So Much to Blog - So Little Time!

I know I haven't posted an entry for roughly 89476589 days... life has been very, very busy. Caity came down with the plague over the weekend and has been running a fever for numerous days. She also has a lovely, hacking cough. Jamie has decided that naps are for babies, which of course makes sense because he is the ripe old age of almost-11 months. Who can expect him to nap when there is some army-crawling to do? Oh, and of course we must make time for clapping (his new skill). So between the fevers, napless days and 80 events coming up this weekend that the house should really be cleaned for, I find I have little time to blog (not that I'm actually spending my time cleaning the house - I don't want to mislead you). Eventually, I should provide details about Caity's 3rd birthday, our new "it's in my backyard so of course it's organic" garden, and what the kitty has been up to, but that will all have to wait until later. When I return from my fugue state.

The Divebombing Robin

I took the kids for a walk the other day. I was strolling innocently along when suddenly I was besieged by a furious robin! It swooped low over my head, squawking in a menacing manner as I ducked under its razor-sharp beak and outstretched talons. Shaken, I watched it land on an overhead wire, then continued on my way. I had taken but a few steps when it dove again! Startled, I ducked once more and watched it land in the branches of a nearby tree. Something was clearly afoot (or awing, in this case). After searching in vain for quite some time, I finally spotted what I was looking for - the robin's nest, tucked away in the support of a fence. Which I was standing approximately 10 inches from.

Of course I had to come back later with the camera and rile the bird up all over again.

The robin keeps an eye on the unwary traveler.

She attacks!

The nest, as seen from the innocent traveler's viewpoint.

The nest, as seen from a pesky voyeur's viewpoint.

Whoops

My tolerance for Jamie's wild hair finally reached its limit last night. I seized a pair of scissors and attacked his mop of curls without regard to style, length, or any kind of sense usually used when cutting hair. When the fever of chopping frenzy finally faded, I realized that I had given my son a cut very similar to that of Brandon Walsh. If you don't know who that is, then you did not spend your formative years in the '90s. If you DO know who that is, then you are probably sighing with disgust. Oops.

Cleaning Up is Hard to Do

So between Caity and Jamie, the "fake food" from the "fake kitchen" ended up scattered all over the house. I asked Caity to please clean it up. Then I ordered her to clean it up. Then I threatened her with a time out if she didn't clean it up. She.... ever...... so...... slowly..... put two of the fake vegetables in the storage bin, then went over and sat herself down on the stairs. Apparently, putting herself in time out was preferable to rounding up 956978549 small plastic food items. I know exactly how she felt... after all was said and done, guess who got to do the cleaning up? Sigh.

Some Cute Pics

Not much to ramble on about today. Well, I suppose I could mention something that someone has been doing again - after many months of not doing it - but that's really all I can say because the last time I even slightly referenced it in a post, that certain someone stopped doing that certain activity and I was bitterly disappointed. So if you have no idea what I'm talking about, maybe that's good. The less said, the better.

Anyway, I have been taking lots of kid pictures. And they are all lurking on my computer (the pictures, I mean, not the kids). The chances of me actually getting them printed are small, but the likelihood of me doing anything with the pictures (besides stuffing them in a box somewhere) is even more slim, so I'd better post some here or they will never be viewed. And then, you might ask, what would be the point of taking so many? Indeed.

Jamie's Recent Adventures

Okay, I admit it. It's time to stop doing all of those things that parenting advice books strongly suggest you never do.

Item #1 - Never leave your child unattended on a changing table, even if he's strapped down.
Both Greg and I have been guilty of this. We would change a dirty diaper, strap Jamie down, then go to dispose of the diaper and wash our hands. I knew I wasn't supposed to, and I probably would not endorse such behavior if asked about it, but it was easy and I was quick about it - what could possibly happen? Well, yesterday I returned from my hand-washing to discover that all that remained of Jamie on the table was his little foot. The rest of him was hanging headfirst, suspended about 4 inches from the ground. And the clever strap that was supposed to keep him immobile? It was wrapped around his foot. Jamie seemed unconcerned about the whole thing, but I may have uttered several unsavory curse words when I saw what had happened.

Item #2 - Never leave your child unattended, period.
I am guilty of this a lot. In fact, I relish stolen moments away from both kids. But today was not so delightful in that I returned from the basement to discover Jamie happily snacking on one of my plants. My first reaction was shock - not about the plant, but about how he managed to get across the room so quickly! When I'd gone downstairs, he was over by the front door, and when I came up, he was by the doorwall on the opposite side of the house. He isn't crawling yet, so how in the dickens did he go so fast? Teleportation?

I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised. He does manage to get around quite nicely with his version of the "army crawl"... we call it the "ballet crawl". As you can imagine, this involves lots of pushing off with his tiptoes.

Stalling Tactics

With Greg at band on Monday nights, it often falls to me to give Caity a bath on those evenings (usually he is in charge of her bathtime; I am in charge of Jamie's). Tonight she decided that she did not want to take a bath. Here are a few of her bath-avoidance tricks:
"No bath - I want to play hide and seek!"
"No bath - I want to hold hands!"
"What video do you want?" (She wanted me to repeat the question, so that she could answer and then lead us over to the video cabinet - I thought this one was pretty clever.)
I told her we could do all of those things AFTER her bath.
Those excuses wasted, she then tried to physically bar my way to the bathtub by throwing her arms wide like a human barricade, saying, "No! Stop!"
I gently put her aside and turned on the water, which she tried to turn off.
After I wrested her hands away from the faucet, she turned to me, pushed up the leg of my capri pants and said, "Oh! You have a boo-boo! I'll get a band-aid!" She scampered off, leaving me to bemusedly contemplate my wound - a teeny freckle on my knee.

It's hard to be stern with her when I'm trying to keep a smile off of my face.