I'm pushing the odds

So I've met yet another imaginary friend from my Positive Discipline board and I'm still not dead and stuffed in a trunk!  Meagan (meeeegan) and her family were up from Florida (no, I couldn't meet her when I was in Orlando b/c they don't live in THAT Florida.  They live in the Alabama one).  I'm always amazed at how kids can be instant best buds with kids they've never seen before.  Ben and Sean were plotting evil and cracking themselves up quite thoroughly.  We went to eat at Great Sage--a terrific vegetarian place in Clarksville, MD, owned by a bonkers-but-fun former coworker of mine--and Ben was unable to play his usual building-things-out-of-sugar-packs-and-creamer game, so he and Sean and Christian wielded the big wooden salt and pepper shakers ("It's the Saltinator!  The Pepperator!") until the food came.  There was noise.  I'm fairly certain the staff were happy to see us go.

They were all quite lovely and not as scarred by the proximity to Alabama as I might have feared.  Or at least they were faking it pretty well.

Like music to my ears

2005 was the year in which I started listening to current music again!  I never thought it would happen to me.  I'd never be one of those moms with no idea what is cool, calling music "that noise", clinging to the pop hits of my youth. Somewhere along the way, the kids crowded out WHFS, the "alternative rock" station.  I never succumbed to Raffi and the Wiggles, but I did listen to a lot of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, and the Most Holy--Philadelphia Chickens.  There was "kid safe" non-kid music--They Might Be Giants ("What does he mean, 'chesspiece face?'"  "It's They Might Be Giants, sweetie.  It doesn't mean anything."),  Beatles, Bob Marley.  But I lost the cultural thread.  I didn't know the bands playing on Veronica Mars, I was missing cultural references. 

I'd dropped out in the Blur, Blink 182 era.  I didn't really like that stuff anyway. Now, 5 or 6 years later, WHFS is a salsa station.  Fun, but not what I'm after.  But Amazon is looking out for me.  Amazon knows I like Squirrel Nut Zippers, Elvis Costello, XTC...it gave suggestions, I listened to some clips, stuck them on my wish list and forgot about it.  On my birthday (Aug. 31.  Mark your calendar.  Buy now), my friend Stacey sent me two CDs from my list--Franz Ferdinand and Get Away from Me by Nellie McKay.  They both ROCK.  And the kids love them both, esp. Nellie McKay which is, in fact, full of naughty words, but people, get a grip.  And then I got the second Franz Ferdinand album--right when it came out!  Like I knew something about music! and it was also great.  Then Daily Candy, which sends me daily notices of cool things, listed some good songs.  One of them was by Rilo Kiley, and it was great!  So I got THAT album and the kids loved it.  And I just got Fiona Apple's latest, on recommendation of a radio guy, and it's great too!  So, either I've just become totally non-discriminating, or I've found a thread of music I like.  And now Pandora is leading me down the path even further, saying "well, if you like THAT, how about this?"  New music!  yay! 

And, as a side note, I suddenly got all these 80s mixes.  The pop hits of my youth.  Kids like that, too.

You know, it's quite possible that I'd grown so sick of our CDs that I'd have been enthusiastic about Jingle Cats, but go listen to something new today, anyway.  All the cool kids are doing it.

An assortment

Here are some things:

--Missing the Point  overheard at the Chinese restaurant on Christmas day (known to our Jewish friends as "The Festival of Lo Mein"): And elderly Jewish woman (and I know she was Jewish because a) she was in the Chinese restaurant and b) she had been going on earlier about "schmaltz" and "chopped liver") was excitedly telling her son and daughter-in-law that she had a new, better way to make latkes.  "You just put them in a casserole dish and you don't need to use any oil at all!  They're just as good and not so fatty."  A Great Miracle Happened Here!  Where there should have been 8 grams of fat, there are none!

--What my brain does when I'm trying to fall asleep  So you know how when someone has a kid who turns out to be quite the opposite of the parents, people make some crack about Alex P.Keaton?  While I was trying to nap yesterday, I ended up musing about this.  You know, Alex is not the opposite of his parents at all.  His parents were thoughtful (if smelly hippy) rebels.  Alex, really, is the same.  He has rebelled against his own parents, which has led him to his Republican stance, and he is a thinker, even if a misguided one.  Mallory, on the other hand, hasn't a thought in her head and is happy to go with the crowd.  Is mortified, in fact, at the thought of doing otherwise.  Mallory, then, in the one who is totally unlike her parents.  Your witness, sir.

Ben's review of March of the Penguins--"Penguins walking, penguins swimming, blah blah blah blah."

So this is Christmas

The barfing has stopped, praise be.  I made up the futon couch for Lily and I last night so that if she continued to hurl, at least it wouldn't be on the Tempurpedic (do not MESS with my bed or my TiVo, people).  I put down towels and then the sheet.  I put a towel between her pillowcase and pillow.  I had the barf bowl handy, as well as tea towels and 2 changes of clothes.  I was SET.  She, of course, slept soundly all night.  I, on the other hand, was on Red Alert and popped awake everytime something in the house made a noise.  Not. Restful.

She happily informed me that it was "mornin' time!" at 6:30, so we got up and I put Snow White into the VCR and fell back "asleep" on the couch while she gazed upon her beloved.  Then she wanted noodle soup.  Finally, Ben and Julianna got up, so I distributed stockings ("Julianna, it is not considered polite to say, "Why did you get me THIS?" when someone gives you a present.").  Julianna loved the little vinyl pheonix I gave her, Ben loved his parachute guy, Lily loved her kalidescope.  I gave them the "santa" gifts--games--and then I stagggered back to bed.  Crawled out at noon.  Muuuch better.

