gunky

lion in a triangle

our little boy likes to play board games.

the rest of us don't exactly feel the same way about engaging in this activity, so when someone agrees to play with the child he gets all excited and runs to get the box with a happy little gait.

today, after a long hiatus from Candy Land, the boy's daddy agreed to play one round with him.  the kid came back with the box and set it down, all the while babbling about how he figured he would get to go over the Rainbow Pass which would set him in the lead and he would quickly win the game.

he whipped off the lid and took note of the copyright area of the edge of the box . . . 

. . . and continued his monologue: "the baby with the red circle around it means that this game is not suitable for babies, and the picture of the lion inside the yellow triangle is . . . is . . . a picture of a lion inside a yellow triangle? DADDY!  does the picture of the lion inside the yellow triangle mean that you shouldn't play this game at the ZOO?"

i have no idea what the picture of the lion inside the yellow triangle means.

update: "The Lion Mark was developed in 1988 by the British Toy & Hobby Association as a symbol of toy safety and quality for the consumer, exactly what the CE Mark is not. While the Lion Mark is only used by BTHA members, its membership includes many major international and European companies. In all, the BTHA members supply around 95% of all toys sold in the UK. To display the Lion Mark, the supplier has signed a strict Code of Practice, (the TRA Code is based on this same document), which, as well as covering toy safety matters, demands the highest standards of ethics in advertising and in the thorny matter of counterfeiting."

counterintuitive

i stink.  

i mean, i can work up some serious funk, especially in the summer.  especially at the beach or the gym in the summer.  

i apply a deodorant/antiperspirant in the morning, and then a few times during the day but i can reek right through it.  

my husband takes pictures of me worrying about this stuff.

after repeated suggestions, promises, and threats, i took some advice.  

i stopped using deodorant/antiperspirant.  in july.  i said i'd give it three weeks.

at first, i sweated ranky wet sweat all over myself and my clothes.  i fouled the workout room at the gym.  i fear i stained some things.  

during this time i did use "Naturally Fresh Deodorant - Crystal Spray Mist Body Deodorant (Hypoallergenic, Fragrance Free, Paraben/PG Free, No Aluminum Chlorohydrate)".  it's made of mineral salts.  once i got gooey, i powdered my pits.  repeatedly.  i considered ordering a case of baby powder.

it's been about five weeks and not only do i not sweat profusely, i don't use powder, and i hardly even stink.

it's so weird.

fell down, went boom

my little girl is quite the daredevil.  she loves to climb up high when my back is turned and she asks strangers to flip her upside down.  in a recent post i claimed that she has an excellent sense of balance.

last friday she was in the backyard, turned around, tripped over her own feet, hit the pavement, and broke her nose.

the trip to the ER and ensuing medical situation is one story.

the photographical documentation of her bruising is another.

the better she feels, the more she doesn't want her picture taken.

here she is, leaning on me in the ER, a couple of hours after it happened:

the next day, the bruising and swelling were much worse:

the day after that, though she is most colorful, she smiles and pushes away the camera:

today as i tried to take her picture she ran off.  i set down my camera to do put away some things, and she returned, like this:

i think she is feeling better.

everyone does it

our almost-twenty-month-old Baby is not at all conversational, which her brother was at about fourteen months.  

this is perfectly fine with me.

she loves to draw, has great balance, and uses the toilet a lot - all of which are valuable gifts - and these are the things she talks about.

she had her brother's Buzz Lightyear doll the other day, turned it over, pointed at his bottom and said, "poo poo. buzz."

"yes, that's buzz's bottom."

milo came tearing down the hall, having overheard part of this exchange.

"CAN I HAVE MY BUZZ LIGHTYEAR DOLL?" he shouted as he ran in.

"poo poo.  buzz!" the Baby proudly told him.  she pointed at buzz's bottom.

milo froze.  he looked at her.  he looked at the doll.  he looked at me.  he seemed to have a realization.

"buzz POOPS?!" he asked dumbfoundedly.

amazing what a four-and-a-half year-old can learn from a one-and-a-half year-old.

a phrase of OUR own

one of my oldest friend's recent post about one of her family's "inside phrases" made me think of one of ours.

we used to keep baby/toddler food on a lower shelf in the cabinet, but once my Husband shared some little crunchy, seedy sesame niblet crackers of his, from the “adult” cupboard, with our Boy when he was just about one. the kid loved them.

the next day, the little guy was pointing at the cupboard requesting some food, but he didn’t want the baby cupboard opened – he was saying “up high! up high!”  when we pulled out the sesame crackers and asked, “these crackers?” milo said, “yes! up high crackers!”

we’ve called them up-high crackers ever since.

we eat them all the time. when they are on the trader joe’s list that’s what we write.  the other day they had rearranged the store, as they often do, and my husband was confused so he asked the manager, “where are the up-high crackers?”

must, must, must

my husband and i rely on our friends for a lot of information.

when we go a-visiting we are often alerted to new wines or tasty recipes.  

call us what you will.  

we also find out about children's toys we have never seen.

often after such visits my husband declares: WE HAVE TO GET A _______________

recently, that blank has been filled with: 

• trampoline!   
• 2004 cab! 
• wagon with sand tires!  
• flat screen tv!
• bottle of malbec!
• DVR! 
• block of baby swiss!
• buzz light year wings!
• paddle surf board!
• big toaster oven!
• kite!

to name but a few.

most (not all) of these things seem unnecessary to me, and i am glad that i am not stricken with the want to buy them.  

but this weekend it happened to me.  my girlfriend demonstrated the supreme brilliance of her Sodastream Penguin.  

it's not so much that i want one, as it would be irresponsible for us not to have one.

brought to you by

"mama!  you know why i'm wearing Batman on my t-shirt?"

"no.  why?"

"because he's my SPONSOR!"

piles

friday is cleaning day around here.  

it is the day that we pick up everything from the floor.  

we shove these things in baskets, bins, drawers, closets, and cans so that the floors can be cleaned.

cleaning the floors once a week is a reasonable minimum with two little kids, two big dogs, an old cat, and two busy parents.

cleaning the floors once a week is very difficult with all of us in the house.  

it routinely goes as it did last week: 

1) pick up toys in kids' room, go get vacuum.  

2) return to kids' room and find this:

3) re-pick up toys in kids' room and vacuum.

4) pick up toys in back room.  go get vacuum.

5) return to back room and find this:

6) re-pick up toys in back room.

7) change a diaper, go to bathroom to wash hands.

8) return to back room and find this:

9) consider giving dogs to the grandparents so there isn't so much hair to vacuum.

10) kick toys out of the way and vacuum the rug.

recipe

"how to make sushi" - by milo a. moran

first you go fishing and you catch some fish and you put them in a bowl.

then you add pancake mix.

then you add some olive oil.

then you add some coal.

you then stir.

dip the whole thing in teriyaki sauce.

then you have sushi.

yuck.

cute kids

someone in this household is a little more productive than i am.

he takes lovely pictures of our kids and posts them and gets compliments.

go check them out here and tell him how cool he is.