Progress on R2's room

Daddy has been painting. Everything is still in progress. Here are a few samples.

Mama's best April Fools' Day joke ever

Oosje's comment on Helper was a timely reminder of my best April Fools' Day joke.

It was April Fools' Day, when I was 7 or 8. This the days when the best beer that could be purchased was Budweiser in a can, so that's the kind of beer that Bampa drank. I carefully punched a hole in the bottom of a beer can, drained all the beer, and replaced it with salt water. Then I sealed up the bottom with some duct tape and put it back in the refrigerator. This was all my idea, and I was very proud of it.

When Bampa got home, I got him his beer. Now, I am certain that he knew exactly what was up because I probably ran to the door and said "Hi Daddy. Do you want a beer? Let me get it for you!! Tee hee hee giggle giggle giggle!! (smirk)." Auntie BSU was probably following me, also laughing and smirking.

He sat down to watch the news and M.A.S.H., which was the nightly ritual. He was nice to me and made a big show of opening his beer and taking a big swallow before saying "UGH!". I laughed and laughed. Auntie BSU laughed and laughed. Bampa laughed, too. My joke was complete. I've never again come up with an April Fools nearly as good.

Unfortunately, I can't share the idea with Boo and R2 because Daddy doesn't drink beer out of a can.

MAMA IS SO EXCITED!

I know there are visitors to Strider's House who are inexplicably not fans, although I don't think that there are any unaware of my unashamed love for my teenage boyfriend. So, for anyone not following along, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last book in the series, will be released July 21. Mama, Daddy and R2 will be at the midnight release party at Powells City of Books, perhaps with one or both of the Travis Girls (TG #1 went with us for Book 5, but was at church camp for Book 6. TG #2 is now old enough to go, too). Boo will be with Fred, who has generously offered to babysit in exchange for a copy of the book.

Today, the cover was released. I can barely contain myself!

Helper

Boo loves to help with everything these days. Sometimes it's hard to come up with jobs for her to do that are safe and don't increase the parent's work significantly. Other times, she can actually do something small that is helpful. Here are some of her jobs:

• Feed Strider. Boo can take the cup of food, pour it in his bowl, return it to the bag, and close the door. She can also pour small amounts of water in his dish.
• Hold the dustpan while Mama is sweeping. She likes this one. There is a dustpan and a little wisk broom in the laundry room and while I'm folding laundry, I have to hold the dustpan for her.
• Scrub spots on the floor with a brush while Mama is mopping. Actually, she decided that the windows needed scrubbing more than the floor, and I won't say she was wrong about that!
• Put wet laundry in the dryer.
• Count things. Count vitamins. Count cans of water for the juice. Count cups of water and oatmeal going into the pot.
• Stir the juice. We have a juice pitcher with a built-in plunger that she uses with great enthusiasm. It only splashes out a little bit and keeps her busy while Mama makes oatmeal (or whatever).
• Wash things. Fruit, vegetables, utensils, etc.
• Bring Daddy beer. She's only done this once so far, last weekend. Daddy was in the living room and Mama was in the kitchen. He asked Boo to go ask Mama for a beer for Daddy. She did, carried it back to him, and then brought the cap back and threw it in the trash. They were both pleased with the result.

French Toast For Lunch

Boo got Lil 11's crayons today at lunch.

Stars II

As regular readers know, Boo and Daddy put some stars up on her ceiling about a month ago. The first night we all laid on her floor at bedtime and looked at them. Every night since then, the parent doing bedtime has to lay on the floor and hear the story of how Boo and Daddy put up the stars.

"Look at the pretty stars, Boo."
"Boo help Daddy"
"Did you help Daddy put stars on your ceiling?"
"Boo on stepstool. Daddy on stool."
"Yes, what did you do?"
"Boo Daddy big stars little stars."
"You handed Daddy the stars one at a time?"
"Nyah" (translation = yes)
"Did Daddy put them on the ceiling for you?"
"Pink ones white ones."
"Yes, pink and white and blue ones."
"Boo on stool."
"Boo and Daddy did a good job of putting stars up. They are very pretty."

