My new nephews!

Auntie M has taken two parakeets into her home! They are named Ernie (yellow above his beak) and Finnegan (white above beak), after authors in her library. Adorable little things, aren't they?

I want my Friday evening date-night back.

So, last Friday. The kids had a great time! They spent the eventing at Auntie M's new house where she has set up an entire room for them. Their special room-at-auntie's is outfitted with sleeping bags, new toys, games, craft supplies, and books. I picked them up at around 11 p.m. Friday night and they were sweet and sleepy—Thank you Auntie M, for taking care of Rosie & Dash! I piled them in the car and headed home and all were abed before midnight.

Auntie M was babysitting so that Monkeyrotica and I could attend a party. Mr. Monkey's car battery was dead, so he spent his day thusly:
5:30 a.m. leave the house for dealership to beat Beltway traffic.
7:00 a.m. dealership opens, wait for hours on end, listening to gawdawful Xmas tunes
12:00 p.m. leave dealership and spend a few hrs grocery shopping among foul-smelling denizens of NoVA, head home to pack up car with kid-entertainment items
4:00 p.m. pick up son, pick up daughter, travel the Beltway for 90 minutes.
5:30 p.m. obtain food for offspring, drop them at Auntie M's, spend 45 mins in tollroad traffic
6:15 p.m. pickup wife, inform her that going to a party is the last thing he wants to do after driving around in traffic since 5:30 a.m.; wife ignores Mr. Monkey, she looks party-fabulous and ready for fun!

[UPDATE: I had to add here, that there are no photos of this event. It's my own fault, as I couldn't find our camera anywhere that morning. I texted Monkey before he left the house and asked him if he knew where the camera was. He replied yes, he did know. There you go.]

Here's where a series of weird, annoying things happen in which steam blows hard and heavy out of Mr. Monkey's ears. We get to the party at the appointed time, check in, but the bars don't open until 7. We check our coats. A fire alarm blares and we are directed to leave, so we uncheck our coats and go outside for 20 minutes. By the time we get back in and re-check the coats, the bar is not quite open and we really need drinks. waaaait...Bar Open! A friend orders a Southern Comfort from the hotel lobby bar. The bartender doesn't know what that is (or a few subsequent drink orders) so we all order vodka tonics, just because she knows that one (don't bartenders need to be licensed?). We sit for a while, because the ballroom doesn't open until 8, but boredom sinks in and we wander the lobby. Since Monkey and I arrived in separate cars, neither of us plan to drink heavily.

At 8 p.m. we are all allowed to enter the ballroom, a.k.a. the refrigerator. All the ladies promptly don their date's jackets. I find a seat, then reach for my condensation-beaded water glass which shoots out of my fingers and sprays water and ice all over the table. No servers in sight. There are a few speeches and lots of clapping. 9 p.m. comes and goes as some servers start mysteriously arranging and rearranging trays around the room. A D.J. starts spinning some holiday music. Monkey continues to clench until Dave Brubek's Take Five plays, which relaxes him a small bit.

At 9:30, a server comes to our table with a tureen of soup. Did I mention that our place settings have no bowls? No mind, she pours fishy-smelling soup into the charger plates. I ask, "Excuse me, what kind of soup is this? My husband has a shellfish allergy." The server answers, "Soup? Yes." Another server comes to take the soup-on-plates away, as others are bustling around with bowls. Monkey doesn't get to eat the lobster bisque. There's a mildly funny interlude in which Monkey gives her back his bowl several times and she keeps handing him fresh bowls of bisque. "I can't eat this!" and "Severe shellfish allergy!" are not in her vocabulary. There is no beverage service (if you need a drink of any kind, you must leave the ballroom and find the bar out in the lobby).

9:45, the salad course is served: mixed greens, with strawberries and candied walnuts (if you're lucky—one person at our table only got the greens). We wait, and wait, and make awkward conversation about how hungry everyone is and how nobody thought we had to wait until 10 p.m. to eat on a Friday. One tablemate threatens to leave and get food at McDonald's if the main course doesn't show up soon. At 10:10, covered platters are spotted, emerging from the catering area.

10:15 p.m. Our surf and turf plates arrive! The two jumbo prawns feature grandly atop every item underneath. Oh, wait. Monkey can't eat them either. Suxxorz!! Ignoring the flames pouring out of Monkey's ears, I sacrifice my mini-mignon filet, take his prawns and we scuttle out of the ballroom as soon as we are full.

