. You’d wake up shortly before I went to bed (or shortly thereafter – which I really enjoy, by the way), and then you’d sleep until around 5:00 a.m. (when Mommy gets up anyway) when you’d get up to eat and then sleep until around 7:00. What happened to that schedule? Mommy really liked it. Now you get up every two hours and aren’t very hungry but Mommy has to get up anyway and nurse you until you decide you’re done instead of until she thinks you’ve lost interest and are falling back asleep. What’s with that, anyway?

You used to play and explore and have fun going all over the house when you were awake. Now you simply aren’t happy unless Mommy is holding you. Mommy realizes that with two little boys, she doesn’t get much time to herself. But the little time she did used to get, she’d like to have back. Is that so much to ask?

Mommy’s hoping she figures out soon what’s ailing you. You don’t have a fever, and your diaper’s almost always dry with all this attention you’ve been getting. Mommy knows you’re growing up and that she needs to savor every moment, but she admits that she’s secretly wishing this stage would pass soon. She just doesn’t know what to do to make you happy – besides holding you all the time because you insist on sticking to her like glue.

Otherwise, if this continues on, Mommy’s going to start calling you Elmer. Okay?

While Mom and Dad were here, we ate at Valentino’s – a famed local pizza parlor. For dessert, we ate cookies. Chewy cookies. Cookies that had substance to them. They were about 3/8″ thick (or thereabouts). My cookies? They’re like the Platte River – a mile wide and an inch deep…the little chocolate chips sticking out like huge mountains on a great wide plain of cookie dough…in stark contrast.

Which got me to thinking…

I’ve baked Pillsbury cookies before from the dough they sell in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. They came out like the cookies at Val’s.

I also used to work at an apartment complex, selling apartments, and every day we made Otis Spunkmeyer cookies. We took the little frozen balls of dough they sent us, put them on the pan and then straight into the oven where they baked to perfection…just like the ones at Val’s.

Do you see where I’m going here?

This weekend I decided to experiment. On Saturday, I made cookie dough using one of my favorite recipes for oatmeal raisin cookies. Then, instead of baking it, I put it in the refrigerator. On Sunday, I baked it. And the cookies came out thick and chewy just like the ones at Val’s.

So why do all the recipes omit that step? My cookies always come out flat and wide. I have yet to see a recipe that tells you to refrigerate the dough. But I’m sure that was the trick, even though I’ve tried it only once. I’ve made other recipes where it was important to refrigerate the dough so the fat didn’t have a chance to melt before the dough had been baked enough to set the structure (can’t think of any off-hand except for pie dough).

Then again, I have known editors to edit out some of the best tips in knitting patterns for the sake of space in their magazine or book. Why? Wouldn’t you rather do something right than to do it half-right and get an okay but not stellar result?

Why? Why? Why?

One of Ben’s birthday gifts was a t-ball set along with a set of bases. Steve’s been teaching him to run around the bases after he hits the ball off the tee.

The other day, Steve and Ben were out in the back yard, and Steve asked Ben what we should name his baseball field. “Should we name it Ben Field?” he asked.

“No,” Ben said and then paused for a moment.

“We should name it Hay Field,” he said.

Definitely original.

*****

We don’t eat out very often, and when we do eat out, it usually isn’t fast food. A couple weeks ago, Steve was in town with Ben and decided to take him to McDonalds for lunch – a new experience for Ben.

When they got home, I asked Ben what they had done. “We ate at Old MacDonald’s,” he said.

Coming from a little boy whose favorite song is Old MacDonald Had a Farm, it made perfect sense.

*****

Finally…

If you ask Ben what he’s been doing lately, he’ll tell you he’s been “riding the Potty Train.”

Need I say more?

I know I complain sometimes about how things aren’t perfect at our house. There’s whining. Complaining. Potty training “accidents” (lots of them!). Ben will randomly go over to Joey and hit him, knock him over, or slam his head again the wall for no apparent reason. Sometimes I even lose my patience and yell a little.

Today, however, I present you with pictures that show otherwise…

I came into the bedroom and actually found the diaper pail turned on it’s side (all the dirty diapers on the floor (we use cloth)) next to the garbage can which was also on its side. But they were being used as “drums” with Ben playing the diaper pail and Joey the trash can. I put things back together and offered the stool instead. And that’s when I managed to catch this shot.

Believe me, of the seven pictures I shot of this scene, in only one did Joey look like he was actually listening to the story. But that’s the only part we need to remember, right?

I was sitting on the couch and the boys were messing around in the living room. Then I started to snap some pictures and they both came over to investigate…Joey first, of course.

If only I had put my dirty socks away instead of leaving them on the floor…

Mommy taking pictures is no longer exciting so we’re back to the business of playing.

Actually, the whole reason why I started discretely snapping pictures was to capture our newly decorated windows…

Yeah, there’s more graffiti all over the cube.

In case you couldn’t see it in the last picture, here’s a closer look.

Don’t you wish you lived at our house?