R2 Update from Babycenter.com

This week, your baby measures about 16 inches long. He weighs a little over 3 pounds and is headed for a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and he's beginning to accumulate a layer of fat underneath his skin in preparation for life as a newborn. As a result, his arms, legs, and body are filling out.

Breakfast

Boo's "bunny ears just like rabbit" were a must for breakfast this morning.

Egg-in-a-circle-toast

Egg-in-a-circle-toast was a standby breakfast in my family from as far back as I can remember. It's about as easy as it can get. Take a piece of toast and cut a circle out of the middle with a cookie-cutter. Put it in a pan, crack an egg into the middle, and fry both sides til the egg is done and the toast is crispy. Then, fry the circles so they are crunchy and buttery. Yum.

A month or so ago Auntie BSU called to say that Lil' Eleven had her first egg-in-a-circle-toast and approved of it. I thought hmmm, I haven't made one for Boo yet. No reason, I just got out of the practice of making them. I'll have to do that soon. But, I forgot. Then, we went to visit Oosje and Bampa and they had Honey Wheat Berry Bread, which is the right kind of bread for egg-in-a-circle-toast, and I started thinking about it again. When I got home, I bought the bread.

Try One
Saturday morning (a few weeks ago). Pan, butter, cookie cutter. Complete failure. The circle was too small. The egg oozed out everywhere. Then it stuck to the pan. It was a disaster. I threw it away.

OK. I haven't made one in awhile. How long has it been, I wondered? I have no idea. Years and years.

Try Two
Back to the cookie cutters. You know, nothing says that egg-in-a-circle toast couldn't be egg-in-a-star-toast or egg-in-a-christmas-tree-toast I realized. Maybe that's my addition to the experience. But, I didn't want to repeat my too-small mistake, so I chose a pentagon. It was the biggest cookie cutter I have. The experience went a little better, although it was still too small and still stuck. But, it was good enough. Boo enjoyed.

The next morning I realized "Duh!". I've got this all wrong. I wasn't using the egg pan. What was I thinking? Now, for those of you who don't know, the egg pan was Bampa's. It is older than I am. It's perfectly seasoned so that eggs don't stick. You only cook eggs in it, and you never wash it with soap. Hot water and a towel. When I was about 17 or 18, Oosje and Bampa wrote their wills and asked Auntie BSU and I to make a list of what we wanted from the house when they passed away. I was getting ready to go to college and I put down all kinds of things that were, to me, the things that made our house ours. The things that I remembered had always been there, or things I remembered acquiring that had become fixtures. A few years ago after a death in the family, I reconsidered my list. I realized that it wasn't the old brass fire-extinguisher lamp that made home home, but the more everyday things that were part of what my family is. I asked to revise my list and asked for Oosje's sewing scissors and Bampa's egg pan. For some reason, they gave them both to me right away.

The egg pan scares Daddy. He won't touch it. I think it scares some other people, too. There is a concern that not washing the pan will leave baddies behind and we'll all die from the bacteria. I remain committed to the pan. The first thing you do is get it really hot. It doesn't work if you crack eggs into it when it's cold. I'm satisfied that kills the baddies. Plus the fact that I'm sure I've had thousands of eggs out of it over the last three decades, as have Oosje, Bampa, Auntie BSU, and anyone who had breakfast at our house, and not once has anyone gotten food poisoning.

Try Three
Sunday morning. Boo asked for "sucle toast". Armed with the egg pan, I was still in search of the right size cutter. I tried the brandy glass. Perfect. Egg pan operated flawlessly. Boo enjoyed again. She likes purple jam and peanut butter on the circle toast. I decided to have one. My only remaining lesson was that the handle of the pan gets really hot after two eggs, plus two circle toasts. It requires a hot mitt the second time around.

We've now had several more successful runs. I've got all the kinks worked out. Boo regularly requests it. I even made one for Oosje last week and she approved. Now I need to go get a large circle cookie cutter, because the brandy glass is not a good long-term solution.