Bust. At least we didn't pay for a sitter? Next time Monkeyrotica tells me that he really, really wants to go home and that going out will suck, I promise to be a better listener.

Sister time

Today I had a low-key lunchtime outing with my sister (a.k.a. Auntie M.). We met up near my office and hung out without my kids for the first time in I-can't-remember-when to help pick out new glasses frames for her. I'd rather do that with a shopping partner, too. It did strike me though, that I rarely see her adult-to-adult these days. While we chatted a bit about long-ago lunches (and otherwise) that we shared fairly often when we both lived/worked in DC (pre-kids for me), it was left unsaid that we are primarily calling on each other these days for time with the kids.

I am very fortunate that she loves my children dearly (and right back at her!) and she actively wants to be in their lives, seeing them every weekend. She was reaching out to me, suggesting we could do this more often, meet mid-day and talk about important life matters (or shop for shoes) and just connect.

I dearly welcome this, not only because I do neglect many, many things in my life that don't relate directly with my kids (or work). I don't care so much that I usually have lunch while working at the computer, all my clothes are several seasons old, or that my hair hasn't been cut in over a year, but I do care about her; my heart needs to connect with my sister more.

R.I.P. kitteh

Dear Auntie M. lost one of her kittehs this past weekend. R. kitteh was closing in on 16, and we are very sad that such a constant furry presence is now missing from Auntie M.'s life.

The Strings express our sympathy.

Like her dad, Rosie is not a fan of the Theatre

My dad and sister took Rosie to see a very popular (crowded) neighborhood Children's Theatre production of "The Wizard of Oz" (the musical version, so "The Wiz" to the rest of us). The curtain call was 30 minutes late, about 25 minutes and $30 after Rosie realized they weren't taking a trip to the video rental store. Auntie M and Dad agreed that the girl who sang "Over the Rainbow" had a nice voice, but the characters hadn't made it to the yellow brick road before Rosie forced a walk-out.

We'll have to find other, more gradual and gentle ways to install a love of live performance in Rosie, I think. Better luck next time!

This remind you of someone? AJS?

Kebab Koobideh
Originally uploaded by plhu

Auntie M. and I took Rosie and Dash to play in a wonderful outdoor park on Sundy before lunch. They both were running around everywhere and being so crazy-active that I was surprised to see Dash with tears in his eyes. Here's how our conversation went:

Me: Dash, are you sad?
Dash: No! Am angry!
Me: Why are you angry?
Dash: Have tears!
Me: Hmm, are you hungry for lunch?
Dash: YES!!!!

So, we left the park and took them to Moby Dick's House of Kebab, where I ordered Kubideh with rice and we had a side of hummous and bread. Rosie quietly consumed large quantities of rice, some bread and a much-cajoled sliver or two of Auntie M.'s chicken kebab. But after he gobbled up the bread, rice, and some kubideh (which I called "burger" for acceptance's sake), I got this unsolicited response from our boy:

Dash: Am happy! I am happy now!

(try to imagine a swaying happy-dance in his seat)

While in Rehoboth, we rode our bikes around the area. During peak season, parking is at a premium and it's really just easier to grab the bikes and move out than to have to search for parking spaces. Rehoboth is very bike and bike-rental friendly; they even rent trailers for kids as well as some interesting contraptions that are like bike/golf carts that ride six or more people (more if you have kids riding on the rack in front). We rented a 2nd trailer, since Rosie is too long-legged these days for mine. The Burley trailer converts to a double-stroller, which was great! You'll see Grandaddy Jim with his helmet on to the left.

In the north part of Rehoboth, there is Henlopen State Park, which has a bird sanctuary at Gordon's Pond with an observation deck for viewing different birds across a wetland. Strangely, I saw more interesting birds wading in a canal across from a "tot lot". In the pic below, you'll see a great blue heron, posing grandly for me. I only noticed after I got home that he is presiding over a log with about six turtles on it! (Were they going to be his lunch? We didn't stay to find out.)

The tot lot was a destination at least once daily for the kids; they got to run around, swing, and climb for a little while before getting tucked back into the trailer.

Rosie liked to run up to the top and scramble back down, while Dash was happy to run around and bang on the different playground materials.


We found plenty of great places to have lunch and dinner; breakfast was prepped by us at the beach house. A few restaurants I'd recommend as very tasty and kid-friendly were The Summer House, Go Fish! (oh so delicious!), Stoney Lonen, and Jake's Seafood. We made two trips each to Summer House and Stoney Lonen, and I would have loved to go to Go Fish! another time. When I go back, I'd like to try out a Japanese restaurant if possible; my current traveling companions aren't fond of it, so I'll have to be under different circumstances.

