Can you handle it?

"Well, I can take the hotness."

-- Mia's comment to me after I told her we would be waiting until it cooled down this evening to go out and water the flowers

He Speaks, and it is Good

Sentences have broken forth from my son in the last 4 or 5 days. Requests. Commentary. Demands. Encouragement.

"Eemee, Doe, eemee." (excuse me, Joe, excuse me)

"Mama, eat dodurt?" (Mom, can I have some yogurt?)

"Mama, nice surt, mama, naasss." (Mom, nice shirt, really nice)

"See doose, mama, see?" (Can I peek in your cup of mysterious drink?)

"Okay, sorree. Mama Soree..." (Okay, I'm sorry, Mom)

This has been brewing for some time of course but the first big moment was over this past weekend when I was at Grandma and Grandpa's house with the kids and Joe was over watching a movie with us. Joe was lying on the ground and blocking Quinn's intended path. "Eemee, Doe, eemee!"

Joe looked up at me with eyebrows raised. Whoa! That was a clear request!

My boy is growing up... just a month and a half and we'll be celebrating birthday number two.

I HEART GEORGE MICHAEL

So I am sitting here watching the TiVo I have been saving of the American Idol finale. AND OMG I LOVE GEORGE MICHAEL. I used to know this and wail along with his music regularly. His songs get me so EMOTIONAL... tears or really happy. Feels so good to feel so bad with him.

I must go forth and buy the CD's I either lost in the great CD purge of 1998 or never did acquire. Take note, anyone looking for a birthday idea for me or if Santa is listening or if you were considering sending me an anonymous gift, oh secretly admiring reader.

Songs that I LOVE that I forgot:
FAITH
FREEDOM
FATHER FIGURE
KISSING A FOOL
and on and on....

Enchanted

A couple of weeks ago two coupons for free movie rental at Hollywood arrived in my mail. This meant I could go rent a couple of movies as that is normally an off-budget extravagance. I wanted to see I am Legend and No Country for Old Men... but I started with just the No Country because I don't have a lot of time to watch movies on my own. Two seemed really ambitious.

No Country for Old Men was a good movie. Not the most amazing thing I've seen but good. I liked Tommy Lee Jones and that crazy-eyed Javier dude. The main character was sort of an idiot, or at the very least someone who I could never relate to. So I can appreciate the film but don't get very emotional about it.

That was the weekend before last. This past Thursday I trekked back up to Hollywood, this time with Mia and Quinn. I rarely go to the video store (as I've mentioned) but once upon a time I was a regular and I have a big need to do the typical perimeter scan of new releases from left to right... then if still looking I work the interior.

With the tots in tow this is a drawn out stroll full of cajoling, threatening, and all out begging on my part for them to: put that down, stay where I can see them, follow me, watch out for the other nice people, etc etc.

We were getting far along our lap around the store and still no Legend. But Mia spied a very princessey DVD case. Before I could spit out "WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU DO NOT PICK UP THE MOVIES PLEASE PUT THAT DOWN PLEASE PUT THAT DOWN" she let out a very excited gasp and smiled so big and said "Please Mama can we please watch this movie together when Quinn takes his nap?"

I am putty. I say yes. I think "yay... more princesses I never heard of UGH."

I also picked up that Will Smith movie.

Mia and I watched Enchanted (twice) this weekend. This movie made me laugh so hard. There is this scene where the two leads are walking through Central Park and random civilians join in a huge song and dance number. It gave me great joy.

At the end when all the true love's kisses were happening, Mia curled up against me and grabbed my arm. I looked over at her and she had tears in her eyes. It surprised me so much! I asked her if she was okay and she just smiled and told me she was just really happy for them.

My sweetie.

I am Legend was okay.

Back on line

IT HAS BEEN FOREVER since I posted to this, and I am psyched to finally be back on line. I surprisingly missed the tiny bits of writing I had been doing.

Spring has sprung and in a relatively tornado free fashion to this point. I love spring so much east of the Rockies. Beautiful time and winter is just so depressing by the time March rolls around each year.

I have been working out like a fiend the past two weeks with Casie and Joe. Yoga has become a fascination with me. But I have not completely recommitted myself to sparkpeople... and thus the 7 or so pounds I gained after my gallbladder surgery still haunt me. So I guess instead of blogging about it here I should just go log on to that.

Before I do that, let me quickly list (for all his fans) a few highlights of Quinn's vocabulary this week.

Snack of a appoe (he would like to eat an apple)

Mama (applies to me, Mia, and Grandma)

Ehmoe (Elmo - the word he says more than anything except MORE)

Wallo (water)

huggamama (hug for mama. This interupts each meal about 15 minutes after it has begun)

uppamama (please PICK ME UP RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW)

rookamama (hey mom look at this!)

whee (slide. "moe whee" means Mother, might we please not leave the playground now but instead continue to slide until I keel over from exhaustion? No? Then I will now have a fit.)

Double Standard

We had a visitor over the weekend. Hopped up on our windowsill and hung out for a couple of hours.

The kiddos were very amused by the kitty. Mavis, I think, begrudged it the freedom it has to hang out on our front porch all day.

New Birthday - Gratefully

I have been remiss lately on the blogging. Since my surgery the weather has turned cooler, it has been getting dark obscenely early; I have been sluggish and accomplishing little outside the normal rotation of meals, laundry, housecleaning, and general ruminating.

Next week is Thanksgiving... we have been living here in the new abode for three months and really it feels like a lot longer. I am sad that I am no longer a homeowner. I've been mourning it and a few other big things in my life this year. But letting go has also been a relief. I don't think about the house I thought I'd raise my children in almost at all these days.

The year is ending, and so is a phase of my life. I learned a lot over the past four or five years. Sounds so silly but I have never valued habits, consistency, and setting goals. I think I was confident that I had ability and personality and a good attitude-- serendipity would supply the rest. Maybe that's just an extension of that typical invincibility of youth.

The truth is at 32 years old I am for the first time getting methodical and systematic about what I want and how to accomplish it. My new year starts with my birthday and I've already started working on my resolutions.

Don't worry, I'm not going to become a sappy freaky self-help preachy do we have to hang out with her type of girl. If I do, give me a little slappin' around. I am just going to be focused. Things have crystalized.

I have so much to be thankful for this holiday and so much to do this coming year. I'm ready!