December

Yeah...I know...it's been a while.

I've heard it again and again from everyone we saw while visiting over the holidays.

It's not that there isn't anything to say...it's just that somehow there is so much to say that I become overwhelmed by the choices.


So I guess I'll start with just some pictures.

Hello Again

Whew...the last few weeks have been a whirlwind! I do believe that we are fully embedded into the "terrible twos" as each kid seems to have morphed into an evil twin of themselves (evil twins of twins...hmmm). Not only have the tantrums, fighting, and just general WHINING been around the Dink household, but Nixon had another ear infection (including a perforated eardrum) and right now both kids are having some sort of bug. They had their flu shots last week, so it makes me wonder even though I have heard a THOUSAND times that the flu shot doesn't get you sick.

On the good note, potty training is clipping right along. Both kids have been pee'ing on the potty, Rea more than Nix but that is no surprise. Reaghan has been known to do the poo poo in the potty as well - as she likes to say "BIIIIGG POO POO". Nixon has yet to do the big "#2", but he'll get there.

Bill is out of town (again) for a few days, leaving me to deal with the sickees - must be nice to eat out at a restaurant and then fall asleep in a big hotel bed...I need a vacation.

Finger Paint!!!

Plymouth Farmers Market

We spent the morning at the Plymouth Farmers Market for the first

time in about a month today.

Mmmmm...Pumpkin muffins...

Puddle Fun Again!

Yes...that would be my children lying in the puddle.
Is that redneck or what?!

Reaghan

Nixon

You'd Think I Had the Time to Post

Okay...okay...I know I've been slacking off on the postings. I feel totally guilty and actually I think my guilt ridden state has induced a sort of writers block, as I have had the toughest time deciding what to write about lately.
Its not for lack of subject matter - trust me, they have been keeping me fully supplied with subjects, and well...matter. Loads of matter. Especially the stinky kind, but I digress.

I actually have had the last two weeks off, and have been hangin' out with the kids doin' all sorts of funtime summer business. How did you score two weeks off, you ask? Well, I decided to hang up the proverbial hat (or scalpel, if you please) and look for a different line of work. After years of hefting bodies, risking cutting myself while working with a scalpel in a slippery body cavity, and being hours on my feet hunched over while wearing layers of hot protective clothing, I decided that even though I love my job, the risks aren't worth it. The formalin risk alone has been really bugging me lately. There is enough cancer in my family to make you not want to push it working around that stuff all day long. So I got another job...I start tomorrow.

As far as the kids are concerned, they seemed to have decided to take on a new job as well. Lets call it Industrial Waste Delivery. The fun game lately has been taking off all of our clothes during nap and nighttime and either peeing or pooping in the crib. Yeah...fun stuff. Here's a little story to wet your whistle:
Scene: Afternoon in the Dink house, babes are in bed sleeping. C goes upstairs to take a peek. B is sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine. C comes tearing into the kitchen.
C - "We have a problem"
B - "What do you mean 'we have a problem'?"
C - "I just looked into the kids room and Nixon is sleeping with a turd next to him."
B - "A what?"
C - "A TURD...you know - POOP!" (Done in a raised hissing whisper)
B - "How in the heck did that happen??"
C - "He is naked with a poopy diaper in his crib with him, and a turd laying on the mattress."
B - "Well, now what?"

A little background is needed here. Nixon had been having terrible nights sleeping and had been waking up and crying. He also had been emptying all of his crib items out onto the floor and then crying to have them back...at three AM! We finally put up a crib tent to keep him and all of his stuff in the crib at night - Bingo...problem solved; accept that you can no longer get into his crib with out unzipping the thing - and it is loud. With all of the nighttime activity the kid was pooped (no pun intended) and we absolutely did not want to wake him twenty minutes into naptime - for his sake or ours.

To make a long story short, I managed to slowly peel the zipper back enough to reach in and grab the diaper and the turd, but the turd had left a skid mark on the mattress. I finally managed to sneak a towel into his bed and cover the skid, and its a good thing too because later I looked in and Nixon had rolled over and was sleeping on top of the towel. Can you believe I managed all of that without waking either baby? I think I deserve an award!

By the way...the towel went in the trash.

Um...She Has a What?!

Please be warned that the following post is somewhat, well...ucka to use a toddler word.

Reaghan has a yeast infection.

I know all of the ladies reading this are cringing in sympathy, while all the gents are cringing in disgust - but there it is...she has a yeast infection.

