What a nutball.

Lately, Q3 has been so accomodating. We ask if she wants to try something, she says uh huh, opens her mouth, and says "Yuuuuummmmmm!" (even if she doesn't like it!)

The other one, formerly known as C4, now known as CNoIWillNOTTryItNeverNeverNEVER!, is less accomodating.

We tried my dad's beets. Nice enough. I found some sweet ones. Kinda delicious. She seemed interested when my father told her that they'd turn her poop PURPLE!!!

**tiny aside. My poo stayed its normal color. My pee, however, was pink, which did worry me at first, but I figured it out**

But once she had them on her plate ... the drop to the floor temper tantrum started, including such choice phrases as:

NO, no, no!
I will NEVER eat that!
I forgot to tell MeMe and Pep to NEVER EVER bring something I don't like!
I break that rule [that she had to try it]
No, let me tell you what I want for dinner!
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Initially we got 1 piece of beet into her. At the pool I managed to get two pieces into both of them. But, truthfully, they didn't like it. Even the sweet one. Even after C4 admitted it tasted like sugar. Sugar she didn't want to eat.

So, tonight I made a very simple zucchini creole (Zucchini. Onions. Tomato. That's it) from the Zucchini Eight-Ball we got in our veggie box. If you haven't tried this variety ... do so!!! Fewer seeds! Great texture!

Same response. Falling to the floor kicking screaming telling me that she was going to do the meal planning from now on. Even though the REST of the meal was 100% kid friendly (Veggie corn dogs! Catsup!)

I don't know what my inspiration was ... but I offered her one chocolate chip for every piece of zucchini she ate.

Huh. That was interesting. She immediately said she'd have one. No ... THREE! so she could have THREE chocolate chips.

And after she ate all her zucchini and asked for more, she said this:


Did you hear that? She said "I love zucchini."

Q3, not wanting to be outdone, said something to make her father very very proud:

Nannyviews. Or not.

We had a nanny interview tonight but she didn't show. Yay! I didn't want to talk to her anyway, right?

But while we were waiting for her our girls were watching the thunder & lightening storm, and falling asleep their favorite ways.

I'll take C4's way, snuggled with stuffies, surrounded by blankies, reading a book, thanks:



Q3, as usual, took the hard way. She was crying (tired). Then we hear her say she was allergic to dairy. Then she conked out.

I walked in and couldn't see her



Then I found her hugging her new Owney suffie (thank you MeMe, they love those guys)



Then I found her feet.

More sleep photos

More sleeping in a chair



Look at her head ... she's upside down!

Kenilworth Photo Safari

C40 took the girls to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Friday morning while I was at work. I have never taken them there because I cannot remember the way there. Ever.

Both girls brought their cameras and took photo shoots.



Q3 took 3 photos of the flora and fauna, and about 37 of her dress. Upside down. Here is her best:


(here is what it really is)


C4 did better (I guess 19 months really does make a difference in photography, eh?), and she took some nice ones. One of my favorites:


And C40 took some really lovely ones. My favorite:



And, obligatory video of silly children:

I've been quite cavalier

But ... we've had our first H1N1 death at UMUC

Swine flu page

Hand sanitizer coming into work.

Garden Update

The butterfly bushes are in full bloom they look fantastic. Here's a shot of the flower, with a teeny tiny little bug working her way in. Usually we'll see a butterfly flitting from bloom to blossom, collecting nectar with her proboscis.



The tiger lilies ... I love the tiger lilies. I had to lie on my back to get a shot, of course, but they are just so fantastic. We started out with just a few, and we've been shaking down the stems each summer/fall to make sure the seeds fall and grow. Each year we've had more. Our little stand has about 30 blooms right now, just all firey orange.



The veggie garden is moving along ... The runner beans are working their way up the teepee (albeit slowly), the bush beans are planted, we have our first cucumber ready to eat, the garlic is all harvested. I thought it was a lot of garlic, but my friend Elizabeth thought it was not so much. Well, perspective, I suppose. But we got about 40 (maybe 50?) heads of garlic. That seems like we'll make it through the winter, right?

Swings

I've been a little lazy about picture taking. So, here is a mini video of the kids.

Q3 is moving her body like she gets the idea of pumping, even if she can't quite get the pumping. C4 mostly gets the idea of pumping. But when the camera gets on her ... she just goes silly.

Midnight snack ... again

C4 has been staying up ever later each night in an attempt to have a midnight snack. So when C40 and I were ready for bed last night ... C4 was still up.

I told her to wake us up at midnight and we'd get her a snack. That wasn't good enough. So I actually got her a snack (blueberries and strawberries) and told her to eat them at midnight.

Of course, she fell asleep, but at 3:45 she woke up, hungry, and she couldn't find her snack. It had fallen off the bedside table. After eating the whole thing, insisting she wanted the light on (I refused) she brushed her teeth (and found out it WAS too bright and it DID hurt her eyes to turn the light on) and went back to bed.

I feel as though this may not have been a wise idea.

