the size of a dash

Sometime last week . . . . .
me: bloggy Nanette was in my dream
Rodrigo: is that the one that bakes?
me: no
Rodrigo: The one that got married?
me: yeah her. I told you she's having a baby, right?
Rodrigo: yeah
me: well, they call their baby Em Dash and in my dream . . . .
Rodrigo: (interrupting) en dash or em dash?
me: Emmmmm. In my dream they were naming the ba. . . . .
Rodrigo: (interrupting again) why Em Dash?
me: I think the baby was the size of an em dash when they started calling her that
Rodrigo: and what size is an em dash?
me: (making "little fingers") like this
Rodrigo: how do you know? what about the font? Or what if it's an em dash on a billboard?
me: -blank stare- (then after a while) I don't know. I didn't ask. I just figured it was their baby and they could call her whatever they want to call her. What about Alec? We called him Banana because he was the size of a banana. Nobody said "What kind of banana? Is it a banana or a plaintain?
Rodrigo: if we meant the size of a plantain, we'd have called him plantain.
me: -just walked away- Unbelieveable

A couple of days later as soon as I woke up . . . . .
me: Nobody asked you "A real banana or a banana on a billboard?"
Rodrigo: (laughing) you're still with that?
me: yes, it really bothered me
Rodrigo: it's not the same. If someone asks if you want a banana no one thinks it's a symbol for a banana or a representation of a banana. You know it's a real, tangible, physical banana.
me: physical banana. Sounds like some band name. or a long lost Led Zeppelin album
Rodrigo: (laughing) you never told me what your dream was
me: and I'm not going to either
Rodrigo: (still laughing) awww
me: (under my breath) jerk
me: bloggy Ani called her baby Cheese Doodle and you didn't ask what size cheese doodle.
Rodrigo: I didn't know. And how many size cheese doodles are there
-here we went into a lengthy conversation about cheese doodle sizes including those Cheetos that used to be in the shape of paws with a hole in the center. That led into a conversation about high school and a kid who used to wear those on a string around his neck . . . . .

The day after . .
So I went and looked through Nanette's posts to find out the reason and I was right. It was about the size and in the book it said something like "your baby is this size" and showed an em dash. I knew it had to be something like that. Ugh, now Nanette is going to hate me and/or Rodrigo.


feeling: I hate Rodrigo ;P
listening to: a new Radiohead song

I already can't wait!

Let the countdown begin!





Catch a teaser trailer here. Books three and six and well, maybe seven are my favorite, so I can not wait for this movie! They're getting less and less kid friendly, huh?
OK, well, I'm off to email the link to my mom. Dorkiness didn't skip a generation here.


feeling: excited
listening to: Travis (Sing)

cleaning house

I'm bored of my daisy template. I'm playing around with new ones so please bear with me if it looks a little weird for a while. I tend to mess them up really easily. Ugh, codes. How do computer people understand this?
I'm also getting rid of a lot of links. For a while, I'd link to practically every single blog I'd read. I really don't read that many anymore. I visit the same ones all the time (Ani, Jess, Jenny, Jenn, Nanette, Michelle . . . ). Some blogs I linked to don't even exist anymore. I thought I'd start all over and maybe find some new bloggy reads.
So tell me, tell me . . . . do you like our lion pictures? I had an idea of a collage of those head pop-in pictures. I hadn't realized how many I have. The problem is that Brianna hates taking those pictures. I don't have any of her smiling in them. All the rest of us love them but for her "it's sooooooo embarrassing". The lion one was the best I could find of her. Oh, and Alec was roaring, just so you know.
For now this is what I'll use . . . .

feeling: frustrated
listening to: Morrissey or the Smiths. Hmm, I don't know this song.

Wishlist

Any given day, these are some of the things I wish for . . . .

- That the combination of something I already eat suddenly creates some amazing fat burning super mix causing me to lose a large amount of weight by doing nothing different.

