Countdown to the Superbowl

Let's get ready to RUMBLE! I love this picture even though it's super blurry because this was just before he made a perfect pass with a heckofa spiral (which, of course, I dropped). That purple and gold football is a Minnesota Vikings toy that Grandpa B sent down from the Northland. When you catch it, it says "TOUCHDOWN VIKINGS!" or either it sings, "On Vikings, let's win the game ... On Vikings, honor your name." Great toy. However, The Goose is forbidden from ever seriously thinking that I will allow him to play such a rough sport. I like to watch football, but I wouldn't like it if my Buddy Snickums were involved in a game where getting tackled is required.

I really don't have anything to say because I'm right in the middle of preparing for my insane work week. I like it after Tuesday, but from Sunday to Tuesday things are a little hairy (Tuesdays I teach in the morning AND at night).

So, in order to reduce the insanity, I'm going to try to stop posting except for on Thursday nights. That's my goal. I have a little bit of an obsession with taking pictures and posting, so writing down my goal will hopefully help me to cut back a little. What are the chances of this happening? Here's a hint: Tonight is Sunday and I'm swamped with work and here I am writing about a singing football.

Anyway ... we had a fabulous day today ... church then napping then OUTSIDE. The weather was warm like Spring and our friends "The Basha" and his mom came over for a playdate. The Basha (not his real name) is almost exactly one year younger than The Goose so they're not big buds just yet, but soon enough the age difference won't be so dramatic and they can hang.

No other news to report. Look for another post late on Thursday night, or better yet, just check in on Friday morning. And please don't try any of that pouring on the guilt stuff. Guilt always works on me because I am a pleaser, so just please allow me to simplify my life in this way.

Have a great week!

Potties, Positiveness, Poop, Puddles, Practice ... Precious

How to Use the Potty:

Hmmm, do I know how to use the potty?

Maybe you do this first?

Yes! That's it! Then you sit in it. I've got it. Piece of cake.

So, let's see ... what other updates are there. Oh yes, many:

1. Positive Reinforcement Works. Mama has been learning so much lately ... most of it is from Dad, but some of it is from parenting books and just using common sense. I have watched in awe the last few days as The Goose responds to praise and belief in his abilities. He will practically do anything you ask him if you phrase it just right. Wow. And there are other times when things don't go so smoothly and someone is stomping around throwing banana peels. And it's never The Dad.
2. He can say lots of new things: duck, quack, light, tick-tock, dog, and hissssssss (like a snake -- a PICTURE of a snake).
3. If he steps in dog poop, don't worry, he'll find a mud puddle to wash it off in. We were at the park today and he stepped in dog poop and it got all over his shoes and my pants and I seriously thought of just stripping us both down, throwing the clothes in the trash, and driving home naked. But thank the Good Lord for rain because it creates the most inviting of mud puddles. Mud puddles so large and unavoidable that everyone within a 10 foot radius gets soaked when you throw a large piece of broken-off blacktop right into the center of it.

And one last laugh:

Nekkid Baseball Practice

A Clock Shirt, Reading Aloud, & SNAKES!

Updates:

1. This is him in his new, wildly appropriate clock/Thomas shirt.

2. He now can read aloud. All books sound like this, "GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE."

3. He can make a HiSSSSSSsssss sound to answer the question, "What does a snake say?"

Mama is tired, but she did post a couple other pictures in Flickr for the enjoyment of the friends/relatives.

Have a great week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MAMA!

As of tomorrow (the 21st) I will enter the last year of my 20s. And who even cares? Not me, 'cause we've got a sitter and we're going out to a Morroccan restaurant that has real live professional bellydancers. I am fully prepared to be asked to interview/audition for a job on account of my past bellydancing experience (if you don't know this about me, shoot me a quick email and we'll catch up).

I swear I am not writing this to solicit birthday calls and emails (although those are certainly welcome). I really just wanted to show off the one gift that I opened early, this photo collage taken by Nana. To. Die. For.

