short stories

Just want to jot down some funny stuff before I forget it--

• Miles heard we were listening to "All Things Considered" on the radio and objected to the scope of the show. He thought that was just too much to consider at once. He "prefers" (one of his new words) to think about one thing at a time.
• Ruby now says "space" when she sees space-related toys or pictures, or Wall-E. She also says "hug" and gives the best running, smiling hug when she sees me after I've been away.
• She gets going with the babbles sometimes, in the car especially. Miles will act as interpreter and ask me why Ruby said something, like "Why does Ruby want to buy rain?"
  

Sun, Sand, and Seniors

Although most of the seniors we met on our Spring Break vacation were senior citizens, I did talk to some college seniors on the beach one day. The girls were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over Ruby, of course, as she wandered the beach looking for trouble. Luckily there was no trouble to be found. We had the beach mostly to ourselves, with a few groups of senior citizens and lots of them walking the beach. She was brave enough to get her toes in the ocean, and to wander to the water's edge unsupervised, but she wasn't interested in going in much further alone. She did sit down in an abandoned beach chair, which closed on her like a clam shell. Oops! Negligent mom alert! She was a bit scared, but didn't cry--shocked probably.
The kids loved playing in the sand and the pool near the condo. By the end of the week Ruby was very comfortable climbing into the pool by herself, which is not such a good thing. We're going to have to be very careful with her and water! Miles was happy to split his days between the beach and the pool, and even ventured into the ocean by the end of the week. He got a little frustrated with Ruby (as usual) when she followed him around the beach, smashed his sand castles, and climbed into the holes he dug in the sand.
Keeping Ruby occupied outside the condo was key since she took every chance she got to remove things from Grandpa's cabinets, drawers, and shelves. He says she helped him find some things he had lost track of, but that's definitely a positive spin.
It wasn't exactly a relaxing vacation for George and I, but the weather was gorgeous every single day and we relaxed every single evening with a drink or two, or more. Grandpa's hospitality was wonderful. He took me to a farmer's market and we enjoyed local oranges and strawberries, as well as lots of other goodies. George cooked local grouper one night, and we went out to dinner one night--our annual visit to JB's Fish Camp. Miles ate a full half pound of steamed shrimp, and likely would have eaten more. Ruby was a ball of energy, though and hardly ate anything, refused her high chair and wandered the deck where we sat, flirting with everyone she met. She is definitely not at a good age for lingering over a meal!
The travel was made bearable with DVDs, though Miles got bored with his choices--I should have brought about twice as many. I passed the time (when not serving as hostess) by reading the last book in the Twilight series, a great page-turner.
It was a great week, a nice break from work and routines, but I was certainly glad to enjoy some "me time" back at home. If only we could take the baby-sitter along....

Calgon, Take Me Away!

Well, we've been back from vacation a week now (photos coming soon) and we're all healthy again, as of right now anyway. It was a pretty uneventful week but a few episodes yesterday made me feel like the mom in those old Calgon commercials. Miles peed on the floor (just in front of the toliet) in the morning, spilled his orange juice at breakfast, and broke a mirror after school. Ruby was surprisingly un-messy all day, but she played her trump card after bath when she threw up all over me and her pjs at bedtime. Uggh. I cleaned her up, calmed her down, and got her to bed. Minutes later she was crying and throwing up in bed and then all over George. Uggh again. We were wary and waiting for another eruption, but we've all been fine. Ruby didn't sleep well last night, so I didn't either, but she was up early and seemed to have her appetite and cheerful mood back today. I took a nap this afternoon, which helped, but I could really use a nice relaxing Calgon bath!

Playdates Then and Now

We had Miles' friend James over for a playdate on Sunday. They always have a great time together. As I was taking their picture I remembered one from a playdate I was on with my sister at her friend Carolyn's house. This photo is one from a small collection that I have of myself from childhood. What a difference a generation makes--like most families these days, we could cover the walls with photos of our kids. (I am still mostly absent in the photo albums, though, as I'm usually behind the camera.)
I also really like the convenience of recording videos with the camera, and sharing them with all of you. Enjoy!

I'm Awesome

No, really, it's true--Miles told me so! We were hanging out yesterday afternoon in his room, playing with Legos, and he asked me to help him by taking two pieces apart for him. When I handed them back he just said, very sincerely, "You're awesome. You are an awesome mom." Made my day. He so rarely voices any appreciation for us, it was nice to hear.
We had a low-key weekend at home. His friend Emily came over to play for a while on Saturday. They had fun cracking each other up--lots of laughter going on. He likes to play on his top bunk now and is very comfortable going up and down the ladder. Ruby is pretty good at going up too, and takes every opportunity to get up there, even by herself. Miles, of course, tries to escape from her. He now has a "no babies" sign on his door (a picture of a baby in a circle with a line through it) that he made, and a sign that he "wrote" that says, "Ruby, please don't come in here."
He does occasionally invite her to play with him. This morning he suggested a game of "goal-hatch" (his creation), which involves each of them dragging a blanket behind them, chasing each other around the first floor. We've had to modify the rules (for now) to make goal-hatch with Ruby a "non-tackle" game.
They also enjoyed running around in the cleared-out, echo-y guest room on the 3rd floor. We're having the walls repaired and new windows and a window seat installed. Step 1 of the 3rd floor remodel!

Miles manned the video camera, so be careful if you get motion sickness!

home bodies

Yes, it's winter and I've been feeling like we live inside a snow globe lately. Partly because it's snowing so often when I look out the window, and partly because I've been inside so much of the time. 

There are a few perks to being a homebody. I've actually had time to "straighten up," vacuum up the crumbs on the rugs, and prepare meals with some forethought, from real ingredients. In fact, I haven't had a single restaurant meal, snack, or drink since last Tuesday night. That's nine days straight of having completely home-prepared food, for both Ruby and I. (Miles eats lunch at school and George has the occasional breakfast or lunch out.) I'm feeling pretty good about "the streak" although I know this is kind of lame compared to the kinds of food preparation some families do on an on-going basis. So it's a good streak for me, but I'm really looking forward to going out to dinner tonight! George and I will visit one of our favorite local places while the kids are home with the sitter. I'm also going to the gym this afternoon, which I have been missing.  

a story--While we were home yesterday, Miles was playing computer games while I made dinner. I asked him to be sure not to yell if he needed me because Ruby was sleeping. He was engrossed in his game already and didn't listen to me at all. Then I turned down the volume on the computer and he turned to me and said "That's great, mama. I'll do that." with complete conviction and a little wave of the hand. I have heard this tone before (and used it before) and it means "whatever you said, that's fine. I didn't hear a word of it but I really want to get back to what I was doing, so please leave me alone."  My, how fast they learn!

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