- That somehow, without playing, I win the lottery no longer having to worry about the mortgage, bills, or anything. The only concern would be where to travel to next.

- That people that cut me off driving or don't stop when I'm crossing a parking lot with my kids get sudden severe cramps or pulled over and put in jail.

- That the teenagers that have been hanging out in the side of my house, yelling and horsing around for hours at a time would somehow be transported into the future, see themselves through adult eyes, realize how annoying and disrespectful they're being and come straight over to apologize to me.

- That my kids would just agree to never fight or pick on each other again. Ever.

- That the guy who rides the motorcycle or four wheeler or whatever it is around here in the middle of the night would fall over wrecking it so that he would never ride it again and feel all sorts of guilt.

- That I'd gone ahead and written a kids book I had in mind, drafts and sketches (27 Cats) before the stupid movie (27 Dresses) came out and totally took my title. Ok, the number in my title. Ugh . . . this one still gets me. I had the whole thing for TWO books in documents and drawings . . . 27 Cats, Meet the Cats and A 27 Cats Halloween.

- That I always knew exactly what to say to someone at the moment and not after I've thought the conversation through. Especially when someone if being rude.

- That the housecleaning fairies would visit my house sometimes while I slept.

- That I could invent something that everyone must have, like those little decorations for Crocs. I used to decorate my jellies with different colored ribbons more than 20 years ago, why didn't I think of this one?!?!

- That I was on Saturday Night Live or some sort of rock star.

- That I could write as well as I wrote during the whole teenage angst years. I read some of my stuff from back then and it's really good. Angst = good writing. Happy life crapy writing. For me, at least. Hmm . . . I guess I could turn to opium or become some sort of alchie.

- That I had my own party planning business where no one would ask for tacky requests.

I think that's it for now. I'm sure there's more, I just can't think of any at the moment.

feeling: my eyes hurt
listening to: NIN (The Perfect Drug)

post-partum five years too late

The kids just finished the first two weeks of school and they LOOOOOOVE it. Me, not so much. I'm going through Alec withdrawal. It wasn't so bad when Brianna started school because I had preemie Alec at home. Now it's just me and Badger. The silence is driving me crazy.
I know I'll get used to it. I mean, he's only gone for three hours a day. I have a list of things I want to do (organize pictures, make scrapbooks, finish the garage, paint our bedroom and downstairs bathroom, make the loft into a cool office, etc.). It's just so quiet with no one yelling "mama" every few minutes. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. Can you imagine the wreck I'll be when they go off to college?!?!?!?!?!?

feeling: Badger isn't great company when he just naps
listening to: MGMT (Time to Pretend)

they got me!!!!!

I had been seeing Twilight everywhere for quite a while. I have to admit that I would pass right by it when looking for books because I really thought it was a book that was made into a movie with Nicole Kidman. Didn't she make a movie by that same name? Anyway, then I started seeing similar covers but noticed it was a different book. I picked one up, read the back, found out it was about vampires and set it back down. I thought it was more Lestat-like. Then I just started hearing about it everywhere. I went to the bookstore and saw that they were holding a midnight party for the new release. Hmm . . . midnight parties are only for extremely popular books. They almost had me. Then I went on to Jenny's site and found out it was being made into a movie starring (drumroll . . . . . . . ) Cedric Diggory. Hel-lo vampire. I knew right then it was only a matter of time.
That same day, I went to the library and immediately saw Eclipse in the express read section. I grabbed it and started looking for the first two. I couldn't find either anywhere so I ended up asking. It turns out there is a waiting list of over 250 people for the first book. Uh, no thanks. I'll just go buy it. -sigh- I did. I liked it. I feel like a dork. I went to buy the second one and the check-out girl was super excited about it and she sort of said more than I wanted to know about the book. Still, I'm liking this one too. I am definitely going to finish reading all three before the third one is due back at the library.
As if it's not bad enough that I have this guilty pleasure series, Rodrigo was making fun of me. He said "First wizards and now vampires, huh? What's next, Dungeons & Dragons?" -groan- Whatever. Anyway, you can watch previews here.

feeling: like a total dork
listening to: NERD, Julian Casablancas & Santogold (My Drive Thru)

the banana debate

I was telling Rodrigo the same things I wrote about in yesterday's post . . . .