And the fear begins.

Dash has been such an easygoing, take-it-in-stride little guy, but I knew this was coming. He has rarely expressed fear, at least not strongly. One episode I can think of is when Tina, Kelly's puppy, rushed up and licked his face; he was upset and mildly afraid. (But that's just what puppies do. We need to give him more time with Tina to acclimate him better!)

So, yesterday evening, we went outside to play on our playset (what else? Yay!) and it had an interesting selection of springtime bugs on it. Ants, inchworms, caterpillars, some kind of beetle. Rosie is afraid of everything, so I was trying to empower her to use a stick to knock ants off the slide instead of me coming over every 30 seconds to remove bugs.

Dash was watching Rosie, like usual, and pointing out "bug" and a new word, "worm" for caterpillar. I was showing him a small caterpillar on the canopy over the slide (above his head), and then saw that he was scooting away from the slide, toward me. I asked, "Don't you want to slide, honey?" no answer, more scooting. Then I asked, "Are you scared of the worm?" and it was like I set off a siren. Bloodcurdling SCREAMING! Dash was rigid, practically jumped into my arms and gripped me with his entire body for dear life.

It was sweet later; he was telling AJS "worm" with big eyes. We called Auntie M. and he told her "worm" with the most serious expression (um, that's all he would say into the phone, so it was pretty hilarious!).

Happy birthday, sis!

It's my sister's birthday today & she'll be, um, continue to be 21 months younger than me!

I wish you the chillest b'day today, Auntie M. Hope your spa adventure is everything you envisioned.
:-)

if today is your birthday... click this link.

Xmas Joi de Vivre!

Despite having an ear infection, throat infection and possible RSV, Dash was awfully perky over our holiday weekend. Before bedtime on Friday, his temp was 103.5, so I got him in to see his doctor first thing on Saturday. We met one of his classmates, Lizzy (see the cutie in #11), in the waiting room with _*surprise*_ RSV symptoms, too! We visited Lisa, my sis-in-law, that morning, but cancelled our plans with friends that afternoon, to keep from infecting their kids with the dreaded RSV. Auntie M.came over that evening to bake gingerbread cookies with Rosie while Dash napped (after throwing blocks across the house and climbing on the furniture) and gave me a chance to do dishes, sweep, and pick up our crazy house. Whew! I also baked oatmeal craisin cookies that turned out darned well, I must say!

Christmas was at my parents' house, as usual. I think the day went perfectly! We left for "gromma's" after Dash's nap, opened gifts (woo!) and had some lovely roast! The standout Xmas gift was from my mom--she bought Rosie another American Girl doll; this time it was "Jess", a doll with a Japanese-American heritage. She even has a Japanese middle name, just like Rosie! My mom bought the doll's "hair care kit" so we could curl Jess' hair so we could make her look more like Rosie. Auntie M. painstakingly did just that! Bless her heart. She loves her niece. Dash was just happy to run around, throw balls and terrorize Groucho, my parents' cockatiel.

After wine and pie, AJS had a long nap. And I let him sleep. Merry Christmas, baby!

Ms. Focused and Mr. Speedy!

Sunday, we had a family birthday party for Rosie at my parents' house. It was mostly for Auntie M., who won't be coming to our double-scoop of a joint party this weekend for Rosie AND Liam. Auntie M. must be super-in-tune with Rosie, because once Rosie opened Auntie M.'s gift, she wouldn't look at anything else, or eat, or do anything but play with it for maybe three hours straight. My mom bought her some fairly pricey American Girl twin toddler toys, and she showed no interest in them whatsoever, until later, anyway.

The really FUN part of the evening was when I came to pick them up a few hours later, after they had been eating naught but chocolate ice cream and cupcakes. My little Dash saw me and ran at me with speeds previously unknown, powered by sugar and sleep deprivation. BOY LOVE CUPCAKE!! (And Grandaddy can't resist the puppy-dog eyes and the darling way he signs for :more:) He dashed, he shrieked, he giggled maniacally! And then he crashed on the car ride home, only to wake up just as he hit the mattress in his bedroom and then screamed bloody murder for the next hour. Until dinner, that is. Food calms the boy.