The problem is actually a Candida albicans diaper rash caused by the combination of her course of antibiotics and the summer heat. You see, the meds kill all of her probiotics (read: good bacteria). These helpful little beasties live in all of our digestive tracts (as well as the vagina in females) and live off of things like yeast. Therefore, they eat the things that give us hassles. Unfortunately, Reaghan's round of Amoxicillan killed all of her "good guys" and since she is on a yogurt refusal phase at this time, I couldn't get her to replace them.

It basically looks like a really bad diaper rash, except the bumps are a bit bigger and rounder - they kinda remind me of what a culture actually looks like when it grows on a petri dish, small round colonies of yeast, but that is just the nerd in me. I figured something was up when it didn't respond to diaper cream at all - not even the "big guns" like Triple Paste. Plus, Reaghan was itching alot and saying "Muma, pee pee owee." A quick trip to Dr. R proved my suspicion...classic yeast infection. She prescribed an anti fungal cream, and after only one application it already looks alot better.

So in the interest of public health - all of you mumas out there with little girls know what to look for...and like GI Joe says "Knowing is half the battle."

PEE PEE ON THE POTTY!

Today Reaghan was running around with no bottoms on, she has a little diaper rash and I was giving it some air. We were in the den playing and she suddenly stood up and said "Pee Pee muma."
"Do you have to go pee pee Reaghan?"
"Yeah. Pee Pee on potty." She started to climb up the stairs to the bathroom. We made it up both flights of stairs and into the bathroom. She plopped down on the potty and...I heard it! The telltale patter of pee pee into the potty!!

WOOOHOOO!

Of coarse this is just a fluke, I'm sure. We havn't even had the potty out or have been trying - I just got it out of the closet in the bathroom at her request. She was pretty pleased with herself, and I gave her a sticker, so I'm really glad it was a good experiance but I am not betting on anything else any time soon.

But still...WOOOHOOO!

Sick? Its summer!

Who knows how these things happen, but Nixon and Reaghan both have ear infections. I was really hoping to avoid any summer illnesses, but I guess thats a pretty wild wish considering their age. They havn't been too grouchy, thankfully, because we caught it really quick this time and got them to the doc for treatment. Here we go again with the nighttime wake up for amoxicillian...yikes.

On a much lighter note I wanted to talk about, well...talking. It is absolutely mind boggling how many words these guys are picking up on a daily basis. We are constantly being suprised by new ones. For example, Bill had the fridge open earlier and Nixon leaned in for a look and proclaimed "pepper". Bill took a look and lo and behold there sat a green pepper. Where in the world did he pick up that it was a pepper? I always tell them what I'm buying at the grocery store, but generally they don't seem to be paying too much attention - at least I thought they weren't.

A new fun game around here is "get a kid to say that". We've gotten them to say all sorts of funny things like "rock on" and "metal", which come out more like "wok on" and "meddle". We have also been trying to get them to do the 'metal' hand sign, but that is proving to be a bit more of a challange. The game can provide endless hours of amusement, though the other side of this is the occasional naughty word. My ever amusing husband thought it would be funny to teach his highly impressionable daughter to say shit. Funny for about five minutes, but now I'm worried that our kids will become "those kids with the potty mouths". Thankfully she seems to have forgotten that word.

At least for now...

Happy Birthday To The Double Dinks

Birthday 2007 dawned cloudy and a bit cool, so with our coats we headed out the door to the Detroit Zoo. The kids were in great spirits, most likely due to waking up to the surprise that Uncle Brent had somehow materialised in their home overnight, and were happy and chatty the whole half hour drive to the zoo. At the gate we met up with friends of ours and their little man, Christopher (14 months), and away we went.

First up - the geese on the side of the path. Figures...we go all the way to the zoo, pay to get in, and all they want to do is look at the non-zoo creatures. But, it is their birthday - so we spend a few minutes admiring the geese.

Next - Llamas. Up to this point they have figured out that we were "somewhere" and that we would see animals, but until they saw the Llamas in the enclosure I think they were just thinking that they would be seeing the same old things as at home. When they first caught sight of the Llamas, they started pointing and freaking out. Reaghan was calling out "Moo Moo" and Nixon was pointing and saying "Whats that?" (comes out more like 'whudya?'). They were transfixed - and had a fit when after a few minutes I started to push the stroller away.

