Is my voice really THAT bad?

Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wait don't answer that. Here's another Jo-ism...

I'm not sure why... but Josie never wants me to sing - other than during the nightly bedtime ritual, of course. I start a little diddy - and then soon I hear "Shh, Mommy." Or, my favorite, "Mommy. Enough."

But SHE can go around singing all she wants. :) I wish I would have had something handy to record with the other night - we had just finished dinner and Brewster was doing his usual scavenging around the table and chairs looking for any bit of food he could find (because you know, we never feed him) and somehow he ended up with a single grain of rice on his head. Josie found this particularly hilarious - and not too long after I left the kitchen and heard her singing a lovely rendition of "Brewster Rice-Head, Brewster Rice-Head..." If you haven't had the privilege to hear it, it's quite stirring.

Where did "3" go?

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Josie Update:

1... 2... FOUR! Jo is counting everything. And no number 3. Ever. And even if it's blatantly obvious that there are, like, 99 of something... it's still 1, 2, 4!

And everything is "Watch THIS!" Then she runs down the entire length of the sidewalk in the morning going "whoooooaooaooaooaooaooaoo" the whole way. Or sticks her tongue out. Or gives a little kick. Or sticks her finger in the hole in the middle of an alphabet magnet. Or closes her eyes, but leaves them open just a tiny bit so she thinks she's being tricky and fooling us into thinking that she's sleeping, but watching us the whole time.

And if you say her name in an inquiring manner, she responds with "WHAT?" in a somewhat irritated tone.

And if you groan or complain or make an exclamation - she's dying to know "what, Daddy?"

And she is oh, so sensitive to everyone's emotions. Quick to give a hug or kiss if someone needs one, and quick with the tears if she's scolded. Or not allowed to have fruit snacks right before dinner.

And her imagination is taking off in full form. If you haven't been witness to the "wolf" story - let me highlight it here: We went to the Minnesota Zoo a few weeks ago. After that - she started to spin this yarn about the wolves we saw. If you asked her what she saw at the zoo, she's say "wolf." Then she started to hold up her finger and say "Wolf BITE me!" (Which it most certainly did NOT.) Then it progressed into this tale about how she'd given the wolf a time out, and told it "Bad Wolf!" and "Go away, Wolf!" and "naughty Wolf, no bite!" And I think last weekend she was even telling the same story, but it was Emily at daycare who bit her on the finger, not the wolf. (Which also did not happen.)

And we find her babies napping all over the house, and are told repeatedly to "shhhh, Baby sleeping!" if we talk too loudly.

And if she doesn't really care to do something, we are told that that something is gone. Josie - do you need to go potty? No - potty gone. Josie - let's brush your teeth. No- toothbrush all gone.

And her bedtime rituals continue to expand. Hugs and kisses to those not venturing to her room with her. SHE has to close the door to her room. Pick out books. Perhaps play with dolls for a bit. Read "a couple" of books. (Which in reality is probably between 8 and 10.) And she may have to then "read" them. Perhaps a potty break. And more books. And then maybe a drink of water. Finish off a couple of books - then it's time for lights out and songs. And you prepare to say goodnight, and she asks in a sweet little voice, "more songs?" To which of course you have to oblige. The whole ritual can take - well, longer than happy to admit. But I figure that this won't go on forever, so we're going to enjoy it while it does.

Eve Update:

She's so close to walking. She'll turn away from whatever she's standing holding onto, and will almost take that step, but drops to her bottom instead. And she likes to "stand" on her head. Just hangs out. Head on the floor, butt in the air, looking around. Goofball.

She busted through a couple more big teeth - uppers, molars, I guess.

She's beside herself with excitement in the morning. Such a morning girl - she cracks us up, which helps in the morning when we're not quite as excited about being up. It's like she's been separated from us for SO long... and just can't stand it.

She loves to pull Josie's hair. She still doesn't have much of her own, so I suppose it's fascinating to her. And she follows Jo wherever she goes. And tries to do whatever she does. Which is awesome to watch. I'm sure Jo will tire of it soon - but for now I'm going to soak it up.

She's still terrified of strangers. Just don't look directly at her, and it will be fine. Or make a move in her direction. Or say anything to her. Or touch her. :)

I think I mentioned that she's saying "uh oh." And I swear she says "this." And of course, "da da" and "ma ma." They were both pretending to talk on the phone the other day at the same time. We're in so much trouble. :)

Man. I love those kids. *sigh*

74 lbs. of Boomity Boom

Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Holy Wa!


Charlotte's a fun town. I highly recommend that you give it a whirl sometime. Bars, restaurants and down-right friendly folk a-plenty overflow into the very clean, very entertaining Uptown (which is actually the Downtown) district. I'm fixin' to go back sometime, y'all. There's just something about the South that is very appealing - it's an attitude, or an outlook on life, I don't know - they're just not rushed or worried or stressed about much of anything. Hotter than he-awll (that's Tennessee speak for "hell", that's right, 2 syllables) but it is here, too - so what the hey!