Flipping the bird

I was being all mom this afternoon, keeping Q3's and C4's hands and feet away from Big Blue's front tire, explaining they could lose a finger. I mean, that might have been going a bit far, but whatever, this was about getting them to STOP TOUCHING THE TIRE!

So, of course, I took it one step further and was trying to explain what they couldn't do if they lost fingers. Lose a thumb ... can't hold a pencil (devestation for C4). Lose your ring finger, can't wear rings. Lose your index finger, and how are you going to point.

So, this got them thinking, and they were examining their fingers and C4 asked what couldn't we do if we lost our middle fingers.

Besides the obvious?

All I could come up with was we couldn't play "Where is middleman? Where is middleman? Here I am! Here I am! How are you today, sir? Very well I thank you. Run away. Run away."

about a year ago this time

Last year about this time, when C4 was C3, we walked in Big Blue to a music class in Mt. Ranier. The music class, with Q3's favorite teacher, Miss Audrey, was scheduled for 10:30. 10:35 rolled around and the café in which the music class was to be held was not open. I, being on-time (Purposely not early!) and annoyed, left, telling C3 we'd stop at Glut Food Co-op, and we could buy some crystallized pineapple.

Seconds later Q fell asleep.

Not one to wake up a sleeping baby, I told C she could go in by herself, but I couldn't leave Q in the stroller on the street, and Big Blue would not fit into Glut.

C4 was so disappointed. She cried. She insisted she wasn't old enough to go in by herself (even if I stood in the doorway) and she could do it when she was 4 or maybe 5.

Fast forward to this week.

We stopped by Island-Style Ice Cream, where I had ginger, C40 had stout, C4 had vanilla with sprinkles, and Q3 had dairy-free vanilla. After eating, C4 and I walked to Glut ... to buy that pineapple.

I was allowed into the store just to check prices with her, then I was shoo'ed out.

C4 did a fantastic job. She waited in line patiently, she presented her money, she waited for her change, she said please and thank you.

She actually did a little too well. Behind her stood a woman who kept bumping up into her (luckily C4 has no concept of personal space), physically stepped in front of her (C4 did step up and claim her place in line) and then when they go to the counter ... she put her items over C4's head to go first.

I was blocked by patrons wandering around in the store, so I saw snippets of this. I saw her get in front of C4, and I stepped in, but C4 handled it politely and well, so I thought no problem. But then I was blocked by other people and when my view was unobstructed the woman was ringing up her stuff.

I was ripping mad. The woman stayed inside longer than C4 (packing up her stuff) so C4 came out first, so I couldn't really say anything without going in and being confrontational. And then C40 and Q3 came by. And frankly, I'm sure I couldn't be polite, so it was better that the (EXTREMELY RUDE) woman didn't come out until we were well down the street.

Sure, it isn't imaginary numbers

But C4 seems to have gotten the concept of negative numbers. When asked if I have 4 books, and she wants 6 of them ... how many will I have left ... she'll tell you -2.

Blows. My. Mind.

On a more mundane note, we did a switcheroo today ... Q3 is now in the red room (because green is Ug-guh-lee), and C4 in the green room (Bigger! Better! More room to play!)



I think C4's bed looks very nice in the green room! And Spook looks fantastic on that wall.



In the red room we hung up the sheer curtains that we'd bought for C4 to make her little bed into a little box bed ... but she didn't like it. But Q3 DOES like it (that's because given half a chance she'd be a girly-girl, I'm sure).

Watkin's Glen Park

We crashed C6's family birthday party at Watkins Regional Park. I had made lemonade cupcakes the other day, and wanted to share, so I invited myself along. The cupcakes sound amazing, but really, the cupcake part was kind of yuck, and the frosting ... well, if you like frosting like I do, you'd like it, otherwise it would just be sweet, fatty, tarty stuff. Sugar, butter, lemonade concentrate, basically.

But ... the kids enjoyed it.

C6 could not finish her frosting (too rich)


J2 really really enjoyed his. Here is is in anticipation.


And here he is enjoying (Note Q3 just looking on)


Q3, slow but steady eater took twice as long to eat half as much as the others


And C4 dropped her first cupcake frosting ... so here she is with her second (note ... this is just the frosting. The cupcakes were so Blah-Bluck even the kids didn't like them. Really)


We visited the farm and fed the animals.


We rode the train


And we rode the carousel


Then, hoping to wear them out, we went back to the playground for more play. It worked, I think, Q3 fell asleep fairly quickly (if a little distraughtedly) soon after we left for dinner. C4 didn't fall asleep until C40 and I returned from dinner (she had the babysitter up every 15 minutes or so) but was very good natured about it. And fell asleep minutes after we arrived home and saw daddy.

I think I need my beauty rest.

Aside from the obvious, I swear, just as I was drifting off an starting to dream ... I'd be woken up again. ALL NIGHT LONG.