- me: . . . and she bought just the one banana
- him: (says nothing for a while) and?
- me: that's it. that's crazy
- him: maybe she had a craving for a banana
- me:: then why not buy the whole bunch?
- him: maybe she was going somewhere, I don't know. I mean, it's allowed to buy just one, right?
- me: I don't know. She was at the self check-out. Oh, so if I'm craving bread I could buy just one slice or just one potato?
- him: bananas aren't packaged. Well, the organic ones are. Was it organic?
- me: I don't know. But if it was then she was handling the bananas. She was touching them and I don't wash bananas
- him: so you always buy the first bunch you grab?
- me: huh?
- him: you said she touched a bunch, but so do you, right?
- me: yeah but I'm not crazy. She is. Who knows what other crazy things she touches
- him: (laughing)
- me: are you making fun of me?
- him: (still laughing) no
- me: why are you defending the banana girl?
- him: I'm not. I just don't think it's that odd to buy a single banana
- me: why? have you done it?
- him: no. Ok . . HOW DARE SHE?!?! How's that?
- me: look, she bought ONE banana; that makes her a WEIRDO
- him: yeah, she's the weirdo.
- me: just watch. I'm going to go and buy just one grape
- him: (laughing) go ahead (keeps laughing)

I hate him.

feeling: am I the weird one? You guys are with me, right? Except for you, Michelle.
listening to: The Jesus and Mary Chain (Far Gone and Out)

wtf???? shopping

There were some weirdos out yesterday . . .

At Borders . . a lady was yelling, yelling at the cashier because they didn't have any shopping carts. Yes, shopping carts at a bookstore. She didn't want a tote or a little basket, she wanted a shopping cart because she said she had to carry books and her kids. The poor cashier was explaining that they wouldn't fit through the aisles but the crazy lady just went on and on. Weird. She needs a stroller.

At my supermarket there was a young lady buying a banana. One banana. Now this isn't a fruit stand where they might have individual bananas. They sell them here in a bunch. She didn't look homeless or anything but at the same time she didn't look like she was dressed for work and be at a lunch break. I really wish I'd would have asked her why she was buying only one because it's been bothering me since. Could she not afford the bunch? Did she need just one more for a recipe? WTF? I don't get it. We're not in Disneyland where you buy one frozen banana.

I went to pick up a couple of photo prints for Alec's homework. You read right . . . Alec's homework. My picture printer wasn't being helpful. Anyway, I get to the photo department and tell the lady I'm there to pick up pictures. She stayed staring at me like I'd just spoken gibberish or something. I finally had to break the silence and ask what do you need, my name, my phone number, what? She asked for my last name. Then the spelling. Then the phone number. Then to verify my email address. I felt like saying "Seriously? Why don't you just take my fingerprint for the two lousy prints". So she was handing them to me and she started speaking in a weird sort of Old English accent and said "Here you go M'lady". I'm. Not. Kidding.

feeling: I'm not going anywhere else today
listening to: Coldplay (Violet Hill)

back to school

Let me tell you about how I almost strangled Brianna at the store last week. Here's the set up . . . . . all of last school year she was complaining about not having a messenger bag. She had chosen a really cute backpack but wouldn't wear it like a backpack. All year the morning conversation included something like this . . . .

me: put on your backpack
Brianna: it's too heavy
Brianna: if only I had a messenger bag -sigh-
Brianna: I hate backpacks, my back is going to hurt if i wear it
Brianna: if I had a messenger bag, I'd wear it every day

