Quotes

Damon, after I went to a Tupperware party: Why do people go to dumb parties where they just sit around and look at plates?

Claire: when my parents dropped by one night, she held her teddy bear and jumped into my dad's arms saying, "Teddy is very happy to see you!" (Teddy has since been lost, but I'm relieved to report that Claire is coping pretty well)

More Claire: Damon is my best, best, best, best, best, best friend.
When I'm happy I smile and when I smile I giggle.

Anne (she's one of those 2-year-olds that strips down to the nude regularly): I naked!

My Longest, Boringest Blog Ever

I am the mother of three small children and that entitles me to use words like 'boringest.'

I'm potty training Anne today. It's almost 10:30 AM and we've had two accidents and two successes: that's very good compared with Damon's and Claire's efforts on their first days in underwear.

April was an exciting and exhausting month. We visited the beach and Disneyland to enjoy some of the Longest Lines on Earth.

I went off my sugar-free diet during our vacation (if you can call a trip including three little kids 'vacation'), but then when I got back and reviewed that Ultra-Prevention book, I found out I could have/should have stuck with it. It's not all or nothing, you just do the best you can. Common sense could have told me that, but it was being shouted down by my desire for Easter candy. So, I'm back to whole grains and trying to eliminate sugar, but I'm not as fanatical as I was before. My soy milk, for example, is now the sweetened kind because it's cheaper than the unsweetened kind, and I don't feel like a complete failure for drinking it.

When we got back from CA (after a delightful stop to see Jake's parents), we celebrated Anne's 2nd birthday.

Then we packed up and moved about a mile away to a much better rental. I'm not sure how we survived 11 months in that stinky house, and now that we're almost settled into the new place and I don't feel completely stressed out, I'm really glad we moved.

Sorry the photos aren't matched up with the proper text, but as my viewership is of above-average intelligence, I'm sure you'll figure them out.

humbled

Damon told me today, "Mom, you don't look that much like a girl. You look kind of like a girl and kind of like a boy."

Me: "Oh...that's too bad. What do you mean?"

Damon: "I don't know. It's like worms. Worms aren't boys or girls. You look like that."

Sugar-free and patting myself on the back

I read this health book called Ultra-Prevention. It recommends a special 6-week diet in which you eliminate refined and processed foods, hydrogenated oils, milk, and sugar (including brown sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, and even certain fruits like bananas and pineapple), and severely reduce saturated fats (butter, etc). It promises to cure chronic diseases and prevent nearly everything else.

So, wanting more energy and less acne, I decided to try it. (For those of you who have never suffered from acne, I spit upon you. Just kidding, Lynsey, you know I love you.)

I am proud to say I'm in the middle of week three of this diet, folks. It's been tough, but my skin is clearer (although I did get one new pimple at the beginning of week 2 which nearly kicked me off the diet in a fit of rage), and I don't feel like I have to take a nap every afternoon (not that I could very often, but I always wanted one).

So, if you want to be healthier, I highly recommend this book. Mom, I know you think only crazy people drink soy milk, but you'll be getting this book for Mother's Day, and I'm sure it will change your mind.

Claire story

Claire's favorite passtime is running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth across the room while telling a story. The one being told as I type goes something like this: A mommy frog looked in the meadow and saw a strange creature. She said to the daddy frog, "There's a strange creature in the meadow." The daddy said, "What is the strange creature?" The mommy said, "It is a frog." The strange creature hopped inside the house and hopped into the bathtub. He will give hisself a bath.

The best birthday party ever

My words, not his. Damon turned six and had a Jedi training themed party. It was a lot of work and planning, and I was so shocked and pleased when it paid off! (Parties are not my forte.) Here you can see the Battle of the Evil Bubble Droids. Thank you, internet, for all the ideas. How did we live before the internet?

Madonna? Wonder Woman?

Anne has an unusual sense of style.