A Veritable Menagerie

The kids got pets.

Okay, they're only goldfish, but still.... This is a big-time animal commitment, for me.

Let's just say it: I am notnotnot a pet person. (Sorry, Sammi.) I've tried a few times. It never ends well. Dogs stink and are stupid-friendly. Cats are enormously presumptuous. (No, I do not want you on my lap. Or rubbing on my leg. Or walking on my counter with the same feet that walk in your toilet. But thanks for asking.) Oh, and their claws are a serious problem. And they all just need so much.... Walks, food, love, attention. I just don't have it to give right now.

Somehow I seem to have missed the pet gene. My sister has a golden doodle. He's huge. (Nice dog, but still a dog.) My brother is in the process of acquiring a Great Dane. One word: yikes.

Dad, being the farmboy he is, has always insisted that animals are just fine. As long as they're outside. I couldn't agree more. Mom is kind of a Crazy Cat Lady. Maybe that's where my brother and sister get it....

Goldfish are the best I can do.

Jensen brought his home from his summer school class yesterday (it's about ocean life). I thought he would pop. He was over the moon about his pet. And, because I'm a sucker, I went and bought Evan a 26-cent goldfish, too. Jensen's is named Charles. Evan's is named Blacktail. (Betcha can't guess what color its tail is.)

On two separate occasions yesterday I found the boys actually hugging the fishbowl.

I'm just glad Jensen isn't taking a summer school course on horses.

Hot snot

I don't know... if you look really carefully, can you see the snot glaze on Evan's upper lip?

I don't think I ever appreciated how icky summer colds are. They're definitely worse than winter colds.

Because little boys run around and get hot and sweaty. Sweaty little boys smell like puppy dogs. (Do little girls ever smell like puppies? I have no way of knowing.) And dirt adheres to the sweat. Throw in a friendly virus, and the attendant mucous attracts lots of additional under-the-nose dirt.

So my sweet little baby turns into a puppy-dog-smelling, crusty, grimy, snotty, dirt-moustachioed mess.

I love you, Evan. And I hope you feel better soon.

Bitten. Again.

So I mentioned on Saturday that Caleb was getting another tooth.

I was wrong.

He's getting three.

His poor top gum looks like he's been chewing on barbed wired. (Which he probably would right about now, come to think of it. Poor baby's chewing on everything that doesn't run away from him.)

You remember when I said that I cried when Jensen got his first tooth? It took a few of Caleb's teeth to bring me to tears, but I'm feeling that way again. He's growing up. I love it, but it still makes me a little wistful now and then.

I know more this time around, Caleb being my third, and that knowledge is a mixed blessing. For instance, I know that his fussiness will be over soon enough. I know that he will, most likely, not break anyone's skin with his new dentition. I know that the sleepless nights are short-lived, and that we will survive... that in a few years, or maybe in a few short months, I won't remember how tired I am or how frazzled I feel. Which is good.

But... this is where it gets a little tricky....

I also won't remember a lot of other things. Maybe I'll forget his cute little squeals of delight when I get him after his nap. Or maybe the yummy smell of his skin, or how addictively soft he is. Perhaps I'll lose the memory of how hard he has to work to move just a few feet across the floor. Or maybe how he just gazes into my eyes when he's tired.

No need to make a long list of what I adore about right now. My point is that I take all of these things for granted, because they just are. They are integral parts of every moment of every day. But before long they will be the invisible foundation of our mtutally-forgotten past. I know this, because it's already happened to me twice now. Memory is slippery.

I don't really keep baby books. My kids get teeth, they walk, they talk....The way I know that all of these things happened is by looking at the boys, at them just being themselves. Sure, I scrapbook, I jot notes on the calendar from time to time... but mostly, the product of these times will be the people my children grow into. The details will not matter.

But sometimes. Sometimes it strikes me how fleeting all of this is.

So I'm going to take a good long look at this photo. The days of the goofy, toothless grin are quickly coming to an end. How much do you think I will remember?

Nothing runs like a...

We got a new house. Great big new yard, which will someday (hopefully) boast a decent growth of grass. It's pretty pathetic right now. Seeding a new yard... well, it's a process.

But we're hoping for great things. So we got a lawn tractor.

I love this thing. Jeff and I argue about who gets to mow. The kids think we've moved wayyy up in the world. All this over a lawn mower. Suburban agriculture at its finest.

I felt a little guilty about it... is this the height of conspicuous consumption? Wastefulness? Sloth?