Eat. Him. Up.

Also, I took some doozies of my own today and one begs to be posted (the rest you'll have to click for).

Behold the cheese:

Happy Birthday to Me!

OH! I almost forgot. How could I? This is huge: My friend Mamabird gave me a Pro Flickr account for my birthday and so now I can upload approximately one point seven zillion and a half times three photos! Thanks Ashfriend!

SNOW DAY!

Yesterday we woke up to a HUGE DUSTING of snow. HA HA HA. And so all schools were closed including mine and The Goose's and we got to stay home and make snowmen that were so small you needed a microscope to view them. Because seriously, there was so little snow and it warmed up so fast that by noon it was nearly 60 degrees and all signs of precipitation had vanished. NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING OR ANYTHING. We still had a blast.

But you know me ...

I forgot to take any pictures of us playing in the snow. So, in lieu thereof, I have put some photos in my Flickr account that document the other parts of our day.

The blurry picture above documents The Goose's new infatuation with a picture of Clementine Cat (my first child). Clementine lives with my parents on account of the fact that Husband is allergic to her and anyway she is perfectly happy there sleeping away on top of the afgan on the couch where there are no ceiling fans. She hates ceiling fans.

I have this fantastic picture of her reclining in my parents' backyard. The frame has the word "Meow" printed on all sides and it was setting on the bookshelf in the living room. On Sunday The Goose discovered this picture and ever since has been carrying it around admiring it and making his Reserved-Only-For-Animals noise, which is sort of like a high-pitched "dah-eee, dah-eee, dah-eee" sound. This sound is used for most small animals including ducks, dogs, cats, songbirds, and mice (not real ones -- in books). Big animals always get a "Moo." Even camels.

Recently he has discovered stars and the moon and points these out in all of his books. He can also identify teddy bears, balls, and bananas. The sponge qualities of his brain are baffling.

Also on our Snow Day we hosted a playdate with McKutie (not her real name) ... a park employee's daughter. She is obsessed with Thomas the Train too, so our train set was a huge hit. Until Buddy Snickums snatched Thomas out of her hands, at which time big crocodile tears came pouring forth and a pitiful little, "I want my Mama" was uttered under the breath. Luckily, The Goose abandoned Thomas relatively quickly, some beans & weanies were served, and the catastrophe was averted.

The Dad came home at 2:30 p.m. and we danced to our new Laurie Berkner CD (thanks Aunt Val & Uncle John!) -- our favorites are "I Really Love to Dance" and the title track, BUZZ BUZZ song ... "Oh Bumblebee, can't you see ... it's just you and me and we go BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ, Buzz buzz buh buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buh buzz!"

We are big into dancing these days. The Go-Gos, The Pretzel Song, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, you name it, we dance to it.

Otherwise we spend our days WORKING, planning the upcoming 5-year anniversary trip, awaiting the arrival of Cornelius The Cousin, and WORKING. Did I mention that I'm working more now?

Well, gotta run and go do some WORK. Y'all take care, and click on the picture above to see some other cute photos of our Snow Day.

Sweet 16

Dear JEB,

One year ago, you looked like this and everyone was going mad over this photo. I think one of your grandmas actually has this picture framed and displayed TWICE in her house. And we have it too, on top of the piano, because seriously, it's just so YOU. The seriousness just about kills me.

And it is that serious side of you that other people often comment on. Like my new co-workers. As you know, I have recently started working more, and so your pictures have come in handy to show off at work. I showed my fellow teachers the one below, which was back in November of 2005 (SO last year) and someone said, "Oh my goodness, he looks like a senator."

Yes, you can be quite serious at times. Like tonight, for instance, when I refused to let you take your blanky into the bath. This caused a screaming fit which lasted the entirety of the time it took me to bathe you from head to toe. Even the old toothbrush trick didn't work to snap you out of it (you know -- the one where I hand you my toothbrush and let you pretend to brush your teeth?). There you stood in the tub, refusing to sit down -- which is in and of itself a major no-no -- SCREAMING your head off and letting me have it in Goosese. I think you may have even made up some naughty words to say tonight, such was the level of your anger.

