DAM Family

Particular about the playground

2009-08-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

My two-and-a-half-year old is particular about the playground. On the way to the park the other day, Baby C asked very matter-of-factly: "Does the playground have mulch or sand?"

Well, I didn't know, so I told her we would have to determine that when we arrived. Turns out it was mulch. She was good with that. Don't know what would have happened if it were sand.

Got dang! It's hot in here.

2009-07-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Baby C has deciphered the heat with a grammatically questionable phrase: "Got dang! It's hot in here!"

Never mind the silliness of her saying this. She is correct. Very right. It measured 110 degrees in my vehicle today. Hopefully it was incorrect, but yuck. We need a reprieve. So I guess that's why we're off to Phoenix next week. OK...I wasn't really thinking when I made the reservations. It was February or so. What can I say?

I know. Got dang. It's hot out there.

Eye of the tiger

2009-06-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Since when are invitations based on how well you know someone's favorite karaoke song?

Since when do two-year-old babies say, "Stop it! You're giving me a headache." and "Leave me alone, Daddy."?

Since when are McDonald's ice cream cones 99 cents?

Today.

The song Eye of the Tiger wins me an invitation from a longtime friend, and my daughter is using the teen-ager-like idioms she shouldn't be.

The epitome of laziness

2009-06-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today, I helped (half-way) to order a pizza from bed.

**Begin excuse section:

It was because the two-hour workout today got to me, and I needed to take a nap this afternoon around 3:30 p.m. Then my husband Big G came into the bedroom around 5:30 p.m. and said that he was going to order pizza. I was still half-way sleeping and having heavy REM, dream-filled sleep, and c(w)ouldn't get up. He left, and then came back shortly with the laptop. He had submitted the order online. Then I spouted off my credit card number in my half-asleep state. So I think ordering a pizza in bed has got to be the laziest thing I've done in a LONG time.

Or is it?

**Begin rationale. I deserve a bit of laziness because I took the children bowling today, and I took them to the Y, where I worked out for two hours. I planned to take them swimming after the pizza. All of these things that surround the laziness are not indicative of laziness. So that's why. Ha.

Summer: Bowling, Swimming, and Chores!

2009-06-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

Will this summer be full of bowling? Will it be full of swimming? Or will it be full of whining boys and girl?

All of the above will happen, I am assuming. Bowling can happen almost daily, since there's one free game for each school-age child per day at the local-ish bowling alley. Swimming can also happen daily, now that the pool dues are paid! And whining is certain, because of the next fun thing I have lined up for the children.

That is: I'd love to come up with a list of chores for each child to do, because I think it builds character. Doesn't it?

My mother's idea when I was young was to throw a pile of clean clothes into the living room, and tell each child to fold 10 things. I, being the oldest and wisest, would go for the washcloths and towels. Sometimes, there were leftovers, meaning there were more clothes to fold after each of us folded 10 items. That was depressing. But hey, if that was the only depressing thing, then life was good!

So clothes folding, vacuuming, clothes washing, room cleaning, toilet cleaning, window cleaning, and more await. All of us should practice being Cinderella this summer. I don't wanna! How many whiners does that make? Oh. I guess all six of us.

Netflix is hazardous and helpful to Baby C

2009-05-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Older British cartoons are all the rage here in Texas, at least at our house. Kipper the Dog is a slow-paced cartoon about a dog and his friends, all with British accents.

Baby C loves the show, and decided to emulate lots of the language from the episodes she craves daily. She re-uses the language for her own purposes. Now, instead of saying, "I wanna do it now," she says, "I'll have a go."

In another side effect of the show, Baby C also now occasionally sucks her thumb like Arnold the Pig. Why? This cartoon is causing progression and regression all at the same time. While sucking her thumb, which enrages her father, Baby C is grinning through it, enjoying the infuriation it causes. I have to laugh, which makes it one of those lovely vicious cycles.

So let's have a go at a great weekend. May it be full of language from faraway lands but no thumb-sucking.

Sleeping Booty has a crush

2009-05-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

Baby C tends to be creative with her costumes. This could be because we have butterfly wings, lots of headbands, and hats laying around. She names herself most creatively, though, when she wraps her blanket around herself. Then, and only then, is she "Sleeping Booty!" She doesn't get the sound of the "eau" quite yet.

We laugh. But Sleeping Booty thinks she has found her prince in her 14-year-old brother's friend. The whole family went to a dance last night. Yes, those big weekday school dances are great. We did the chicken dance, and indeed we looked like chickens, albeit with our heads missing.

At the dance, Baby C wanted her brother's friend to say hi. Remember, she's two. And a half. When he did tell her hello, she smiled, hid her face in her hands, and then looked up at us, and said sweetly, "He talked to me!"

Oh, goodness. Sleeping Booty woke up.

Abscond, please, vomit bowl!

2009-02-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

What kind of child throws up on the way to school, and then says he still wants to go to school? The amazing Big J, that's who.

When will the illnesses go away? Four children and two parents, four grandparents all have had multiple ailments in the last two weeks. There has been a multitude of:

coughing
running and jumping pneumonia
flu-B
fevers
diarrhea
vomiting galore
allergies
Zyrtec depression

Go away large white bowl designed to mix cake, not collect vomit! I actually made a cake last week in hopes that there would be no more vomit. No such luck.

Go away, and DO NOT come again another rainy day.

Sing along with me

2009-02-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Last week, my daughter wanted to jump on her crib mattress (that's on the floor next to her play pen). She also wanted to sing a song at the same time. "Sing a-long with me," she says. What? Never mind that she had pneumonia. But it was walking pneumonia, not running and jumping pneumonia.

All better now.

Casa Ole Antics

2008-12-22T16:20:00.000-08:00

Casa Ole is not the place to learn gymnastics.

Today, Baby C and I went out with Auntie Sara and James to Casa Ole for some slightly Tex-Mex food. Baby C decided to try a booster seat, against my better judgment. Then, two thirds of the way into a slightly stressful lunch, I was making a rice tortilla, when Sara screamed. I threw the tortilla on my plate, and turned just in time to see Baby C's feet flying over the booth (she was headfirst) into the seat behind us. Luckily, there were no people sitting there. Or unluckily. She was unhurt, and popped up immediately, smiling but looking slightly shocked.

I told Sara she might need to take me to the ER for cardiac arrest. The people at a nearby table waited to make sure Baby C was OK, and then laughed and laughed. They offered to take me to the ER.

Well, the cheese nachos were good. And the cheese didn't end up on the floor. Or in a backpack. It was a successful day.

Cheese dip is no more

2008-12-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

Cheese dip in a backpack. All in the backpack. That's how the DAM Family morning began this morning.

Little B has his holiday party on Friday, and needs to bring a dip. Luckily, I had the forethought to get two dip choices at the local grocery mart on Monday. He had the choice of spicy queso dip and hot bean dip. The bean dip is the one that made it to school.

And the spicy queso dip made it into the trash can after a mad rush to find a new backpack, clean off the homework folder, and to the second bus stop in the neighborhood, all within three minutes.

Seven-year-olds should not take glass dip jars to school, even after three-five reminders to be very careful. At least it didn't happen on the bus???