john's mom works

same kid, different outfit ... we had a very full weekend with the visit of nana and L - more on that tomorrow, with pics pics pics because they are awesomely prolific photographers. for today, let's just meditate on the very different facets of my little bugs personality, as pictorially represented in the above photos. it's clear that john is negotiating some of the same urgent societal issues his mom tries to tackle: rugged bear backpack or sassy pink pumps? and no, i didn't let him wear the pink shoes in public.

john told me he was making dinner for me. hope i like goldfish! well, our guests made it safely in late last night - so nice to see mom-in-law and L! they're troopers - it's a 650 mile trip that they drove straight through. this morning, john was hanging out with nana while i got ready for work, and he decided he wanted to "make stuff." a few bowls, pots, and stirring devices later, he said, "mommy, i making you dinner!" so i guess i'm in for a goldfish flavored treat ... nana, L, daddy, and john came to meet me for lunch today, and i tell you what - that was a bolt of sunshine in a long friday. the day's almost over, and i'm happy to see the weekend come. happy weekend, all! enjoy!

the latest edition to the fleet john found a tractor buried in the sand at the playground the other day. it was the night we were there late, and we were the only ones left at the park. it was also somewhat broken, so we made the judgement call and brought it home with us. it was in rough shape. sand was in every little crack and crevice - it poured out every time you moved the thing. it was a mess. so i set it aside to clean later. and then i forgot about it. but john saw it yesterday before bed, and he was beside himself because he wanted to play with it. but it hadn't been cleaned, so i promised him i would take care of it for today. so in the midst of cleaning house last night (my mother in law arrives today - had to make sure the house looked something close to ok!) i took time to detail the tractor. small brush, running water, a good scrub, and soon it looked good as new. i'm thinking i missed my calling as a tractor detailer. *   *   * i'...

don't bother telling john he's a little kiddo on a big playground - he's got this beast tamed. in an effort to shed some of the ice-cream-induced padding i've put on since we found out about the miscarriage (and, frankly, the everything-else-induced padding that was there before ), i've decided it's time for john's mom to get active again. right now i'm still somewhat limited on the intensity of activity i'm supposed to do, so we're starting out small: the past two days, john and i have gone for walks in our neighborhood when we get home from work/school. monday night we walked for about 40 minutes and covered nearly 2.5 miles - not bad pushing a stroller and talking about every truck, tree, and squirrel we encountered along the way! last night's walk was shorter, but punctuated by some time at the playground at the end of our neighborhood. there were some big kids having soccer practice but john had the playground mostly to h...

when we got to school this morning, john wanted to go on a slide - very specifically, THAT slide. as a part of our night-night routine, i often tell john a story, and frequently sing songs as well. so it comes as no surprise that he's recently started to tell stories to me, too, and to sing songs. i thought i'd share the lyrics to john's version of 'twinkle twinkle little star,' per last night's performance. "twinkle twinkle twinkle star how i how what you mommy h i j k ellmenohpeee up above sky so high twinkle twinkle twinkle star!" but the piece de resistance last night was john's story that he told me. typically i tell him very short stories about toys that like to play with john and his best friend buddy. they encounter some kind of trouble, john and/or buddy and/or daddy saves the day, and they go back to playing alllllll dayy looong. so john informed me that *he* was going to tell *me* a story. and it went like this: "o...

it took about 40 takes to get three usable pictures of john with his sock on saturday at auntie's house, we had a conversation about the bane of spoiled milk in a car. in college i left a whole gallon in my car once, and it stank for weeks. nowadays that particular stench typically derives from a neglected sippy cup stashed under a car seat. and my cousin's girlfriend, raven, shared that she'd done something similar with some shrimp once, and we had a lovely conversation about the many horrible smells that might be found in a vehicle. and then today, raven sent me this link:  Casey Anthony and I have one thing in common. Just one. it was so good, i had to read it to my husband. and while i was reading it aloud, john came careening into the kitchen with a well-padded (clean) hiking sock on his hand. he proceeded to bop me with it, laughing hysterically, while my husband and i laughed hysterically at the content of that blog. we all had tears in ou...

the lighting in ihop leaves a little to be desired ... but my company at breakfast was perfect. i told myself i would take it easy this weekend. after all, i had surgery - albeit very minor - on friday morning, so i would need all the rest and laying around i could get, right?  but saturday morning, i woke up feeling REALLY good. pretty much normal, actually. and when i saw a commercial on tv for ihop and their pumpkin pancakes, i couldn't resist ... so we headed off for delicious pancake breakfast. and, despite having to wait about 20 minutes, we actually had a great family breakfast. john got his very own plate of silver-dollar pancakes, eggs, and bacon, so goodness knows he was happy. and after breakfast, it was off for a haircut for my shaggy-haired little monster. he didn't like it much - did a lot of wiggling - but at least he didn't cry the whole time like he did last time. and that was a MIGHTY full morning for a wee peanut, so he crashed hard on the ...