You get the picture. This went on and on and on. We'd looked for messenger bags during the school year too, but the kind she wanted are seasonal. She'd have to wait.
So when we were looking for school supplies, there was about a million messenger bags there and we let her pick out whichever one she wanted. She looked around for a while and finally chose a backpack with Marie from the Disney cuties series. I feel like I saw blurry at that moment and imagine me swaying. All the nagging I'd heard about a messenger bag and she was picking a backpack. I felt my blood rising and knew I'd turned red. If I were the hulk, I'd have transformed at that moment. I went on to say something like "YOU ARE PICKING A MESSENGER BAG RIGHT NOW!", through clenched teeth. It's funny to me now but I really was mad then. Rodrigo was sort of like "let her chose whatever she likes" but I wouldn't hear it. We were standing there for about a half hour while she tried on about a million bags. Seriously. Serenity now. I told her to pick whatever she wanted, but I wanted NO whining about her choice.
She chose a messenger bag. It passed the test yesterday because all her friends also have new messenger bags. Now that they're in fourth grade, they're too big for backpacks. Oy vey.



After school, we were walking to the car when Brianna came upon a friend who is now a 6th grader. He said, "Hi Bree. It's a pleasure to see you". I'm not kidding. They chatted for a little while in a way that I never talked at that age. They might as well have been speaking in a British accent saying something like "Fancy seeing you here". In any case, my daughter and her little friends are growing up fast. -gulp-

Alec's day was a little different. He started his first day of kindergarten. He has a Spiderman backpack because, according to Brianna, there's nothing wrong with little kids having those things. His teacher is super nice and super patient. He was excited about making new friends. I think he might've been a little nervous too but as it turns out, about half of his t-ball team is in the same class. Some other kids are kids we know from the neighborhood. When they walked into class, they had to find their names and draw a picture of the people that live in their home. He drew me and Rodrigo holding hands because "we're always holding hands". That's not necessarily true but that's what he told his teacher, the classroom and all the parents that were still there. Nice. I guess it beats him saying that we fight or something. The year is starting off with a quick review of colors, so the whole classroom will have to dress in a certain colors each day for the next two weeks. Today will be red day.





feeling: old. my babies are in school
listening to: The Bravery (Believe)

school supplies

We went shopping for the kids school supplies. Target, of course. Anyway, I went crazy when I saw that they had all sorts of Domo items. Notebooks, folders, etc. Sorry I couldn't find a link at the Target site and the aisle was packed so I didn't want to take a picture. Right about now, I wish the kids' school wasn't so communist . . . for lack of a better word. They have to take notebooks, folders, pencils, crayons and other things for the whole class. They gather them all and pass them out. Suck. They can't have cute Domo or Hello Kitty supplies.
Anyway, I think I'm having a shortage of folders around here. I'm looking for reasons to buy some of those!


feeling: darn the commies
listening to: Rodrigo's iTunes

you say it's your birthday. it's my birthday too yeah . . .

Rodrigo kept asking me to check my email this morning. Here's why . . . .





I think I'm going to sit by my window all day and wait for that UPS truck to turn the corner. I can't wait to meet my new baby in person.

So, I'm 32 now. I'm over the whole "Oh, no being in my 30's is old." I feel great. We're all happy and healthy and I'm going to enjoy today!

feeling: awesome
listening to: Cary Brothers (Ride)

I love Brianna

I loved Brianna as a baby. I loved watching her grow, dressing her up, the way she started talking, watching her become a little girl instead of a baby, etc. I've loved everything about her. I have to say, though, that now is soooooooo fun for me. I completely love this stage she's in. I guess it was also that I wasn't expecting it. This whole transition time is something I hadn't heard about. Yes, I'd heard about the tween years, but this is more like a really eloquent little kid stage. It's hard for me to explain too, but I could listen to her talk for hours at a time.
Just a little while ago, she was telling me about the upcoming Disney Ch@nnel G@mes. I know who's going to be in it now and who's their BFF and all about the Jon@s Brothers. At the same time, she drew some pictures and a note for the tooth fairy. She owns c.d.'s now. She listens to the Jon@s Brothers, H@nnah Mont@n@, Aly & @.J, and C@mp Rock while playing with her Littlest Pet Shop collection. She had a C@mp Rock viewing party (with just Alec invited). She made out invitations, brought their sleeping bags to the family room, had popcorn but also brought all her stuffed animals to watch the movie with her. She's been working on her "collection" because a fashion designer is on a list of things she wants to be. She has a spring collection and a winter collection. Yet both were drawn in crayon and are really cute with pink, purple and flowers. She's always liked carrying purses, but now the contents include lip gloss. She still carries a little toy in there as well.
I'm not sure if I'm explaining correctly or if I can even explain. This seems different than a transition stage. It's more of a complete juxtaposition. She's not leaving kiddy things behind, she's simply adding older things and likes. You'll excuse me now. We're going to add things to her home page, most of which are pictures of puppies and kittens.

