collector

Folks, it's that time once again -- Tent Caterpillar Season.

Last year, Lizzy had a blast collecting 'pillars with friends in the neighborhood. She's really excited that the wee guys are back!

We have a tree on the side of our house that we're not wild about -- if it was even planted intentionally, it's outgrown its aesthetic quality, and is just rather tall and weird-looking. Our friendly neighborhood arborist told us what it was a few days ago, and I already have forgotten -- some sort of cherry, I think? In any case, the caterpillars are wild about it. They have set up their little tents all over that tree, and right now the tents are a mass of squirming little fuzzy dudes. It's actually kind of gross. I've very little understanding of the tent caterpillar life cycle, so I'm not sure what they're doing. Not quite big enough to leave the, er, hive yet? We've seen a few that have ventured beyond the tree, but not many. Any day now, though.

Two evenings ago, we managed to find two adventuresome individuals, and Lizzy excitedly had me stick them in her insect keeper thingie that we got her last year. She named them Friday (her 'favorite day of the week') and Chuck ('a cool guy's name'). We swapped out the first Friday and Chuck for a second Friday and Chuck last night so that they wouldn't die during their stay in our house. Or that was the idea.

It's so weird how the driveway/house exterior/fence/etc. is crawling with them for a couple of weeks, and then ... they go away. Where, I'm not sure. But now I know that they're certain to come back next year. Er, unless we do get rid of that tree.

The other thing Lizzy is longing to collect this week are 'kooky pens.' It's the sudden rage of her classroom. They're these stubby little pens that I've seen sold at Borders for four bucks apiece (I now see online that they're everywhere -- who knew) that have a clip -- her classmates clip them onto their belt buckle loops -- and rubbery fuzzy hair and individual names on the back. She borrowed one called 'Romeo' from a friend last night. If I don't come home with a kooky pen tonight, I'm not sure I'll be allowed in the door, as far as she's concerned.

the world is my feeding tray

I enjoy the babycenter.com updates I receive weekly. They're often helpful. Sometimes, I think they're out to lunch. (no spanking -- ever!!)
But they're usually pretty on target.
I'm enjoying this little bit of encouragement today:

Your life: Housekeeping woes
When you get to the point that the mess in your home is causing you stress, remember these three powerful words: Lower your standards. It's hard to keep up with the cleaning, laundry, and organization the way you did pre-baby, especially once your little one is able to move about and scatter toys all day long.

Which explains the his, hers -n- baby's heaps of laundry (clean, at least) on our dining room chairs right now.

But I'm laughing at the advice because our baby has reached that stage where cleanliness is actually vital. Vacuuming is the one thing that must be done -- if we could, probably a couple of times a day.

We had friends over a couple of weekends ago. They have kids, so they totally 'get it.' Which was handy when the guy (Christian) found Maddie chewing on something -- a leaf, as it turns out. Which had been tracked in on the bottom of someone's shoe, and probably not that day.

In a moment of boredom, she will crawl over to something she sees on the floor, carefully pincer it and bring it to her mouth. Often, it's an errant Cheerio. But a couple of times, it's been a clod of dirt.

Thank the Lord our baby has a healthy gag reflex/choking mechanism. Good gracious.

irresistible lists

I can't resist lists. They make for such easy blog posts!
This one comes courtesy of one Ms. Erin ...

Copy and paste this into your own blog, if you want to participate. Then, bold the items that you’ve actually done.

1. Started your own blog (duh)

2. Slept under the stars (might have -- but don't remember for sure)

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower (tried -- can't recall if there were many meteors, though)

6. Given more than you can afford to charity (this one's a judgment call, it should be noted)

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (that would be a little scary!)

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables (technically, I grew beans once as a kid as a school project. But I really shouldn't be able to properly count this one.)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train Oh, I'm QUITE sure I've done this one. Multiple times! Both on a sleeper train, and ... not.)

21. Had a pillow fight (I think?)

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Many. But my kids were!)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language (Taught ... myself? Really? Someone's taught themself a new language?)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (uhhh ... I feel I should answer yes? But ...)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (this is one of my huge European regrets. But the line wrapped around the museum, and it was our last day in Florence ... so my friend Jennifer and I spent our 4,000 lira on gelato, instead. But I hear I missed out.)

41. Sung karaoke Hee.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (nope, just the first level. But I walked that far! Kind of impressive. [?])

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain (Does watching Spider-Man or Four Weddings and a Funeral count? Darn. Then, not that I can recall.)

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie (only the home variety)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Campfire girl candies, though)

62. Gone whale watching (really want to!)

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (and then went to softball practice an hour later. Made the sprints around the bases MUCH more interesting.)