The fountain was a big hit, as well as the anteaters (several giggles from Rea), but after a bit of a walk we hit the Arctic Exhibit. Being the non-conformists that we are, we enter the exhibit going the wrong way (Duh) so they saw the polar bears first off. Both kids enjoyed the bears, and I even got a 'Grrrr' or two out of them, but the highlight was the underwater view of the seals. Holy Smokes what a toddler magnet! All three kids were completely and totally impressed with the underwater views! In one area they had made a sort of glass bubble into the water that the kids could climb into to get a better view, and all three of them piled in to check it out. It was quite amusing to watch them try to figure out exactly how they were suddenly "in the water" without actually touching it. The way it was designed made it a little difficult to determine where the glass was, so they each tentatively reached out with their little hands until they found the barrier, then spent several minutes leaning up against it and checking out the seals as they swam past.

The seals were really cool. After leaving the little building we were in, we went around the corner to another area where you walked through a tube under the water and the seals swam all around you. Another toddler magnet. Nixon spent a good couple of minutes "petting" one seal was just kinda hangin' out on the side of the tube, and Reaghan would jump and clap every time a seal swam overhead. They loved it. I loved it as well because it was a mostly enclosed area, so as long as one parent stood sentry at either end of the tube it was okay to just let them run around and check it out. I would strongly recommend this to anyone with toddlers.

Off to the monkeys.

We have been pretty into monkeys lately. Monkey noises, monkeys jumping on the bed, monkey business...so needless to say the monkeys were an important visit. Unfortunately the monkeys just weren't in the mood to do much monkeying around. So they saw them, but that was pretty much it. In the gorilla enclosure we got a nice view of some material that may have not been appropriate for those under 18, but thankfully they are a bit young to understand the birds and the bees. I heard a few other parents telling their kids that they were "wrestling", or "playing a game". Hmm.

Lunchtime was a fiasco. I had purchased them little meals that came with a plastic tiger head about the size of a small lunchbox, and they loved these so much that they didn't hardly touch the lunch that came with it. I had a minor fit about the cost (7.50 each), but it did include a hot dog, chips, cookies, and a drink along with the much loved decapitated plastic tiger head - so I guess its okay. Besides, from what I hear on NPR the zoo needs all of the money it can get.

After lunch we made another quick stop at the fountain, and then it was time to go. I bought them both little stuffed monkeys with velcro hands at the giftshop and we called it a day.

Overall we all loved the zoo. We bought a family membership ($74.00) and I think we'll get alot of use out of it.

More to come on the birthday activities, as well as some pics. We purchased a new computer over the weekend, so I need to transfer all of our picture software to the new drive.

Life With Two Year Olds

So...tomorrow is the big day...version 2.0.

The day that two years ago I went from being able to count the number of times that I had held a baby on one hand (outside of work), to having a baby in both hands.

But first - the current stats:

NIXON

Weight - 27 lbs 5 oz (at birth - 6 lbs 10 oz)

Height - 35.5 inches (birth - 19 inches)

Shoesize - 8 (big feet)

REAGHAN

Weight - 25 lbs 10 oz (birth - 5 lbs 15 oz)

Height - 33.75 inches (birth - 19 inches)

Shoesize - 7

"Why yes...it is dirt. Lovely, lovely dirt."

Other than their size, I can tell you that there has been alot of activity around the household, and boy do I mean activity. They never stop moving. I repeat...never. In fact, when there is nothing better to do, Nixon has been known to just run in circles until he gets dizzy and collapses. Or he will throw himself on the floor and do these strange wiggle movements that cause you to take a second look and wonder if he's having some sort of seizure. Nope...just a two year old boy with nothing better to do than flop around mindlessly on the floor while screaming and giggling. Its quite a sight. As Hank Hill has said many a time... "The boy ain't right."

Now Reaghan on the other hand has taken to the strange habit of wanting to carry half of the inventory of her bedroom around with her. She will try to make it down the stairs with herself, her stuffed kitty, her cup of milk, a book, a hat, some beads, her toothbrush, and her Elley blanket for good measure. Needless to say this is quite impossible, so as she drops things she says in the most plaintive voice "oh no...oh geesh" until I offer to carry some of her precious booty for her. She then takes a minute to decide which one of the items she can part with before just demanding that I carry her and all of her stuff down the stairs instead.

So, tomorrow we will go to the zoo for their birthday, and if I'm not too pooped I will post some pics as well as some other fun two year old tidbits, but for now I bid you adieu to sit outside in this beautiful twilight and have a glass of Austrailian Shriaz.

