the tamarisk tree

Oh my.  People.  Mah hand.  It is a hurtin. I poured peroxide onto it last night and let it get good and bubbly and just watched and winced while it did it’s job.  And then, just now, I did it again. Still, I am not sure what is more painful – the peroxide, listening to Al Sharpton or John Mayer’s guitar face.

Today was all about getting back to normal.  Normal breakfast (raisin bran).  Normal playtime (trucks. trains. tools.).  Normal nap times (frequent for her and one o’clock for him).  Normal lunch (sandwiches. yogurt. milk. rice cakes.).  Normal. Normal. Normal.

Here were the not so normal parts:

- Weeding the lawn. Gideon and I found anything unsightly and I used a trowel to dig it out.  He used his toy shovel to pick up the weeds and take them to the recycling bin we were using to hold them.  As we worked our way through the yard, he was having to take the weeds further and further to the bin; balancing them on the shovel and hoping for no wind, since the shovel isn’t very deep.  After making the trip a few times, he suddenly looked up from our spot and said “Oh” as if he’d just had an ‘Ah Ha Moment’.  And he had.  He walked over to the bin and pulled it over to where we were working. Problem solved.

- While lying on her back, Piper is cooing at me and I grab a toy for her to see.  She concentrates and very slowly reaches out grasp the toy with her right hand.  A smile spreads across her face when she realized that she’s got it. I am cheering for her and in the excitement she losses her focus and pulls it to her eye instead of her mouth. She slides it down to her drooly little mouth and squeals.

- Back outside during Piper’s afternoon nap, Gideon and I are back at our weeding.  Gideon has abandoned the task to run through the sprinkler. I am digging out one weed in particular when searing pain shoots through the palm of my hand.  I pull the trowel away and see the blister oozing blood and weeping the clear blister fluid.  We go inside and wash out the wound.  Although I held it together, Gideon seems very concerned.  He suggests we watch Sesame Street.  I can tell he thinks it is a balm that heals all things.  We play trucks instead but the wound continues to weep.

I’m off now to go pour peroxide on my hand.  If you hear something shrill coming from the general direction of our county, you’ll know I’ve been successful.

It was a short weekend that was very relaxing as we drove up to Madison with just Piper and us in the car (and Oreo Cakesters – Have you had these things? They should probably be illegal…addictive chemicals and all that). She was great the whole time – in the car, in the hotsling, in the stroller, in everyone’s arms, in sleep deprivation. And although we were all there to celebrate Allison and Dan, I think Piper may have done a little show stopping / spotlight stealing (not really, but she was for sure going for best baby at the party).

They were both show stoppers.

The Happy Couple

We are leaving this morning on our first road trip with only Piper.  Gideon is staying with Grandma and Poppy and is pretty much guaranteed a fun weekend.  We will choke back missing him as we celebrate my insanely talented, histarically funny and beautiful friend Allison and Dan, her super intelligent, lean, mean husband machine.

Wishing you and your family a Happy Independence Day! In so doing, here are two thoughts from the past:

“After the signing of the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin was asked by a woman on the street, “What have you given us, sir?”  Franklin responded, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” 

“Thomas Paine wrote, “The cause of America is in great measure the cause of all mankind.”

(quoted from Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, pages 10 and 11; Mercury Radio Arts/Threshold Editions; New York 2009)

And now, I present:

What They Did on Their Summer Vacation from JudandKim on Vimeo.

Gideon loves berries.  He especially loves blue, rasp and strawberries. Wait, is that all of the berries?  No, no, of course not. There are also blackberries and what else, boysen?  Honestly, I only know about boysenberries because of IHOP syrups.  I’m pretty sure I’ve never eaten them otherwise.  Anyway, I’m sure he’d love those too, if I bought them, but since those three are all we typically have, he had only those to choose from today when he asked to make muffins.

He chose raspberry and we found all of the ingredients together; flour and sugar, almond extract and sour cream, milk and an egg, baking soda and powder, the pint of raspberries. While I assembled the batter, he pretended to make his own batch in his bowl.  I was spooning the batter into the tins when I heard him yell out “oh my! oh my! mess.”

Baking soda covered a chair, the kitchen floor and one of his feet.  It’s one of those moments where you can either get upset and tell him not to do this kind of thing, or you can tell him it’s okay and teach him how to clean up. I always try for the latter when it’s an accident or when the larger lesson is that perfection isn’t possible; that mercy and grace are wonderfully sweet.  So we got out the vacuum and sucked up the soda.  We played with the trash trucks while we waited for the muffins to bake and ate them while they were still warm.

It’s been a really good day.

Today is the last day of this month, a month that I barely knew had arrived.  I’m still getting back on track from the eight days out east as we prepare for our weekend in Madison.  Sorry for not posting more, but I just haven’t got it in me right now.

Check out the new photos on flickr in the meantime.

Somewhere along the 3300 miles that we drove, we all decided that the trip on which we’d embarked was just this side of insanity.  The kids did a great job, in spite of the very long hours they spent in the car and the lack of naps.  I am very sure that the dvd player and Bob the Builder were a balm to Gideon’s soul and I was so glad that I brought along a pacifier as Piper embraced it in Illinois on the way out.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful to see the fam, but it is absolutely grueling on us to do it like that.  We have officially sworn off of the eight day trip out east.  Next year one of my cousins, dare I say my favorite one, will be getting married on a tiny island off the coast of Maine.  We will be flying (and then driving and then ferrying) out for that, which will be a whole new kind of traveling with children. In the meantime, we’ll try to keep the trips a little closer to home (Madison here we come!).