Sleep update

Early on in R2's construction, I went from one pillow to two. Last week I went to three and four in one day. My upper body was comfortable, but it made my hips hurt. So, I'm back down to two pillows.

Boo liked climing the pillow mountain on the bed and jumping off. It scared me. I thought I would try to use illustrative learning. So, I said "What happens to the 5 little monkeys who jump on the bed?"

"Jump on bed!!!"
"Yes, but when they jump on the bed, what happens?"
"Monkeys jump on bed!"
"Yes, they do. Do they fall off and bonk their heads?"
"Monkeys jump on bed! Jump! Jump! Jump!"
"Yes, and when they jump on the bed, they fall off and bonk their head. I don't want you to fall off and bonk your head. That would be ouch."
"Monkeys jump on bed just like Boo!"
"Will Boo fall off the bed and bonk her head like the monkeys?"
"No. Boo jump on bed. Jump! Jump! Jump! All by self!"
"No, Boo. No jumping on the bed."
(Smile to Full Pout in .1 seconds)
"Boo jump on bed!!!"

Oh well. So much for reasoning with a toddler. Maybe next year.

R2 Update from Babycenter.com

Your baby is now able to distinguish between light and dark, and he can even follow a light source back and forth. Once he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light, but he won't be able to see anything that's more than a few inches from her face. Since you'll want to hold him close as much as possible, you'll be in the perfect spot for him to get a good look at you.

Spring

When I was little, Oosje and Bampa ordered a few books that were "Me and the ____". Long before desktop publishing, someone was making personalized books and wrote stories in which I was the protagonist, accompanied by Auntie BSU, Tarol & Tenny (my next-door neighbors), and Tomo (our short-lasted evil little dog). Together we had adventures including Me and the Yellow-Eyed Monster, Me in the Mousehouse, Me and the Bee, and Me and the Reluctant Robin.

In Me and the Reluctant Robin, it is time for Spring to come but it has been delayed. Armed with some basic craft supplies, the crew went south with in search of a red-breasted robin. The problem was that Spring can't arrive until someone sees the first red-breasted robin, but he ws cozy and warm in the south and didn't feel like flying to Snowland to herald in the season. He had some pretty whiney complaints. "It's too cold." "There are no flowers." "There are no bugs or butterflies." "There is no rain." With our craft supplies and a little bit of magic, we remedied the situation and coaxed the robin back north to do his duty.

OK, no, I don't remember all these details. I still have the book, along with the rest of the set.

Because of the book, every spring for my childhood, we looked for the first red-breasted robin as the sign that Spring had arrived. To this day, I still notice the first one I see in the year, and that is the start of Spring for me. While the books didn't cover the advent of Summer, Fall and Winter, I have ways of knowing when those arrive, too. The feel of the air, the smell, the change in humidity, and the fact that my skin gets dry.

Daddy and I realized some years ago that he has another way of identifying the seasons, which he is very adamant about. He knows it is Spring, or whatever, when the calendar tells him so. It's an actual fact, he says, that seasons have a calendar duration.

This is true in a technical sense. But, when the first snow hits on Halloween and there several feet of snow on the ground by Thanksgiving, requiring snowpants, down jackets, boots (not the pretty moon boots that the other girls have, but the practical, brown, "Packs" that would actually protect us from the cold) just to get to school, it's hard to say it's still Fall for another month.

I've recently thought that maybe the difference in our identification of the seasons is because Daddy grew up in Sunland, where there are only really two seasons: Summer and January. So, the only way he could tell that it was Spring was by consulting the calendar. I posed this theory to him, and he disagrees. He still thinks that use of the equinox and solstice is the only way that anyone who is not insane marks the seasons.

So, for those of you who are comfortable with an intuitive or nature-based approach to the seasons, the first red-breasted robin appeared on Daddy's barbeque on Tuesday morning, coming just a few days before the sun-spending-equal-amounts-of-time-above-and-below-the-horizon-at-all-points-on-earth definition.