After two years a gal needs a break!

EXTRA! EXTRA!

I finally got around to putting up a blog subscription box. If you would care to be notified by email of new content, please use the box to the right to subscribe!

Along Came Bo Bo

For the past year I have been trying to get Reaghan to say Nixon's name. I'm not exactly sure why she doesn't, maybe the 'x' in the name itself is too difficult for her toddler vocab, but as of late I think that she had just renamed him long ago and I had mistaken it for toddler babble.

She calls him "Bo Bo".

Initially it was thought that she was calling him "Bubba", because I had started calling him that last summer and still do time to time. Bubba came along during the heat of last summer when I was putting him in only a pair of overalls with no t-shirt or socks while he played. Combined with his tubby toddler tummy he was the picture of a Bubba, especially when he would put his hands in the back pockets while standing. While we were in the car one afternoon, Reaghan said something, pointed to Nix, and said what sounded to me like 'Bubba'. "Where's Bubba?" I asked. Rea pointed to Nixon and said "Bo Bo". We practiced this over and over for the past two weeks to perfect it and now she calls him Bo Bo all the time.

On Sunday morning we did our monthly split the kids up day and Reaghan and I went shopping while the guys went to the petstore. Off and on during our shopping trip Rea would inquire "Bo Bo?" I would answer that Bo Bo and Daddy went to run errands while we shopped. She would nod and carry on with whatever she was doing. Pulling into a restaurant I told her that we were stopping to have lunch and asked her if she was hungry. She nodded and replied "Eat. Bo Bo, Da?"
"No honey, Nixon and Daddy went somewhere else for lunch. We will see them when we get home." Satisfied, she turned her attention back to her book.
When I got the check after lunch I let her know we would be leaving soon. "Bye Bye? Bo Bo, Da?" She was wondering if we were going to see them. I told her we were.
When we got home, Nixon and Bill were on the front sidewalk with the tricycle. Reaghan was giggling and waving at them from the car.
So...after all of that asking about her brother and her daddy guess where she ran once she got out of the car...
To the tricycle.
Figures.

Eastern Market

A Beautiful Spring Day Well Spent!




Eating pears...

and strawberries...

while checking out the local art...

and the market.

What We're Up To

BeeBos
Pillow Time
Wrenchin'
Wait...thats not a hat!!

Strangely Good Day

I awoke two minutes before my alarm went off - totally refreshed.
After my shower my hair didn't frizz.
The kids woke in a good mood and cooperated with getting dressed.
Nobody complained at breakfast.
The kids got into their car seats without too much of a struggle.
We backed out of the driveway on schedule.
I didn't hit a single red light on the way to daycare.
The kids kept their shoes and socks on for the whole trip.
At school, they walked right up to the door and into the classroom with no runaways.
The school was serving "fancy" coffees for parents.
Traffic on I-96 actually moved.
I got to work ten minutes early, got a great parking spot, and the shuttle was waiting for me.
On the way into Children's Hospital, the valet high fived me at the door.
During my morning break, I discovered that in a flash of creativity someone in dietary put baked apples in the oatmeal (yum).
My Starbucks wasn't too hot.

It is only 10 AM!!!!!

Such an oddly good day that I had to share...

Identity Theft

If there is one thing that I have learned in my almost two years of twin parenting, its that as soon as you figure them out, that's when they're gonna change it up on you.

We have had a total turn around in personalities in this household. Nixon has gone from a shy, clingy, dare I say it, momma's boy, to a pushy, bullying, machismo daddy's little man. He generally wants nothing to do with me anymore, preferring the company of dada and the ensuing rough house play. On the other had, Reaghan, who has always been a pushy daddy's girl, is now totally submitting to her brothers commands and clinging all over me all hours of the day. Strange. I'm not sure what to think of it.

The weirdest thing is I am just a tiny bit upset by Nixon's new found independence. I used to complain that the kid wouldn't let me get a thing done because all he wants to do is be held, but now he won't even let me pick him up at all. I kinda miss my little buddy. I realise that it is a good thing for him - he was way over dependent, but with his move from me I think it just hit me solid in the stomach that they just aren't ever gonna be my little babies anymore. They are going to stop wanting so many hugs and kisses (yech muma), sooner or later I'll start to get the eye rolls (mom...don't kiss me in front of my friends) and before you know it they'll start wanting me to drop them off a block from school so their friends don't know their mommie still drives them - okay, maybe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. But the point is, when they are infants the months seem like forever, but as soon as they start to walk its like time kinda doubles up on itself. It seems like they just became toddlers, and now I'm looking at about a year until preschool.