In pictures:

Did I mention that we are putting a new deck on our house? Well, that’s what happens when your deck rots out.  The old deck was nearing the hazard state (we didn’t let the Gid out there without shoes on and frequently worried about splinters in his knees and hands).  When we decided to do the job, we contacted our friend Derrick about heading up the project.  That was the best decision we could have ever made.

The dude is awesome.  We have nothing but completely positive things to say about his incredible knowledge, skill and work ethic.  He knew exactly what needed to get done and guided the other friends who were here to help with ease.  The best part is that Derrick is incredibly positive and laid back about all of it.  When we changed how we wanted it laid down?  He was all “no problem” and adjusted without complaint or stress.  If you’ve got something you need done, he is the man to do it. We will call him when it’s time to finish the basement in a few years and when we get ready to replace some siding on our house too.

The very best part of redoing our deck is that Gideon has had a perfect view of all the work through the sliding glass door.  It’s kind of like having Bob the Builder in your backyard for a week. Gideon affectionately refers to Derrick as “The Man” and has frequently yelled out in sheer delight “Tools!” and “Truck!” and “Wrench!”.

Part of our deal with Derrick was to feed him whenever he was working,  so Gideon has warmed up to him pretty quickly as they munch on meatloaf and mac-n-cheese, hamburgers and tacos.  He’s usually pretty quiet around people he doesn’t know, but Derrick has been brought into his circle of trust with break neck speed, so much so that last night, while getting ready for bed we were going over who loves him and who he loves and The Man was right up there with Poppy and Daddy.

Now that the project is all over (save the staining) and we won’t be seeing Derrick as much, Gideon is going to have to adjust to just seeing him at church.  It might be a hard transition, but I think we can at least distract him by letting him play outside on our awesome new deck.

(Pictures to come soon)

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Piper wakes up and squawks for someone to rescue her.  I go in and find her huddled in the corner of her bassinet, back arched and trying to turn over.  I pick her up, lay her down on the bed and prepare to change her diaper.  A giant smile spreads across her face, starting with her eyes first.  She squeals happily while I meet her needs and cuddles my neck when I pick her up again.

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Gideon is playing with his ride-on Thomas and has a Nalgene bottle in one hand.  He announces that he is driving to ’star’ (which is what we call dad’s work because all of the other words are too garbled to understand.  He will probably grow up thinking Jud is an astronaut who flies to a star every day for work). A few minutes later he yells “Hi Daddy!”.  I suppose he has arrived.

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While Piper is down for her first nap of the day, Gideon asks to make chuchis by saying the word while cocking his head to the side.  He reminds me of a little puppy asking for a treat.  I can’t refuse.  

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Snicker doodles in progress, Gideon is stirring a bowl full of air while I add the dry ingredients.  He jabs his spoon into the dough and quickly licks it off. It is the very first time he’s eaten cookie dough and his eyes get big as he says “yes!” and wants to scoop up more.  Evasive action keeps his spoon out and I promise him he can have a cookie after they bake.  

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Cookies are baking while Gideon colors at the table.  He asks me to sit by him and we are both coloring.  The first batch finishes and Gideon has one at the table.  He’s taking bites in between coloring.  I sit down and pick up a crayon.  He puts the cookie up to my mouth and says ‘Mommy eat.’  We share the cookie and the coloring until all the cookies are baked.

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Piper is awake again and watching Gideon play.  Thunder breaks outside and Gideon runs to us.  With my arm around him he is suddenly brave and using a big voice to talk about the rain and the thunder.  He suggests we find an umbrella.  I suggest we read. 

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Both of them are down for naps and although my house looks certifiably disastrous, I’m perfectly content.

The Gremlins might have won last week, but I’m laying the smack down now:

- Drivers License – Never found it. Went to the DMV on Friday.  Tried pleading my case to reissue license.  Was told that the picture they had on file “didn’t even look like” me.  Took vision test.  Came home. Studied for written test.  Went back to DMV. Took written test.  Couldn’t take driving test as you have to make an appointment to do that.  Weighed wether or not gnawing off my own hand would be more fun than returning to the DMV.  Decided I need both hands to make brownies.  Decided to keep both hands.  Went back to DMV on Monday and passed the driving exam by one point.  Imagined myself attacking the crotchety old man who scored my driving.  Maintained composer, because, hey, at least I still passed.  Forced smile for picture. Possess new license and am guarding it with my life. 

- Gym Membership Card – Still not found.  Will pay $10 for a replacement…soon. 

- Cell Phone – Found!  Turns out I left it outside on the step at my parent’s house as that is where my car stopped working and that’s where I plopped myself down to wait for a ride from the Jud. Also found with my phone were my car keys and a key to my parents’ house.  Hey, thieves!  You should follow me around.  I will just leave the keys for you right here, where you could use them.  

- Ability for my car to recognize my key and actually start – Father entered the land of Google and found warranty zapping quick fixes involving cutting the THIN yellow wire.  Still not sure what the thick one does but the warnings against it were dire.  He installed a toggle switch to fool the car into thinking that it can still start.  The last two times we fixed this it cost $350 EACH TIME.  The Dad Special? About five bucks at Home Depot.  Woot! 

- A working breast pump – Am not smart.  Was having much stress. Forgot to use those little flappy things that, you know, insure there is suction by creating a vacuum. File this one under I AM LAME.

- My sanity – Still officially gone.  Hoping to find it on the east coast soon, possibly squeezed between a bun at Ann’s Dairy Cream or tucked under some sand at the beach.