65. Gone sky diving (really want to!)

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Ugh.)

67. Bounced a check (not for a VERY long time, I'm proud to report)

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Mom will probably tell you that I've saved them all.)

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (Duh.)

71. Eaten Caviar (mmmm ... maybe. Not sure.)

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades (I was seven, but being in the water with alligators staring at you from water-level leaves a lasting impression.)

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (seen 'em, but not changing)

77. Broken a bone (can you believe, never? as I hastily search for wood to knock on)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (speeding? I guess?)

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (again, seven. Again, lasting impression)

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person (I might have when I was a kid. I guess it did not leave a lasting impression.)

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Second in line

There are a lot of things to love about having Kid No. 2. For instance, I just popped up into the attic and fetched down four toys -- three of them on the more expensive side -- and now Maddie's playing with them. All for the low low cost of just storing them for a few years.

When we cranked the first one up, the music (insert total plug for Leapfrog products here) made me nostalgic for the many, many hours Lizzy and I spent with the thing. It's a small table that encourages a growing baby to stand. Maddie's a wee bit young for it, but she's trying to pull herself up on stuff already. Mostly, she gets to leaning toward it, then falls into, say, a table leg and bonks herself on the forehead and cries. The cost of learning.

Maddie has no lack of help in figuring these new toys out. Lizzy just loooooooves to play with these toys, in the guise of showing Maddie how they work. We're watching this happen, sort of picturing Maddie never developing at all, learning soon that she can sit back and let Lizzy do all of the work. Ahhh, help. When you want it, it's unavailable, and when you do get it, it's in all too great a quantity.

In other 'news,' we saw the circus today. I was hoping for some stellar scrapbook photos, but the light doesn't allow for much of that. I'll try to see if any of them are worth posting later on. All in all, though, Matt and I are pretty sure that's the last show of any kind we'll see for awhile. Lizzy just isn't that wowed any more. She spent a lot of time being upset that we weren't in the FIRST ROW (we were in the second row, though!), because the FIRST-ROW spectators were taken out to the floor and driven around during one of the manic Disney meets Cirque de Soleil numbers. (this was actually Barnum and Bailey, for the record.) And the people-movers were even shaped like teacups! The injustice!! So, we'll stick with buying necessities for ourselves instead of lavish productions for our spoiled suddenly pre-teen. Oh yeah -- Lizzy has informed me that she's too old for Disney princess stuff. She traded her pink Disney princess backpack for a blue High School Musical-themed pack last weekend. Ahhh, the end of an era.

Until Maddie gets there -- hurrah! I'm already looking forward to it.

Is change gonna come?

Don't worry -- I'm not suddenly going to do a political post. :) Just business (so to speak) as usual, for this space.

Our joyful little Maddie has always seemed to get a huge kick out of being on the changing table. I don't know if it's the up-close face-to-face with some of her favorite Big People, but she smiles and smiles and loves to interact there. That's where she giggled for the first time, in fact, on Halloween. (and I don't think she was just laughing at my football jersey and the black under my eyes. But I guess you never know.)

These days, though, she's so active, it's become a real challenge to get that dirty diaper off and a clean one on. It feels like I'm trying to change a diaper on a chicken roasting on a spit; Maddie will flip over to her stomach, then her back, and just keep on revolvin'. She loves giving Mommy a challenge, perhaps?

The generally sure-fire weapon in my arsenal has been my long hair. If I dangle it over her face (putting my head sideways), she grabs it and yanks it back and forth, but at least she is thus occupied and holding still, on her back. This also hurts, and puts my face uncomfortably close to the "action," but it works, so I deal.

What I really don't like are the couple of times she has grabbed my hair, yanked my head close and then employed her froggy kick to my chin. This child is STRONG, y'all. Strong and playful, and almost always happy. I suppose I can't get too upset at damage she doesn't even know she's causing.

easter

Maddie let us keep this rabbit hat on her head for more than 0.3 seconds! Longer than her sister at her age, that is. Yay Maddie!

Wee Maddie has really gotten into the crawling. At least, fundamentally -- she can do it pretty well. Something about her slightly jerky movements reminds me of a mechanical toy. It's just the cutest thing -- like seeing a chubby plastic doll chugging along.
She doesn't really love it, though. It's more a method of convenience. If everyone, or the people she wants (Matt or me), leave a room and she notices and doesn't like it, she'll trek into the next room, looking for us. (but it's not like we leave her for long; don't get concerned!)
When Lizzy learned to crawl, she was everywhere, as I recall. Loving it; testing the new skills to the limit. Maddie seems more of a content child, dipping into the newest skill only when practical.