Despite your Serious Facade, for the most part you are a Total Goofball. You spend your days navel-gazing, flicking the lights on and off, attempting to use forks & spoons, learning new words, and dancing every chance you get. Whether it's snippets of Swedish pop music from an interview on NPR, Dad's awful heavy metal, or your fun "Buzz Buzz" CD by Laurie Berkner, you are a dancing maniac. In the car, at home, at school, in the store ... you always find a way to move.

You can find numerous body parts on command, but you give special attention to buttons ...

yours, mine, your dad's, anyone who'll lie down on the floor for a while. Buttons are serious bidness around here. They call for an immediate tackle and that thing where you put your mouth on said button and blow ... this results in immeasurable hilarity -- guffawing to be exact. You have this really great hardy har laugh where you actually say, "HAHAHA!" and then immediately repeat whatever comical action inspired the laugh.

Your dad and I spend many hours now just watching you practice and develop your fine motor skills. Of particular interest to watch are your abilities at unscrewing any type of cap (milk cartons, body lotion, etc.) and your proclivity for putting tiny objects into tiny compartments over and over again. You have a Toddler CD Rom which has six different games -- pop the balloon to see a picture, watch the dog dance to familiar nursery rhyme tunes, match an animal with it's sound, etc. -- which you BEG to play every night after dinner. I usually acquiesce since I get such a kick out of this too. When the cow is covered up by three poppable balloons, you start saying, "MOooooo" before I can even move the mouse over to pop the second and third balloons. But the entire time you are watching it, you like to hold an ink pen and take the cap on and off, on and off, occasionally stopping to make some marks on a piece of paper.

Oh, and then there are clocks. The other night we were in my favorite Asian Fusion restaurant (Peter's) and there was a clock on the wall which can only be described as unusual. It was oval shaped with a triangle-rooftop kinda thing ... seems like it had some neon-lights somewhere on it, but no numbers, and scarcely viewable hands .. and still you looked right at it and said CLOCK clear as day. This baffles me. You also think that the produce scale in the grocery store is a clock, but that makes sense. It just blows my mind that you can identify these bizarre-shaped clocks with no numbers or other easily identifiable features. Genius.

I guess your clock obsession is quite appropriate because time is FLYING by and already I am nostalgic for days gone by. Not the days of no sleep, thank you very much, but the days when you were amazed by your hands and feet and when I didn't need a chiropractor after each time I took you on a hike (I'm guessing that you are nearing 25 pounds of solid muscular wiggle worm). What happens to all of those little moments with you ... all of those days of nursing, nursing, nursing & then rolling over & then crawling & then walking (& now running) ... and all of that love?

The only thing I can figure is that it must be compounding like the interest in your little savings account. Happy Sweet 16, Goosey Guy!

Love,

Mama

Best $3 Ever Spent

Not the kid y'all! The cart! We would never have paid three whole dollars for that Buddy Snickums. He came free. And plus, now that we've trained him pretty good, we figure his value has increased. I mean, not that we need the money anymore since we now have TWO WORKING PARENTS around here. See, things are looking up!

Well, it's been a week exactly since my last post and that may be the norm from here on out. I have a five-day-a-week job now teaching and as a result, I have much less free time. But so far so good!

Today we woke up to a little dusting of snow and some MUCH lower temperatures, so of course we immediately went out into the lovely weather following The Battle of Mittens. He can push that cart all the way down to our mailbox and back. OK, maybe not all the way back. Usually I end up carrying him and the cart, but we're working on it.

