Museums Reprised

Wes had the great idea of getting to a Smithsonian early on Saturday morning and meeting up with some friends.  It worked out fabulously because parking was plentiful and it wasn't too crowded, which are both amazing feats in this town.  We visited the Natural History museum and the kids loved it.  There was lots to see between dinosaurs, the oceans exhibit, and, best of all, the live butterfly garden.  Although the Smithsonian is free, the butterfly garden has an entry fee - except for Tuesdays.  (Here's a little tip in case you are thinking of visiting, if you have a group of four, you get each ticket for $4!)

 

The butterflies loved Punkin and kept landing on her, but she wasn't too fond of that.  I had this fear that she would actually kill one of the butterflies when it landed on her.  Can you imagine how awkward that would be?  Fortunately, we made it out of the exhibit with no butterfly injuries.

It was really fun to hang out with some of our friends and their son, D-man.  D-man is one of Punkin's favorite friends.  He is the cutest little guy with a smile that would melt any heart.  No matter how long it has been since she's seen him, she always remembers him and is very excited to see him.  It was really fun seeing them interact at the museum. They raced around and would follow each other to see different things.  So cute!

We finished up the morning with lunch at American Eats (where Cafe Atlantico used to be).  It was good food and a great morning!

Downton Abbey

Everyone I know seems to be watching and blogging about Downton Abbey.  I haven't seen it, but I still thought this SNL spoof was hilarious!  I heard that Downton Abbey launched some minor competition to the Superbowl by having some new episodes during halftime.  So, for all of you who watched Downton Abbey instead of Madonna, this is for you.

Growing Up

I took Punkin for some pictures to send my mom and dad this weekend and when I got the prints, I couldn't believe how old she looked.  It was like she went instantly from being a toddler to being a little girl.  And it isn't just me.  I showed the pictures to Wes and he said, "She looks really old in these."  I know, right?  How did that happen?

An Homage to Mommy

When we spent time with Wes's family for Christmas, Punkin picked up on my first name like she had not previously done.  I guess it was the first time she really understood what my first name was?  I don't know.  She has occasionally called Wes by his first name for a long time, although his first name is easier to say than mine.

But at Christmas, she really hit on it and started calling me "Kiss-tine" and seeing how I would react.  (Few kids before the age of three can really say Christine and, honestly, I think the way she says my name is cute.  Of course.)  Anyway, I knew that if I made a big deal about it, she would resist calling me Mommy, so I just gently tried to correct her.  Sometimes, even a month later, she'll look at me slyly and say, "Hi Kiss-tine!"  When I don't respond, she'll say "Hi Mommy" and then I say hi back.  She definitely knows I prefer Mommy and she's figuring all that out.

The other day, she was in the bath and she said "Kiss-tine."  In the bathtub, Punkin has some Disney themed mermaid toys...even though I swore to myself that I wouldn't buy her things like this.  (Just as a side note, Disney has evil geniuses for marketing. )  So when I responded, "No.... I'm Mommy" to Punkin, she said, "No, no" and then pointed at her mermaid princess "PINCESS Kisstine!"  Which means, of course, Princess Christine.  Well, she had me there.  I couldn't really argue with being named a Princess, could I?  I'm still pretty amazed at how quickly her brain came up with a "social" explanation for what she was doing.  To her credit, she still calls one of the mermaid princesses "Kisstine," which alternatively makes me laugh or disturbs me.

The Grey Bird of Insanity

On Gretchen Rubin's happinesss blog she talks about the "bluebird of happiness" and the "pigeon of discontent."  Let me introduce you to the bird who lives at our house.  I like to call him the grey bird of insanity.  Unlike Rubin's birds who are imaginary - or really metaphors - this guy is real.  He is insane because he sits in one of the holly trees at the front of our door and pecks at the screen door and the front windows ALL.DAY.LONG.  Seriously.  You think I must be joking or exaggerating, but because we've had so many viruses lately, we've had lots of time in the living room watching tv, giving us ample time to observe the bird's habits.  The bird hurls itself at the window and the door at least forty times a day.  Usually about four times in a row, followed by a break of 10 minutes.  (The viruses also gave me the opportunity to catch the insanity on film - although not my best images.)

There must be something wrong with the bird because you'd think by now it would have figured out that it isn't going to get in and that whatever it is doing is producing nothing.  And figured it out "by now" is very generous, even for a bird brain.  It has been doing this for months.  I remember in October that the bird was pecking at the window and I said to Punkin, "Awww, the bird is knocking!  He wants to come in and be part of our family!"  So for four months now, Punkin says when the bird starts it knocking routine:  "Bird.  Knocking!  Make some noise!"  Wes also pointed out that the bird clearly wants to come in, but it might be to peck our brains out rather than joining our family.  Given the bird's aggressive focus, Wes might be right.

I think I found its nest recently and Wes says he'll move it to try and get the bird to leave.  It seems kind of mean in the middle of winter though.  Could a bird survive having its nest moved (or destroyed)?  Or would it only rebuild with vengeance?

Finally, I know this bird isn't human, but if it were, I'm pretty sure it would be diagnosed with OCD.