Look! My ice cream matches my shirt!

The sun is out. Daddy is celebrating not having a trial next week. It is a 31derful day.

Stage 4 Waddle

Full waddle has set in. Is there any wonder why?

R2's Room

Oosje, Daddy, Strider & Boo did work hard last weekend, but the room is still only part done. Here's an "in progress" photo.

All I Really Need to Know, I Learned From My Child

WARNING FROM STRIDER:

THE CUTESY CHEEESE LEVEL FOR TODAY'S BLOG HAS BEEN ELEVATED TO "SEVERE"

This came to me via email. I thought it was sweet.

All I Really Need to Know, I Learned from My Child

Sleep as much as you can...

Read books that you enjoy...

Play with simple things...

Do whatever you want whenever you want...

Look for affection when you need it...

Get serious once in a while...

Forget about diets...

Show some affection...

Get angry once in a while...

Change your look...

Above all be happy, regardless what your challenges may be, and have a great year!

OMSI

Oosje and Boo worked hard painting R2's room this week and earned some playtime.

Bayer Chewable Asprin

Post-lunch sweet snack today was a handful of jelly beans. I put several in my mouth without looking at the colors. The combination somehow tasted exactly like children's asprin.

I commented on that, walking through the office, to no one in particular. All of the women said "Mmmm, yum." All of the men said "What? How do you know what children's asprin tastes like?"

I thought everyone remembered that particular orange-cream-soda with a salty tangy aftertaste. I was apparently wrong. The women who do remember it have very strong associations. The men are confused.

I don't think this is a gender thing. I know Daddy knows what children's asprin tastes like. I think there is even a restaurant in town that serves a drink that tastes like it.

One of the men suggested that my parents were more "mainstream" than his and that we were probably allowed Fruit Loops, too. Can you hear Auntie BSU laughing? Grape nuts and shredded wheat were our cereals, with toast and "better butter". If you haven't experienced "better butter", count your blessings.

I also wondered whether maybe it was generational, but the men who don't remember are within 2 years of my age and the women are several years older and younger.

Now I'm just curious. Why is it such a strong sense-memory for some people and not others?

So, if you feel like adding to my research, tell me whether you know what children's asprin tastes like and I'll see if I can draw any useful conclusions.

Toes

I'll work on a belly picture. In the meantime, I can tell you this. When Boo was under construction, I made regular checks to see if I had lost my toes yet. I looked down yesterday and realized that they disappeared long ago. If I stand straight up against the wall, I have to lean forward so that my shoulders come off the wall at least 5 inches to see my toes over my watermelon-shaped belly.

Obi Wan Kenobi May the Force be with you, and you, and you, and you....

Thursday through Saturday I was five hours from home on business. As a side note, I spent a couple of hours on Friday night working on a long blog entry that got completely wiped out as soon as I tried to post it. Drat.

On Saturday, Daddy put Boo down for her nap and went to the living room where he flipped channels on the TV. Daddy has been very busy at work, plus single parenting for a few days, and he needed some downtime. Fortunately, he soon found Star Wars, which will always hold Daddy's attention.

Boo woke up and wandered in a post-nap daze to the living room. She sat on the couch next to Daddy, rubbed her eyes, and looked confused for a few minutes.

Then, she looked at Daddy and, pointing to the TV, asked "Who that?"

Daddy said "That is Obi Wan Kenobi".

"Oh, Obi Wan Kenobi?"

"Yes, Obi Wan Kenobi."

Boo thought about this for a few minutes and then said to herself,

"Obi Two Kenobi (mumble mumble mumble) Obi Five Kenobi (mumble mumble mumble)...."

Happy Birthday to Auntie BSU

Have a great day!

Booty

Thanks to Amanda for two firsts, inspired by Daddy.







Boo's first pair of Vans.














R2's first pair of Robeez.

R2 Update from BabyCenter.com

By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. The big news this week is that your baby can open and close his eyes — which now sport full lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before he's batting those beauties at you! He'll also turn his head toward a continuous, bright light from the outside.