And now, a lesson:

HOW TO EAT LEFTOVER SPAGHETTI WITHOUT SAUCE:

First, lean your head WAY down into the bowl and attempt to grab the noodles with your teeth while simultaneously pushing with your hand:

Since this is not likely to be all that successful, then you should lift your head up a bit and get both hands in there:

Third, sit all the way up so that many of the noodles come out of the bowl in one big clump ... continue stuffing them into your mouth:

Finally, withdraw your hand so that most of the spaghetti drops down into your lap. Don't worry, mom will come along at some point and pluck up every noodle and stick it right back in your bowl so you can start over.

A Potato Bin & Thomas's Train Station Clock

January 2006
Originally uploaded by Kimmy Crack Corn.

Here he is with two of his favorite toys: my new potato bin and the train station with the clock.

Red, Cute, & Blue

Wow. Do y'all see that Snickerdoodle there to your left? Is that not irresistible?

If your answer is "no" then you aren't welcome on this site anymore. It's that simple.

The pictures in this post are phenomenal and of course I must give credit where credit is due: Nana is the photographer of the year.

So far this year has gone well for The Goose. Mostly because just before it started we went to the Northland to visit Nana & Grampy and while there saw Aunty Amy,

Uncky Todd, Cousin Cornelius

(who, at the time, was known as Lashondra Delondra Povondra), Great Grandpa B, Great Grandma, Great Uncle Joe, Great Aunt Freddie, Great Uncle John, Great Aunt Val, and cousins Joe & Dan. Whew. And then there were the gifts ...

The car & the teddy:

The teddy again and a Baby da Vinci video:

Thumbs up to that.

But things aren't always that good. Especially when you stand up in the tub and dad swats your butt:

Don't feel too sorry for him ... this was about ten seconds later:

Possibly the best part about Nana & Grampy's (besides the people) was the clocks. N & G have clocks in just about every room in their house. The one pictured below has a pendulum and you have to wind it and it chimes on the hour, half hour, and quarter hour and that is serious business.

And then we returned home and just a few days later, Macy & Grandaddy came to visit and brought a Thomas the Tank Starter Set:

Look closely at that picture ... do you see the train station? Well, of all things, it has a CLOCK on the front that is the size of my thumb nail. The first day we put it together he stood and pointed at it and said CLOCK twenty-seven times. I kept saying, "No, buddy, it's Thomas the Train," and he kept saying CLOCK and looky there he was right. Mama needs laser eye surgery.

In fact, there have been many, many times in the past couple weeks that I have stood corrected where, indeed, there was a clock that I had previously not noticed. Take, for example, our recent visit to the mall. Of all the visual stimuli in the mall (besides, of course, the egg-sized disco balls at The Limited which were a huge hit), he was most interested in the clocks in the window displays. There were lights and ornaments hanging from the ceiling (apparently the mall follows the liturgical calendar and leaves their decorations up until Epiphany (which is tomorrow, by the way)) but none of that could hold a candle to the clocks.

And even though he cannot yet say "moon," he is hyper-aware of the moon as well. Yesterday he and The Dad were playing outside in broad daylight ... on a partly cloudy day with a really new moon ... and the clouds parted for just a second and he started pointing up hysterically and talking in Goosese about something. Finally, after much deliberation, we decided that it could only be the moon, since there were no planes, birds, or aliens. This happens anytime the moon is up.

Now I'm not trying to push any labels on him, but I recently read that one way to identify gifted children is by their ability to identify tiny details that the normal person would overlook. So maybe he'll be a clockmaker ... or an astronaut!

Hmm ... on second thought, I think I like the idea of clockmaker better. Fewer occupational hazards.

So that's about all from The Geese. I'll leave you with this picture of the three of us:

Happy New Year!

2006: The Year of The Goose

Beater Love
Originally uploaded by Kimmy Crack Corn.

Happy New Year Everybody! We had a lovely weekend of sniffles and nebulizing all while visiting with Macy and Grandaddy. Not much time to write for now, but you can see lots of holiday pictures (although the REALLY good ones are on their way from Nana) by clicking on the photo of Beater Love. More later ...