On an upside, with the sudden turn in weather the kids have been going bonkers to play outside. Yesterday we put their rain boots on, tucked their pantlegs in, and let them stomp in puddles for an hour or so. Afterwards we had a nice lunch at La Shish and once we got home the kids blessed us with a THREE HOUR NAP!! Sooooo nice of them since muma hadn't gotten a wink of sleep thanks to the congested snore monster I've been sharing a bed with. We just can't wait for summer!!

I got shushed

The kids have been learning alot during their daytimes at the learning center. Some of them are really helpful...they carry their plates to the sink, they wipe thier own noses, they are getting very good at the whole fork/spoon thing. Other things are just kinda funny. The other day we were giving them their night time bath - I was trying to get Reaghan to stand up so that I could wash her bottom, but she was way too busy playing with a tub toy.
"Come on Rea, stand up so muma can wash your bottom."
no reponse
"Reaghan, stand up so muma can wash your bottom."
Reaghan turns quickly towards me and put her index finger over her lips
"Shhh." She then turns back to her toy
Bill and I just kinda sat there in disbelief for a second.
"Reaghan, what did..."
"Shhh." again with the finger over the lip

I was reminded of one of the Austin Powers movies where Dr. Evil is shushing someone at the table. "Before you even go there...shhhh."

Cute.

Sunday

The Den

Happy Sunday

A Day Apart

In days past when I had alot of time on my hands (read: bedrest), I had read alot of books on raising twins and fostering a strong sense of their own identity. A few of the books had suggested that starting in the toddler years it is a good idea to separate them every once in a while, giving them each some one on one time with a parent. Bill and I have done this a little before, he would take Nixon to Home Depot while Reaghan and I went to Holiday Market or vice versa, but today we decided to do a whole morning alone each with a kid. It started out because I really wanted to go to the outlet mall in Howell, the kiddos needed new PJs, but surprisingly Bill didn't think that spending a morning shopping at an outlet mall and then having lunch sounded like a great idea. Besides, we recently had bird number three in our basement, so he wanted to do some investigating to find out how in the heck they keep getting in there and then fix the problem. Since Nixon has a bloody fit every time I subject him to shopping, and Reaghan is a budding fascionista, it was an easy choice with kid I would take.

Reaghan and I had a terrific time shopping, got some great deals, and then had a nice little girly lunch at a Chinese restaurant near home. While shopping I had let her walk in the stores part of the time and was totally surprised at how well she behaved - no snatching at items, though she did make a few selections (a very cute kitty t-shirt and a pair of pink sunglasses with flowers) and at the restaurant she sat in a booster seat instead of a high chair for the very first time! Reaghan was very impressed with the order of beef with broccoli with brown rice that we shared at Ginger, ate nicely with her spoon, and even kept her voice down! When we got home she showed all of her favorite items to Nixon and Daddy and then went upstairs for a nap with no problems!! There was alot of horseplay going on in their room right after we put them down for nap, no doubt because they hadn't seen each other for three hours, but they eventually settled right down.

Bill and Nixon had a great time as well. They hit the hardware store, then had a "manly" luncheon at BW3. Bill reported that Nixon was a perfect gentleman the whole time, downright chatty, and even flirted with the waitress (I'm sure daddy was proud).

Tonight is our monthly date night, we are heading to Ann Arbor to go to the Earle. We've decided that each month on our date night day that we will hang with a kid in the morning. I think that not only is it good for the kids, but in a way its really nice for us as well. You really feel much less stressed out with only one kid, and it is so nice to have that one on one time with them. Maybe next time I'll do a mommy-son breakfast!

It'll be fun!

By the way, special thanks to Leighla for her guest spot! Maybe the experiance will lead to her starting her own little blog!

Travels Colorado Here we Come!

Well...I guess I should start with an introduction. I am Leighla, a friend of the Double Dinks. I live in Grand Rapids with my family. I am the mother of Aaron. Aaron is one week younger then the twins. Most of you I believe have either met me or all of us before.

But Meet Aaron and our dog Cicero >>>>>>

So, a few weeks ago we took our first trip to Colorado...yes we braved the plane ride with our darling 20 month old.

Who at the time was sick and cutting his last tooth, getting over pink eye, and sick with a fever everyday the entire week prior to our departure....which later carried on into our trip.