11:30 pm: Going to bed. Wake C40 up and he falls off sofa and hits head. Makes it to bed ok.
12:03 am: Husband bolts upright in bed, rockets out of bed to dry heave in bathroom.
12:40 am: Q3's head falls out of bed. Since her bed has 3.66 out of 4 sides have railings, she managed to find the .34 bit of one side to have her head fall out of. Crying. I put her head back in and go back to bed.
2:11 am: Q3 wants Rah-Rah, can't find Rah-Rah, and must have Rah-Rah. It turns out Rah-Rah is under her arm. I stay up for 20 minutes trying to calm her down.
2:50 am: Q3 up for water.
3:20 am: Q3 is up and visits me in bed needing to cuddle. She falls asleep on my leg.
3:30 am: Q3 is asleep, but C4 has woken up moaning and crying. I bring Q3 back to bed, visit C4 in her bed to calm her down from her so-called bad dream. Fall asleep with C4
3:51 am: Q3 wakes up screaming. Meet C40 in hall. Let him take the screaming child, go back to sleep with C4
3:52 am: Go back to bed
5:00 am: C40 comes back to bed
8:14 am: Q3 wakes up, singing and talking.

Not a caterpillar

Q3 likes to be baby animals. The baby lion is a favorite. A puppy. A baby baby (human) and a baby butterfly.

Now you'll find out what baby butterflies like to do. Watch closely now. Just in case you miss it.



They like to FLAP!

She really does have a bed ...

... although the last few nights you wouldn't know it. She fell asleep on the floor, on big elephant, and tonight, back in the chair.

Overheard in the dining room

C4: Did you hear my fart?
E38: No, I did not hear your fart.
C4: But did you hear my fart?
E38: What should you say instead of announcing it?
C4: Excuse me. But it sounded like a kitten purring.
E38 [Not laughing. I am not laughing]:
C4: Sometimes farts sound like animals.
E38 [Must leave the room!}]

I managed to drag both children outside yesterday. Q3 and I were there first, with C4 inside moaning that she didn't want to go out. So, I left her there, and she did some coloring. I can't remember what got her outside, but once outside she enjoyed herself.



It wasn't the yellow tomato that got her out. We've only had 2 ripe tomatos so far, and both have been yellow. Q3 eats these, C4 will not. The rest are green.



We stood in flowers.
Q3


C4


And we stood under our little Harry Lauder's Walking Stick tree, where they would have done just about anything to get me to take a video.

Weekend of the 4th

We never made it to the fireworks. C4 had read about them in the sunday Mini-Pages, and was interested. We said maybe, sure, we'd try. So, Saturday afternoon we packed a picknic and headed to the pool, fully anticipating to come home, bathe, and head to fireworks.

But they couldn't handle the late night, and we had to put them to bed instead.

I told C4 that if she was up when we heard fireworks, I'd go outside with her to see if we could see any. But, there was no chance, she was asleep in 5 minutes.

Today, however, was a more exciting event. The National Capital Kennel Club, Inc. Dog Show.



Both girls slept late (Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!!), so we didn't get an early start (ahhhhh). But we got there in time to see a gazillion different dogs. We petted all the cute ones.

But the favorite ... the yellow lab puppies.



We spent 2.5 to 3 hours there. Then they'd had enough. Ready to go home. Which was fine by me. We all smelled like dog.

Lunch

Q3 is kind of a wiggly eater. Up down around whatever. She gets told her lunch is over when she leaves the table ... today she left the table while eating a rice krispie treat, so she was told she should sit down again ... or I'D get to finish her treat.

From across the table we heard "Or, I will get to finish it!"

I guess C4 REALLY liked the rice krispie treats.

Disco mornings

Yesterday I put the Saturday Night Fever disc in for my listening pleasure ... well, it has been a hit.

Evidence (and I do apologize to C40 who did NOT want to be filmed for this particular extravaganza):

Days 3 & 4 of vacation

I'm losing track of what we did.

We went fishing and boating morning 3 ... Q3 went in the boat twice, and C4, not at all. The pond was very small, but cute. You had to wear a life jacket in the boat,so C4 opted out. Also, she's never really been keen on boats.


Then in the afternoon we swam at the pool. Fun, easy, cooooool. Because the sun had come out and was beating down on us. The breeze off the York river was nice, but not enough, mid-day.

Day 4 we went to the pier. At one point there had been a rule that under-12's needeed life jackets. It turns out that rule was defunct, but all the girls had life jackets except for Celeste ... and when she found out she was to wear one she kind of ... flipped out. She tried all her strategies for getting out of it to no avail. In the spirit of parents and dog owners everywhere, I decided to go with bribery. She puts the life jacket on ... she gets a treat. She doesn't cry for 5 mintues, she gets a treat. She attempts to fish ... she gets a treat. And so forth. Peppermint patties and a donut are very very very effective.

Before treats: (yeah, I know this is sideways, I blame C40)


After treats:



Very very successful.

More pics of Q3 who enjoyed the whole thing.

Fetching crabs


Fishing

Night terrors

To not do list

Pick up child
Talk to child
Use child's name
Comfort child
Touch child
Try to calm child

Check, check, check, check, check, check.

Shoot, we did it all wrong last night.