Pretty much.

To be completely fair, our yard is too large to manage with a push-mower. We figured that if we put it on some kind of rotation, we'd have to mow an hour every day to keep it mowed. No way. And I did bravely head out there with our push-mower a few weeks ago. Our neighbor felt so sorry for me that he brought his rider over and mowed our yard. Too embarrassing.

And our house came equipped with a dedicated "John Deere room." (Yes, it's really called that.) It's basically a garage stall in the basement. With "John Deere doors" (yes, they're really called that), so you can drive the cute mini-tractor in and out. How could we not get a Deere???

So now we have a tractor with a beverage holder, and Jeff cleans it off carefully after each use, and the kids feel really cool when they get to ride on it.

Someday we'll have grass that deserves such treatment.

Seasonal confusion... Happy Easter!

Quiet day today. It's so blazin' hot outside that we're all just trying to stay in the air-conditioned house. We're kind of on auto-pilot.

Evan, as always, is keeping us guessing, though. He's been singing some kind of jazzed-up version of "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" all day long. Nonstop. Pleased as punch with his rendition of the song.

At one point he asked if I was going to make him stop singing it. Well, no... but he evidently is aware of how annoying it is....

Anyway, springtime seems about as far away as possible. For everybody except Evan. So Happy Easter, little one!

Week in Review, 7.26.08

I like this title: Week in Review. Makes me sound like a fatuous news magazine. Here was the week:

• Mystery solved: Caleb is getting another tooth (top left incisor, if you care). Which is why he's getting up so often at night. Which is the cause of my sleep diatribe earlier this week.
  
• Willie: Jeff and I went to see Willie Nelson in concert. It was so beautiful it made me cry, and you can say whatever you want about me being a redneck or anything else. His music is amazing. And culturally significant, too: when we left I felt like I'd seen Elvis. Only better.


• Good news/bad news: we took the minivan in to the doctor. It's okay, unfortunately. I was hoping it was something terminal, because I want a new vehicle (maybe something newfangled with-- gasp!-- remote door locks). On the upside, though, this brush with automobile mortality has made Jeff consider the possibility of replacing his POS car. Net gain. (Ask me about his alleged car sometime.)


• Aquarian: Jensen started a two-week summer school course about ocean life. He likes it. It also means I have to have him across town before 8am every morning. Not as easy as it sounds.


• The 'Rents: Mom and Dad visited last weekend. They made me happy. 'Nuff said.


• Preschool-bound: Got all of Evan's preschool stuff finalized. He starts August 25. For four mornings a week, it's just going to be Caleb and me. {sigh}


• Sniff: We all got colds. Jeff started it.


• Mobility Project 2008: For those of you keeping track, Caleb crawled. Hands and knees. Last night. It's all over here, folks.


• Less is more: Please note the Obama button in the sidebar.
  

Yeah, that's pretty much my week. Did you have this much fun?

Ciao, guys!

Today is the day Uncle Greg and Aunt Julia move away. So I thought I'd do a quick tribute to them.

We've only lived in the same town for about three months now. So it's not like living apart is new territory or anything. Plus, they're only moving a couple of hours away. But still....

They're fantastic people. Good People, to give them a title. Generous, kind, energetic, helpful, fun. I could go on. Greg is Jensen's personal human jungle gym. And Julia has gained the reputation of being the World's Best Lego Builder (this is no small feat in our house). Evan calls them "Gag and Jaws," which I think is very funny. (It's his version of "Greg and Juls.") Caleb's little face lights up whenever he sees either of them. In short, the kids adore them. And so do we.

It's been awesome to live just a few minutes away from them. So much fun to have them drop by just because. Or to see what they're doing for lunch. Or just to call and see what's up.

But. Greg just finished his PhD and GOT A JOB! Kind of important, having a job and all. So they're moving to a great new house today, where he will begin his Very Grown-Up Job, and where-- the best of all-- they will prepare for the birth of their first child. (My kids are finally getting some cousins, but that's a post for another day.) Julia will be able to be a stay-at-home mom... in short, they are preparing for great things.

So, we know we'll see you guys often and that you will be very happy. We can't wait to see your new house and to meet the little one in a few months. But we'll still miss you. You have been invaluable help as we've settled in here. You are an awesome aunt and uncle, and a great brother, and the best in-laws I could ever ask for. We are lucky to have you, in town or a short drive away.

Good luck, Gag and Jaws! We love you and will miss you!!!