They roared their terrible roars

Monday was quite a day (isn't it always?). W1 was recovering from a cold and was extra tired and easily upset. L1 seemed to sense this and stepped into the role of W1's official tormentor. The day was spent breaking up fights and drying tears.

But, at naptime, with L1 and H1 tucked firmly into their beds, W1 and I had some time to read and re-read his latest favorite book:


Because of this book his interest has turned to all things space.

Reading about astronauts always turns my thoughts to the song Space Oddity by David Bowie. I spent some quality time on YouTube last night watching random people cover it. R1 was working late, you understand.

And of course, thinking about David Bowie turns my mind to Labyrinth. And I wonder, how did Mr. Bowie get his hair like that, and did he know how bad it really looked? And why did I think the girl (you know, the one lost in the labyrinth) had the coolest outfit? And why did we watch it so many times when we were kids?

Wait. I know the answer to that last one. For the awesome music.

Or it could be that it was 1986, and we just didn't know any better.

Anyway.

Last week, W1 begged and begged to make astronaut cookies. Because he would not accept that our Santa Claus cookie cutter was actually an astronaut, we were stuck with star shaped cookies.

Here is W1, who studiously avoids the camera:


And L1, who yells "cheese, cheese" the instant I pull it out:


And H1, who doesn't do either of the above:



And speaking of 1986, do you know what other movie came out that year?

SpaceCamp.

Coincidence? I think not.

Another glimpse of the Robinson house cuisine

Let's begin with this first, shall we?

“No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize.”
-- Julia Child

W1 said something yesterday that had me really confused. And then amused. And then slightly concerned. Here's what happened.


We had just finished dinner and W1 went to put his plate and fork in the sink.

W1: The sink is full, Mom, so I put my plate next to the mac and cheese maker.

(no, it isn't the sink-so-full-of-dirty-dishes-that-even-the-kids-notice that has me concerned...)

K1: Mac and cheese maker???

Upon walking into the kitchen, I found W1's plate sitting next to the microwave. This leads me to conclude two things. First, we eat way too much mac and cheese. Second, we eat way too much leftover mac and cheese.


Admittedly, our dinner repertoire has narrowed somewhat in the last month or so. Perhaps it is time to branch out again?






P.S. Julia Child also said, " I think every woman should have a blowtorch." So...

Tonight at dinner there was a fight.

Or maybe we should call it an argument? Disagreement?

You see, we had peas.


It's not what you think.



We had other food, too.


And the fight wasn't about not eating peas. The fight was over who got to eat the last of the peas.

They were on W1's plate and L1 thought that he should get them. W1 disagreed and shoveled them into his mouth as fast as he could. L1 was quite disappointed.





Did I ever think my children would be fighting over peas?

No. It was a little surreal.

Firsts

1. Today was the first day this week that the temperature was above freezing. Here's hoping that some of the deadly icicles hanging right over our driveway will melt.

2. W1 put his shoes on all by himself for the first time. Never mind that they were on the wrong feet. Or that he hasn't done it again.

3. L1 said H1's name (or his approximation of it) for the first time. Prior to this he was calling her "Sister", which I kind of am already nostalgic for.

4. W1 and L1 received some bathtub body paint from Grandma Donee and Grandpa Guy in the mail, and used it for the first time Tuesday night. W1 applied it everywhere. This may or may not have included his tongue. Which may or may not have been followed by lots of spitting.

5. L1 had his first real vomiting illness Sunday night. At first, R1 and I commented how well he handled it. Until about the 8th time he threw up. Then he started getting upset.

6. On Wednesday, due to a shortage of milk in our fridge, I took the three kids to the grocery store by myself for the first time. It went fairly well, meaning that only one of us dissolved into tears.

7. H1 slept 6 hours in a row last night for the first time. Let us rejoice.

And by 'sometimes' I mean most of the time

Sometimes, it seems as though we are attempting to raise a pack of wild animals*:


But then:


Just so you know.





*With the exception of H1 who, for the moment, is perfect.

It's frightful

(the weather outside, that is)


We all have a little touch of cabin fever. Which, in the case of W1 and L1, leads to running infinite circles around the dining room table.


Additionally,

extreme couch jumping,


making faces at the camera,


and other forms of insubordination.


I battle my cabin fever by daydreaming of warm tropical islands and looking forward to Return to Cranford on PBS Masterpiece (this Sunday!).


This is all, of course, fit in between warming our fingers and toes on the heating vents, and guzzling mugs of hot chocolate.



You should come visit!

In an attempt to start the new year right,

today I began the grapefruit diet.


Well, no, that's a lie (and soooo 1980's).

But we did pick up a bunch of delicious grapefruit at the Public Market last weekend, along with another bushel of apples. It is our attempt to stave off winter scurvy.

What we actually had for breakfast was delicious egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches made by R1.


Never mind that breakfast ended up being at 11 am, due to some late night festivities.

Oh, and today H1 is one month old.


Here is hoping that your 2010 will be fantastic. Happy New Year!