So...the flights were not bad...on the way home we did run into a snotty woman in front of us, that I was ready to take on. That being said I will move on from that story. We traveled prepared with toys, food (Cherry Lollipops were the food of choice, and did you know they can also work as earplugs if necessary, trust me on this one), and the ultimate travel item a portable DVD player with 200 hours worth of Blue's Clues, which is Aaron's favorite show. Oh, did I mention a car seat, since there is no way Aaron would just sit and be happy...you got to strap that boy down and never let him up until you reach your destination.

Now, in Colorado we were in a beautiful condo with the slopes behind us....gorgeous just gorgeous. And my little man wanted a bite, and he got one. Then after the bite he had a wonderful time playing outside....until.....

Temper tantrum city....I would guess part of the tantrum was brought on by exhaustion from being sick, but who knows...he really let me have it. So, with the tantrum I was not about to just stand outside in the cold and let this go on. Lately, his events let's call them had been lasting ten minutes or so. Instead I gave my stern mommy warning, picked him, legs kicking and all, and hauled him back in our lovely condo, who's walls were beginning to close in on me. While his father was out enjoying the mountain.

After getting him into the condo, I sat down to try and ignore my son's rage. The screaming and tears eventually subsided, and a strange breathing pattern emerged. I thought to myself no way.....what is he doing....but yes still fully clothed boots and all, he had fallen asleep, and was SNORING! on the floor in the door way. Classic Toddler.

Now, I tell you this story but the trip was really great and Aaron settled down, and we did have a great time. Maybe we will talk again soon.....Leighla

Vomitorium

You know its bad when you open up the door to the bedroom and a wall of stink hits you.

It started on Monday with a call from daycare saying Nixon threw up. Bill, being the awesome dad that he is, picked up the kids and brought them home only to be awarded with a vomit bath compliments of Nixon.

I walked in the door to Bill and "sickee" on the sofa watching TV while Reaghan goofed off with their toys. Being the concerned mom that I am, I gave Nixon a half a cup of Pedialite to drink and took over the sofa duty from Bill. Bill took one look at the cup and said "Not a good idea."

"Well, he needs fluids or he'll get dehydrated."

"Just warning you...not a good idea."

You guessed it. Five minutes later, just when I started patting myself on the back for assuring my son had a healthy hydration level, he opened up on me. I say 'opened up' because I'm pretty sure that is the term that fireman use when they turn on their hoses - and that is exactly what it looked like. Only smelly...very smelly. Bill snickered.

(To be continued...sick baby interruption)

Ok...I'm back.

So lets just say it escalated from there. Reaghan ended up tossing her cookies at daycare on Thursday, so I ended up spending both Tuesday and Friday home with toddlers with sickness from both ends. It was bad...way bad...but several loads of laundry and too exhausted parents later I think that, to quote that little chick from Poltergeist, "This house is clean."

At least I hope so.

Mmmmm puke breath.

Whew! What stinks in here?!

Coming Up For Air

Hello world...nice to see you again.

Thats been pretty much the feeling ever since I went back to work. So far rejoining the workforce has been such a freeing (is that a word?) experiance for me that I really don't even notice or mind how tiring it can be. Besides, it is true what 'they' say - its a totally different kinda tired than chasing after a set of 21 month olds all day.

I really enjoy my job, most of my co workers, and the wonderful sense of accomplishment I get after completing a job well done - messy or not. The best part of it all has been the feeling that my life is under some sort of control again, not that it was spiraling down into the abyss before returning to my career, but anyone with toddlers knows that their days are only as predictable as their kids moods at the time - and they change just as quickly as Michigan weather. So now for the most part I can expect a certain amount of order to my day, and a certain amount of disorder at the end of the day which I feel much more capable of handling - and even enjoying.

Oh! I almost forgot! Remember that guest spot I promised everyone a bit back? Look for my friend Leighla to pop in and chat you up in the near future...

A Brief Hiatus

For those of you who are wondering, no...we did not fall off the face of the earth.

We did not get attacked and have our brains consumed by zombies.

We did not move to Timbucktoo.

We didn't even run amuck.

I went back to work.


The site is taking a short break whilst muma gets used to the new routine and the inevitable complete and total exhaustion that goes along with it.

I am trying to con a friend or two to do a guest spot...maybe do a topic. How 'bout 'Crazy Things that Toddlers Put In Their Ears'...talk amongst yourselves.

We will return to our regularly scheduled programming shortly.

Intermission muzak playing