Rosie slept with her twins, who are now named "Rosie" and "Dash." She is enamored, and I will let her grandma know. We left the unicorn-land-of-many-chokables at her grandparents' house...

photos from our end-of-summer beach trip

I took the kids to Rehoboth at the end of September along with my sister and dad. My dad was THRILLED to be introducing his adored (and only) grandson to the Atlantic, one of his great childhood loves. You can really feel the elation in this image of them both. However, Dash was a little circumspect about the crashing waves; he was a good sport, but it was hard to be sure whether he was enjoying himself.

Here's a photo that Auntie M. took of me and Dash, playing it cool.

And I can't leave without posting Auntie M. with Rosie and her freshly created unicorn, Vella (most creatively named by Rosie, herself). Vella was "born" at at Rehoboth store (most certainly a chain) called "Wacky Bear Factory". Woo.

Dash vs. Lanna at seven months

My parents had a photography studio take a triptych of photos of me when I was seven months old. About a month ago, Auntie M. was looking at this the triptych and asked our dad, "where did you get those photos of Dash?" and she was serious! It took a bit of convincing to get her to believe they were pics of me. This experience inspired me to have a professional try to recreate the triptych with Dashiell, since he's pretty much the same age right now. Here are the photos of me:

Even though Dash had a bruise on his forehead the day of the shoot, the photographers went ahead and took photos -- they said, "it's okay, we have Photoshop!" Which is really giving Photoshop a lot of credit IMO, but I hope they know what they're doing. It was a light-purple and yellowish blotch on his left upper forhead. It's more greenish today. Here is how the proofs looked:

An additional pose we tried was to a "Lou Reed" homage portrait -- a friend of ours gave us a velvet underground banana shirt for Dash and put on a pair of Rosie's sunglasses, so he was "waiting for his man" with a grungy step ladder they had in the studio. I thought it was so cute!!

Dash, Rosie, and I flew to Connecticut with his Auntie M. and Granddaddy Jim for my cousin Eric's wedding reception over the Columbus Day weekend. They did really well on the flights, although I don't think Rosie liked the security at the airport much -- those conveyor belts and metal scanners were scary. Dash was very popular with my relatives and was passed around to most all the ladies! I'm glad that Rosie has been able to visit with my side of the family, if only once a year. It's nice to know your relatives. I hope we'll be able to continue visiting with Dash, too. Rosie and he have a couple of 2nd cousins that are close to their ages. I know I couldn't have done it without Auntie M.and Dad there to help -- thanks so much to you both!

Baby Dashiell, born June 22, 2005!

Dashiell James was born on June 22, 2005, on a full moon and the first day of Cancer. The moon was a bright orange color and was strange-looking on our 15-minute drive to the hospital. After six hours of unmedicated labor (two of them in the hospital) and 35 minutes of pushing, he quickly came into the world at 5:23 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and had an Apgar score of 9! He was very vigorous, punching at the neonatal nurses, and when he was brought back to me, he latched on firmly and had his first meal. His big sister, Rosie, wanted to hold him when she came to visit and did a superb job of it. She just got very upset when the nurse came in to take "her" baby away for tests! She continues to adore him and is a wonderful big sister.

We were in the hospital for two days and then I came home with him for eight weeks before I went back to work. His Auntie M. was a great help! She came over almost every day and held Dashiell and helped me do chores around the house. We took Dashiell on walks and to my chiropractor visits (my back went out of alignment during his birth) and even took him to the pool! He went to Ethan V's third birthday party at four weeks old, and to Keri B's PhD party at six weeks. His own debut party was August 13th, 2005 and we celebrated with lots of AJS's barbecue and many guests.

Since he started at his childcare center, he has learned to flip over onto his belly (at eight weeks!) and has been laughing. He is a happy boy who smiles and coos often. We love him very much!

Phone call to Auntie M

From Auntie M:

Last night when I talked to Rosie on speaker phone, she told me "Rodie's eating." She sang itsy-bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle little star for me. I told her I wasn't feeling well (tooth) and she wanted me to go back to sleep. She picked up the phone so she could say a special "bye bye auntie."

She is very sweet!

Thank you, Auntie M. & Kelly

I told AJS about my pregnancy last night and AJS didn't take it too well. Okay, he said he felt like he was about to throw up.

Auntie M sized up the situation this way:

"AJS will come around. He was so scared before, remember? He's just a grumbler by nature, so he needs his grumbling space. And he's such a good daddy. Rosie will love a sibling!"

Here's Kelly's take:

"I was really hoping AJS would keep his sh*t together, especially since this can't come as a complete surprise (hm?) and since Rosie is just about the cutest, sweetest, most charming bundle of 2-year-old EVER. But it is a big thing, a big wonderful thing, but yes, a big thing."