My senses real: the sweet, greasy, aromatic funnel cake calls to me.

Today's title comes to us courtesy of my Spam folder. It was one of the more poetic entries.

Yesterday I think someone was trying to tell me something. We dropped A. off at school, then drove down the street to the bank. There is only one bank branch in town with a drive-through ATM, which I love because I don't have to take Ben out of the car seat. But a branch from a tree had fallen and the drive-through was blocked off. Fine, my account has enough padding that I can put the deposit off until another day.

We drive on down the street on our way to the lake where Ipower-walk most mornings with Ben in the jogging stroller. The freeway on-ramp was closed due to construction. There really isn't an easier way to get there, so I double back and go home, figuring I'll do an exercise video later.

We get home and I remembered that I was out of contact lenses. Actually, I had plenty of lenses for my left eye - I was only out of the lenses for my right eye. Guess they tear more easily, I don't know. I tried to order them ala 1-800-Contacts, and it didn't work - my brand was discontinued. OK. I called the number they gave, 1-800-288-2288 (yep, I figured out afterward that this special customer number was, in fact, 1-800-contact). Oh, gee, they'd be happy to call my eye doctor and find something else that would work. I hold....Gee, I'm sorry but they won't verify anything because you haven't been in for 5 years.

Really? Has it been that long? Gee. No wonder I can't see anything. No way I can get contacts without a new prescription. I'm fine with getting a new prescription - but I can't get an appointment until April 19th and the sun is shining and it's blinding me and I don't have prescription sunglasses, and believe me, no one wants me doing anything without corrective lenses.

All avenues were blocked, in all directions. I decided the universe was telling me to lie down and take a nap, so I did.

Update because I know you're concerned: I did get my old eye doctor to give me a trial pair of some new lenses, but I had to go pick them up 40 miles away. Small price to pay for the ability to wear sunglasses while driving. And there's a good frozen yogurt place out there. And a good park for the munchkins where they could play in a fountain. I guess everything's back to normal.

I really, really planned to blog today. But a horrendous migraine has sidelined me since 4am. My pills work but it keeps coming back. So I'll leave you for now with this fun site.

Two Shorts

Today in the car, A. said, in a sing-song voice, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I'd never heard him use this phrase before.

Me: I don't know. What are you thinking?

A: Greeeeen Jellllo!

Me: No. I'm afraid not, buddy.

(silence)


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In the party store today, Ben found some Spiderman napkins. He picked them up and then put them back on the shelf, yelling:

'"Piderman! 'Piderman! Not today! Not today! 'Piderman! Not today!"

Love it when he does my work for me.

• Everyone says when they see my cute little kids, "Enjoy this time - they grow up so fast." Well. Come to my house and tell me that when it's 9:30pm and Ben is still awake and in his crib screaming for a cheese stick. Last night, he didn't fall asleep until almost 11pm. He's insane. I tried to go to bed around 10:30pm but he was singing at the top of his lungs, so I came out and informed G. that our 2-year-old is bipolar and currently in a manic phase. Day before that, he was up and ready to start his day at 4:30 am. There's a time and a place where drugging children is appropriate, and I believe that time is coming and the place will be our house.
  
• It takes a lot to gross me out. I also thought dermatology was sort of an "easy" way to be a doctor. I mean, it's not brain surgery, right? I didn't realize just how gross dermatology could be until I googled the particular kind of cyst I have on my chest that's soon to be removed. Yuck.
  
• Yep, Fussy Boy Ben turned two a week ago. I didn't blog about it because we really didn't do anything. I made some star-shaped angel food cupcakes, put a bunch of them on a plate, lit some candles, sang "happy birthday" and that was pretty much it. We sang "Happy Birthday" a couple of times because Ben kept demanding "Again! Again!" and you know, it was his birthday. Then he took each cupcake and took a bite out of each one in turn. Way to celebrate, buddy.
  
• We saw "Jersey Boys" in SF a week ago and I am obsessed. It was fantastic. I expected to enjoy it like "Mamma Mia," you know, a little nostalgia and a little dancing. I didn't expect to get emotionally involved with the characters. It took us forever to get out of the theater because we were way up high in the balcony and as we were leaving, we saw the actor who played Tommy DeVito. He was soooooo good. Ben Fong-Torres wrote a thing about why "Jersey Boys" worked on such a different level than other nostalgia musicals - you believed you'd just seen four struggling singers, not four actors.
  
• Seriously, if it's coming to your city, see it. The tour company is amazing. I'm trying to figure out how I can see it again before it leaves for LA.
• Once again, we have a post in all green. Well, Happy St. Patrick's Day.
  

I Love This Blinkie

Pretty much sums every Irish song you've ever heard, doesn't it?

Reasons to Have a Third Child

1. I always thought I'd have three kids
2. I'd like to get one more chance to actually experience birth
3. I'm one of three, and I like having two siblings
4. Babies are nice and snuggly
5. I'd like to breastfeed again
6. Might be nice to have a girl
7. I'd like to have an adult daughter someday
8. We make cute kids
9. I like being a mother

Reasons to Not Have a Third Child

1. Dear God, I like my sleep
2. That first year is not my favorite time
3. I'm old
4. And creaky
5. Chances of birth defects are higher
6. Putting two kids through college is going to be impossible already
7. Having three kids under the age of 5 could push me over the edge
8. Less attention to give to the other two
9. It's just starting to get easier with the other two

It's a Pretty Good Day

So today the first issue of Digital Scrapbooking came in the mail. I leafed through it, looking for my layout, and just as I was thinking they'd left it out, I found it on the next-to-last page. It got a full page all to itself! I have no idea if that's impressive in the magazine world but I'm pretty impressed.


Me: Look, A! It's you! In a magazine! Isn't that exciting?

A: Yeah, a little bit. But what's more exciting is you giving me money.

I Feel the Earth Move

We just had a small earthquake here, 4.2, centered about 20 miles away. For those non-Californians in the readership, the first thing you do when you think you feel shaking is to freeze. Is this a quick little rumble, or is it a precursor to a big shake? Did I imagine that? No, the lampshade is shaking, so it wasn't just me. Do I need to move to safety? Do I need to go grab the kids?

The shaking stopped, so I walked over the to the TV and turned it down. ?????

After-Nap Snuggles

For his whole first year, Ben was really stiff. He had to be folded into his car seat, and never put his head on our shoulders. After he loosened up, though, he discovered snuggling and is now a master snuggler, especially right after his nap. I keep telling G. that I want him to take photos of Ben snuggling with me, but he's never really around when it happens, so today I asked A. to get the camera and he actually took these photos of us. Pretty good, huh?




















credits can be seen here

Gung Hay Fat Choy

A. had a Chinese New Year's Parade at his preschool yesterday. I didn't get to see it, but G. took videos of the whole event for me. A. took the command to make a lot of noise and yell, "Gung hay fat choy!" very seriously. Here he's holding his noisemaker and stomping his feet. He was the loudest yeller, too. We are very proud.













Above you see the problem with having preschoolers operate a Chinese Dragon. The head keeps forgetting the body. And they can't see anything. But it was a noble effort.