So Behind

I'm feeling so behind in every aspect of my life!  Not to mention blogging.  The good news is that my mom had bypass surgery this week and seemed to tolerate it ok.  She's still in the hospital, but the doctors and nurses tell us she's looking good.  I'm going to be going out to help with some of the convalesence soon and I can't wait!  The day when she had surgery was like torture - I so wanted to be there!  But it all turned out ok.  My dad and sister have been real champions through this whole ordeal.

Punkin has really been a force lately.  She's begun a nudity campaign that begins in the morning and ends with her bedtime.  She never likes to keep clothes on.  For instance, when Wes went to get her this morning, she was only wearing one sock!  She also refused to take a nap yesterday or today.  I told her that she was making me crazy and then she later announced at Target, "Momma's crazy!"  It was good times.  You know, the kind of good times that make you really proud to be a mom.  At naptime today, she took off her pants and then climbed out of her crib, landing with a thump on the floor.  Punkin immediately demanded "blue ice" (maybe she's had too many of these incidents at day care?).  So, we're going to have to see about a toddler bed.  It's hard to believe enough time has passed that we need a more grown-up bed, but it seems that we have come to it.

We also spent some time at the library today.  I was looking for something fun and light to distract my attention.  A friend recommended "Divergent" but it wasn't available.  Anyone else have ideas?  I'm especially looking for something that does not deal with parent mortality issues.

Latest Kid's Book

I have found the cutest new book that Punkin and I have been reading.  We got it last week and every night now she asks for me to read "Bunny Bunny."  The book title is really "Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake" by Michael Kaplan and it is about a little bunny discovering that she loves chocolate cake and how she learns to be patient to get the treat.  It is a cute story and has some funny lines for the adults.  Betty Bunny has three siblings and their interaction is very realistic and amusing.

When Betty Bunny announces that she loves chocolate cake so much that she is going to marry it, her siblings all chime in with comments and her older brother Bill concluding: "Whatever.  But you're going to have really weird-looking kids."

The story is very light and clever and it has a funny twist at the end.  I would highly recommend it for any age of kids that like picture books.  I'm pretty sure my niece and nephew who are both about to turn four would enjoy it, but not sure about their older siblings.  I found this recommendation via Indiebound, which is a great source for good reading ideas that aren't on the NYT Bestseller list.

Chugging Along

That holiday silence was a little longer than I intended.

The view from my chair for days.  Note the magnetic letters that keep my cold remedies company.

Wes and I both got sick right after Christmas and were literally in bed for about 4 days.  We had to cancel our New Year's Eve plans and we almost felt like we were foraging for food because we were too sick to go to the grocery store or really plan meals.  We survived on delivery and carry-out.  And canned soup.

Punkin, for whatever reason, never really seemed to get sick.  Or possibly, she was mildly sick at Christmas.  (She was kind of grouchy over the trip!)  So, this is what our house looked like after a couple of days where the two year old ran free and the adults couldn't move.

At the beginning of last weekend, we were both starting to feel kind of normal again and we realized that we had created a huge deficit for ourselves in housework....and laundry.  So we spent another weekend recovering.  But it always feel so good to just do normal things after being really sick.  I finally took the Christmas decorations down this weekend and that definitely gave me a boost.  There's so much space again!!

Punkin: the update

Let me just say that Punkin has been in time-out four times today.  Since I got home from work at 6 p.m.  (Twice for throwing things, once for not coming when Daddy asked, once for not coming when Mommy asked.)  And, I think at least one time this morning.  We've hit the terrible twos like nothing else.

So here's a few developments in the last week (or two):

She is eating bananas at a rate that I'm pretty sure equals some monkeys.  As in, she requested and then ate 3 bananas one night after 6 p.m.  We asked one of our babysitters (a very cute nursing student) if she could get potassium overload and apparently such a thing is possible, but not very common.  It takes more than 3 bananas a day.

Sometimes when we ask whether she needs/wants to go in time-out, she responds "Yes."  So we allow her to put herself in time-out.  Hey, if she doesn't know when she needs to go, then who does?

She has started saying, "Don't you tell me no."  I thought this was from day care until tonight, when these very words dropped from Wes's mouth.

She also responds to any question now with "Ummmmm" and then either "Yes" or "No."  As in, "Punkin, do you want to watch Thomas the Tank Engine?" and her response is, "Ummmmm, Yes!"  Alternatively, "Punkins, do you want some dinner?" and her response is, "Ummmmm, No!" 

Link Love

I'm going to post some stuff about Punkin, but first I wanted to share some stuff that has truly brought me joy in the last couple of days.

First of all, the joke-off on Weekend Update with the old anchors was hilarious and also so fun.  I don't actually know these people, but they kind of feel like family.  (just fyi, this video = not family friendly)


Then I saw this video below on Becky Higgins' blog, which I also enjoyed and it led me to this blog entry at work, which made me laugh so hard that I cried.  At work.  This is a high standard to meet, if you know what I do.  Because I deal with human frailties, so there's a lot of opportunity to cry.