He does have a point

As we head to Mom and M time, stuffed in before K wakes up from her nap...

M: You know what would be easier?
Me: What's that?
M: If we only had one kid!

It was the chippy delivery that got me. You could practically see the light bulb go off. Funny that it took him two and a half years to notice. Too bad for him that K's well past return.

Sibling Therapy

K: (coughs) Wake up. Cough. Night.

M: Then don't cough at night. I don't cough at night. You don't need to cough at night. Then you won't wake up.

Thanks, Dr. Phil. If only things were that simple.

By gum, I think I'll do it

K's birthday arrives in five days. Between now and then, I will finish making a handful of small gum paste people for her birthday cake. I know this because every time she sees the various people parts, she begins calling them by name: "Wendy! Elmo! Baby! Dora! Bob work." (That's right, everyone, Bob's at work. Because I had to draw the line somewhere.) Her excitement is enough to keep me going.

However, it doesn't really do anything about the fact that I know nothing about gum paste, have never worked with gum paste (or anything like it) before, and that my only tools are an exactoknife (stolen from my scrapbooking kit) and a box of toothpicks. But I didn't know how to sew when I made Baby, and now she's on a cake. What do they say about lightning striking twice? Wait, I don't think I want to know...

Happy 2009!

New year, new colors, same vague feeling of dissatisfaction. But only with the colors. And the title. And the layout. Paltry things, all told.

On the up side, I'm happily welcoming the new year with a vigor I usually never experience. 2009! I have so much to look forward to that my little fingers twitter in anticipation: K potty training (and the corresponding smaller, cuter purse I've had my eye on), our ten year anniversary (and the corresponding, ever more fantastic than a cute purse trip to Belize), more play dates, more swimming, a four-year-old's birthday (!). Another defrosting spring and warm dry summer, another crisp fall to arrive when the change will once again be freshly exciting.

I believe I will make myself into a writer this year. I believe I will let go of the past, or at least a few troublesome pieces. I believe I will fail at parenting and forgive myself anyway. I believe I will mend existing relationships and tend budding new ones. I believe I will learn a million new things that I don't know now, yet always needed.

I'm also walking around with the sinking suspicion that each day will be my last, because honestly, isn't this what every endearing heroine says right before the piano falls smack on her head? But at least now you will all know I died happy! Painfully conscious of the irony, yes, but happy too!

Desperation loves company

Are my eyes deceiving me? Is Christmas really little more than two weeks away? Because I still haven't filled the Advent calendar we keep opening every day (but we talk about what fun event we're doing that day. That counts for something, right?), I still haven't ordered Christmas cards (let alone sent them), and I still don't know what to give two-thirds of the people on my list.

Two weeks? Seriously? Anyone up for a December do-over? Anyone?

If it were only this easy

1. Every child must take a nap every day.
2. If we are running late, naps will run late also. This does not mean that you will get up at the regular time. A fifteen minute delay will mean a fifteen minute later wake-up time, and so on.
3. Mom is entitled to naps too.
4. If you interrupt Mom during her nap, be prepared for her to climb into your bed and continue to rest. For your general well-being, quiet is highly recommended.
5. Mom does not consider 30 minutes a nap, and neither should you.
6. When Mom tells you to go back to sleep, it's a smart idea to do so.
7. If any or all of the above rules are not followed, be prepared to supplement with lots of hugs, kisses, words of love and praise, and unusually good behavior for the remainder of the day. And be sure to follow the rules from that moment on. Forever.