This picture explains it some more. This is one of her favorite outfits, but this day she took a LONG time choosing a bracelet that would match perfectly. She tried on several and finally chose the one she's wearing. Then we get to the museum and she still loves crawling around.




feeling: tomato withdrawal
listening to: R@dio Disney

hello again

I'm still here. Sorry to worry any of you, but yes, I'm fine. It's been a sort of crazy summer. I remember as a kid summer was for playing and hanging out. My kids are more like "Ok, we're awake. Entertain us." I've been trying to keep them busy and not bored with some activities, but some other things have also happened. . . .

- An elderly lady crashed into the side of my car in a parking lot. Did I even write about the new car we got back in January? Well, I was driving it and she pulled out, didn't see me, didn't hear me and other cars honking at her and crashed. It sucked. I had the kids with me and nothing happened to any of us. Everyone told us that the important thing is that we're all alright. I get it, but it was still a HUGE hassle to get the car back the way it was. I JUST picked it up earlier today. To top it off, when it happened Rodrigo was in Boston, so I had to do the whole dealing with insurance and cops myself without him here for me to complain to. It's all taken care of now and the car is like it was before . . new.


- Rodrigo went to Boston for work. We knew he was going to work but there was never a definite plan until a few days before, so I didn't go with.

- The kids joined karate for the summer. I wanted Brianna to join for the self defense part of it. She didn't want to but Alec did. Then we went to his first class and Brianna decided she wanted to join as well. Living in Arizona, we can't really have them doing outdoor sports in the summer.

- There's a city-wide scavenger hunt happening. Several museums and attractions are participating. You printout a map for the location and then the kids have to use it during the visit. We've gone to a few of the places. I really like this idea because some of the museums seem like the kids wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without that purpose in mind.




- The kids got back yesterday after spending a week in SoCal. My parents came to pick them up and gave me and Rodrigo a week long vacation. Er, took the kids on vacation. Rodrigo asked for some days off and spent them with me, me, me. I wish I could say that we did all sorts of amazing fun things and went out dancing every night, but no. We took a workshop and went to lots of stores we needed to go to. We felt bad if we were away for too long from our other baby . . . Badger. What we did do was go out to eat at places with no kid menus. The times we did eat at home was also not very kid friendly. Spicy foods, melon wrapped in prosciutto, steaks in marinades they hate, wine with dinner, etc. The rest of the time was appointments.

- I've also had a lot of appointment with the kids. Dentists and eye doctors. Both are fine and I'm the one that ended up with a prescription for glasses. Astigmatism is not my friend.

- -sigh- Rodrigo finally got his wish and we got a Mac. an iMac to be exact. I have to admit that I love it. I do. I LOVE, love, love it more than I ever thought I would. I'm taking other mac workshops at our local apple store. Expect to see more posts because I am glued to this seat. Hopefully soon, I'll show you all some of the things I'm working on.



- The kids go back to school this coming Monday. The summer vacation flew by. Uh, I'm not complaining.

I can't wait to go catch up on my bloggy buddies!

feeling: I love my mac
listening to: My Morning Jacket (Touch Me I'm Going to Scream 2) <-- my absolute favorite song right now.