Ben has screamed and cried most of the day about one thing and another.  Steve first thought he was hungry, and food did calm him for a bit.  But then something else set him off.  Getting sick?  Maybe.  Flat out evil?  Seems likely.  It's the first night of Hanukkah tonight and he is outraged--OUTRAGED--that it isn't Hanukkah until sundown.  Whose idea was THAT?!?  WHY?!?  I WANT IT NOW!  I HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH!!!  Oy.  yet I understand there are those who like Christmas.  Go figure.  But hey, some people keep scorpions as pets, too.

Home for the Holidays

Well crud.  Julianna was barfing her guts out last night so we won't be going to my folks' house today.  She keeps gamely insisting that she's "feeling better" but it's not all that convincing with her lying on the couch like a 100 lb sack of potatoes.  So of course, all the kids are very disappointed.  They wanted to see the cousins.  And, of course, "What about our PRESENTS?!"  I assured them that I still had their stocking gifts, the "santa" gifts, the Hanukkah gifts.  "But what about the presents we would open tonight?  From Nonnie and Papa, from the cousin that drew our name?!"  So I said, okay, I'll give you a present to open tonight.  Ben burst into tears. "I've waited all this time and I have to wait until NIGHT?!? It's not FAIR!" (note to kids, scores of whom surely read this blog: "It's not fair" is not a defense.  Parents never go for it.  In fact, as often as not, it makes them want to vote AGAINST you.  Yeah, totally not fair.  I know.)  He was unconsoled by my telling him that even if we were AT my folks' house, there would be no presents until night time anyway.  I was able to cheer them up with the notion that now Santa would have to come to our house and we could leave the fireplace doors closed and he'd be trapped in there in the morning, tapping on the glass. Maybe he'd look up and see the dreidle lights hanging from the mantel and realize his fatal mistake.  The big ones cracked up while Lily sat there intoning, "But there's no such THING as Santa."  Right, that's why it's funny to trap him in the fireplace, sweety.  Holiday Magic manifests differently in our household of non-believers.  The annual Ideas for Torturing Santa will surely become tradtion.

I'm bummin' too, though.  Even though the house is way too crowded at Christmas, with something like 50 grandkids tearing around screaming and making shooting noises, it IS what we do.  And I like to be with MY parents on xmas.  I like to eat too many cookies and laugh about past holidays with my siblings.  Maybe play some cards.  Eat my dad's fruit salad for breakfast on xmas morning.  poop.  (I meant that as an expression of disappointment, not as part of the list of things I like to do.  Although I DO enjoy a good dump. But it's not especially magical at my parents' house).

So I plan to make real egg nog tonight, because nothing settles a queasy stomach like raw eggs and heavy cream.  I'll give the kids a gift to open, give Steve his gifts (other than the Nano, which he couldn't wait for), and tomorrow, we'll see how everyone feels.  If the barfies have passed we'll go to Delaware. My snowbird parents will flee for Florida sometime next week, hopefully we'll catch them before they go.

Update at 4 pm:  Now Lily is barfing, too.  We went to the grocery to get saltines and ginger ale for Julianna, and Lily hurled all over the sidewalk outside the store.  A nice nurse came up and offered to help, to go in and get my groceries for me.  I assured her that we could just go home and I'd come back without her.  Trying to console Lily she said, "Well, Santa's going to come anyway.  Don't you worry.  And he'll make you feel better."  Lily sobbed, "But dere's no such FING!"  I don't think Nurse caught it b/c she kept on.  And so did Lily.  I wanted to say, "Look, I think you're overstating the healing powers of Santa.  Even if he WERE real, I don't think there's anything in his mythology to suggest he heals the sick.  You're getting your theologies muddled."  But I just said thanks and scuttled away.  So now I'm trapped here w/a heaving toddler.  My stomach is queasy, but it's that weird am-I-hungry-or-nauseated kind.  Serious humbug here, folks.

Nothing is as funny as Uranus.

Is there anything with the comic staying power of Uranus?(See what I mean?)

>> Without such replenishment, the dust in the ring would slowly spiral in toward Uranus. Collectively, these new discoveries mean that Uranus has a youthful and dynamic system of rings and moons.<<

Y'see, the Hubble telescope has sent back pictures that show rings around Uranus. (snicker.  honest to god, nothing cracks me up like that.  I should have majored in astronomy and been happy all my days).

names, and too many critters

As of now, the babies are Mistletoe, Latke, Candy Cane, and Winter.  Winners can pick up their pigs in a couple of months.

And now we have 3 hermit crabs as well.  A neighbor girl had one and decided it was too much hassle so I said I'd take it.  And then I read about hermit crabs and discovered they're really very social.  So I went to the pet shop (damn, are their hermit crab rescues?  I didn't even check) and handed them my wallet and walked out with two wee crabs and a big pile of crap.

Crabitat:


And meet Solstice (named by Julianna), Sunny (named by Lily), and Sharkey (guess)


Sharkey was the original crab.  He's big and looks just like Mr. Krabbs from Spongebob, so *I* wanted to name him Eugene (what, you didn't know Mr.Krabbs' first name?  loser.), but nooooo.

Call me Dr. Doolittle.  Well, I never finished the Doctoral program, so we'll go with Master Doolittle.