AACTfest '07 has come and gone, and Escanaba got screwed. It was the only comedy of the 12 shows there, and unfortunately, the 3 adjudicators were musical theater freaks. (No offense, Meg. But they are a strange crew, don't you have to admit?!) They did win the award for best sound design (awesome sound effects, including the most amazing fart I've ever heard, and I'm married to Pat!), and that was the only acknowledgement they received - oh, wait, they did get some runner-up award for backstage congeniality or something like that. Sure, I'm biased, but their show kicked ass, and everyone knew it. All week those who were in the theater on Wednesday night to see the performance kept telling the cast and crew that they'd be one of the top plays, for sure. And after getting the shaft, everyone was scratching their heads as to what the heck happened. There really should be different categories in the judging, comedies / dramas vs. musicals. Don't get me wrong - I love a good musical. But they are so different in so many aspects, I don't quite understand how they can be judged on the same criteria. And a great comedy is so hard to pull off - and they did it spectacularly. We actually witnessed people slapping their knees and doubled over with laughter. *Humph* But they made it to the national competition, and put on an amazing show, and had fun all the while. And I guess that's what counts. What an honor it was to watch my brother on stage, leading the laughs with amazing comedic timing. He got the shaft, too, for best actor - not even a nomination. Frickin' musicals. It's not ACTING, and that's all I have to say about that, before I get myself into trouble. :)

To the cast and crew of Escanaba in da Moonlight - thanks for an amazing experience. You are wonderfully creative, funny and talented people, and I can't thank you enough for welcoming us into the "Yooper" crew with such open arms. I hope you all enjoyed the Woo-Woos as much as Marie did! :)

So now I find myself back, at work, at home, drowning in piles of dirty laundry and work to catch up on. But it was worth every minute. Only 4 nights away from home - and my girls decided to grow up! Well, not really, but now Eve is throwing around "Uh-uh Oh"s and Josie is just - so big! It sounds like they had a splendiferous time and every minute was packed with some kind of fun. Thank you, Daddy Pat... you're kind of nice. I think I'll keep ya.

SSSSweet!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Josie has been really good about using the potty for the last couple of days. And yesterday when we picked her up from Betty's, we got the wonderful report that she had finally asked to use the potty chair, AND actually went on it - ALL DAY. AND last night, she tinkled before bed... AND when she got up this morning, she used the potty AGAIN and peed so much I checked her diaper - AND it was stinkin' DRY. I am frickin' beside myself. Who is this big girl???!

AND... Eve is finally saying "mama." We've been hearing "dada" for quite some time now, so I'm pretty tickled. AND she's starting to stand while not holding on to anything. AND last night she was pretending to talk into the phone. AND a couple of days ago she was sitting on Josie's ride-on toy, and was actually using her feet to push it. Who is this big girl???!

I don't know if I can take much more! :)

Newsflash: "Relaxing" Weekends a Thing of the Past...

Monday, June 11, 2007
So you say "have a nice weekend!" to your co-workers on Friday afternoon (or Thursday, as the case may be) and head out the door while looking ahead to a whole weekend to revamp, recoup and recover from a long week at work. Yeah, right! If someone had only told me 5 years ago to stop for a moment and ENJOY long, quiet, self-centered weekends... well, who am I kidding, I probably wouldn't have believed them. But my point - it's pretty sad when heading back to work on Monday morning is a chance to recover from the craziness that now defines our weekends. I swear I'm more exhausted after a weekend at home than a week at work! The laundry, the cleaning, the shopping, the cooking, the playing, the mopping. To all you moms and dads out there - a big fat kudos. You are all some kind of special, because It. Never. Ends. and I. Don't. Know. How. You. Do. It.

Can you tell I need a break? And a break I shall receive... in exactly 9 days. Off to Charlotte with my sis to take in the AACT (American Association of Community Theater - I'm assuming?) National Festival where my brother and his Drama Center will be performing. Yahoo! I'm so excited I could... I don't even know. I'm just beside myself with giddiness.

Don't get me wrong. Spending quality time at home with my fam means more to me than anything in the whole wide world. But I don't have any evening activities to get me out of the house, and golly, haven't been on an actual vacation since before Josie was born. Of course, those are the choices that I make... but I'm feeling a little burned-out, nonetheless. Anyhoo. Enough of that.

To recap our weekend... yeah - it was good. How's that for boring? Back on track with the Gronaus-sans-Joel on Fridays for some playdate action. It's awesome to be able to be outside now - and Josie was especially thrilled with the new slide/climby thingie in Lucy's backyard. And we had our first "dance class"... and she paid attention for about, oh - 5 minutes? :) But it went better than I expected (from Josie, I mean, not Meg and/or Lucy, who both performed marvelously and were very well behaved! :) :) :) ) and I think it will be awfully fun as the weeks progress.

The bobblehead craze has begun again for another season. If you don't know already - we have a collection of all of the bobbleheads the Twins have given away since they started up again - oh, what, 6 years ago, or so, maybe it's longer than that, I don't know. But what I do know is this - we're giant nerds. But now that we have all of them, we can't stop. As much as I would LOVE to, we just can't. So the first BH game of the season was on Saturday night. (Joe Mauer. He only has one sideburn, and it kind of bugs me. The bobblehead, not the real Joe. But anyway.) Pat went to the 'Dome around 1:00 or so on Saturday afternoon to secure our spot in line, and I brought the girlies after they woke up from naps, just in time for the doors opening at 4:00. And we actually were able to stay for the dreaded 2 hour wait until game-time, and made it until around 7:30. Of course, hot dogs and malt cups help, but both girls did pretty well. Eve didn't start to melt-down until she got scolded for grabbing the beer out of the cupholder on the back of my seat, then she decided she'd had enough and it was time to go home. She is her daddy's daughter, after all. Take away his beer, and it's all over. :)

Yesterday was a whirlwind of yardwork, housework, laundry (in which I barely made a dent. grrr.) and a Target / Walmart trip AND a grocery shopping trip. Yadda yadda yadda. I'm really tired this morning.

OH! But happy day - we have central air. I now am officially a believer that it is installed, and more importantly, functional. A dishwasher and central air all in one year? What's next - an attached garage?? Naw.... that's just silly. :)