By "day" I meant the period from when I wake up until when I go to sleep for the night

And I'm still up, unfortunately, at this hour. Actually I've been sleeping for the last hour on the floor next to the computer waiting for Fernando to finish adding photos to our new facebook account. So you can check those out now too. But those photos DO NOT include this stunning piece, which constitutes my post for FRIDAY the 24th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother also, from your biggest fan who also appears in the photo trying his hardest to be as studious (translation: nerdy) as you.

sign of a skipped nap

witches should hang out with witches

Well, here I am trying my blogaday. Sorry to my mother-in-law who will probably be home from work by the time I hit the "post" button and who I think would like to see her grandkids' pics more than once a month.

So Fernando had a few days off during UEA, and though he SERIOUSLY likes to spend his days off lately doing strange dad like things like organizing our storage closet, replacing light bulbs, fixing leaky faucets and etc. (what?!), I did get him to spend one day doing fun stuff. Well, I think he made salsa first. Which he did find fun. But I was planning serious fun for him! Problem: what is considered fun for women (and children who can express themselves in sentences) may not necessarily be considered fun for males (and kids who use two-to-three words together to express their disapproval).

I wanted to go to the "Little Witches Festival" at Gardner Village. Those of you who know me well may know that I can sometimes treat holidays like a requirement rather than a fun escape. YOU MUST DO THE STUFF THAT IS CONSIDERED FUN EVEN IF YOU DO NOT THINK IT IS FUN!!!! I'm trying to morph myself. But changing yourself is hard, people. And so it was that we went to the Festival. Grandpa and Grandma Baugh met us there for lunch and to walk around, and Katie went as well.

The whole thing was just a challenge of seeing the cute stuffed witches behind throngs of women and children, trying to steer a double stroller (Fernando's job...)through winding paths and up and down stairs and through piles of people windowshopping and chatting leisurely, and waiting for TWO HOURS to eat at the restaurant.

At one point where the crowd was especially loud and tight, Fernando said, "Do you really, actually think this is fun? Fun to me is being up in the mountains in the quiet AWAY from all these people." He didn't say it in a really mean way, he was just honestly wondering if I was completely crazy. (You'd think he would KNOW by now.)

Fernando and Grandpa, and Sam I guess, were outnumbered 30 to 1 by women. I probably should have expected that something involving a bazillion babies and chatty ladies might not be the thing for a relaxing day off.

After the whole ordeal, I mean, uh, outing, was over, we were saying goodbye to my grandparents and Grandpa said, "Well, I'm glad I've done this so I never have to do it again."

Don't count on me to remember that next year, when I repeat the whole thing over again, for "fun."

The tag...6 of my quirks

Thanks, Angie, for tagging me and making me realize how utterly normal I am. But here goes.

1. You know those flyers that are up all over the halls in college? Well, I work at those colleges and I feel this strange need to read ALL of them. I've gotten better at this, but I used to try to walk by one, but then I'd have to turn around, come back, and read it, whereupon I would see another one I hadn't read, try to walk past it, have to come back...and on and on.

2. I have trouble making little, insignificant decisions. A lot of trouble. And so I ask for advice, or, if possible, try to give away my responsibility of making the decision to another person. At that point, the person (usually Fernando) will just make a decision to stop me from fretting. Then, without fail, I question that decision and suggest why the opposite could be better. Sound annoying? Don't get my spouse started.

3. I have board hands and knife elbows. I discovered this when Patrick my bro used to tickle me. My best defense is pounding the opposition down with my flat board hands or jabbing them with my knife elbows.

4. I do a few impersonations. Mostly Disney stuff and Kermit and Miss Piggy. I used to do Napoleon Dynamite but only Kurt Knight thought it was funny. I just learned a new one...it's a singing chicken. Miranda has a love/hate relationship with that one. MOM YOU'RE SO EMBARASSING.

5. I enjoy cleaning. Sometimes I enjoy it less than other times, but when I get going, I remember I do enjoy it.

6. Yesterday as we were driving Fernando said: "You have ferocious grammar." What does this mean? Is it a compliment?

I will tag McKenzie, Stacy, Jen Baugh, Lexie, Jenny A., and Rachel. You have to say 6 quirks about you and tag 6 others.
By the way I'm going to try to post every day and see if I can do it.

Farewell to Summer

I need Fernie's help to respond to Angie's tag, so for now I will post a few pics of the summer that has fleeted, flet, not sure of the correct conjugation of that and hoping it's not FLED, away. It was good to us while it lasted.

Sammy and Daddy hiking


Sammy's form of hiking, otherwise known as riding but thinking you are leading the whole expedition


Sammy ultimate male-bonding with PA, which means sitting on a rock together somewhere in the mountains


Sporting his perfect tan (he had to work really hard at that one...) at the Gateway fountains, social mecca of toddlers




Miranda and her source of gleeful imagining, Katie
Yes Katie did get wetter than both kids combined (EXCEPTION: Sammy in the diaper area may have beat her. MAY HAVE.)




Ward Block Party, complete with amazing face painting


Not just the look but the ATTITUDE of a coy butterfly


The twins at the Block Party. Had to include two shots they are just so CUTE.



Snacking, as usual (ha ha) on a HUGE half-head of cabbage. So healthy. She didn't like it very much, if you were wondering, but she did ask if she could eat it. There are life parallels to that, you know.


Katie and G-MA helping the kids make a shirt for Daddy's 30th.



Fernando wearing a fish on his head because he's 30. What WILL he do at 40???!!!


Fernando and the kids running through aformentioned Gateway fountains at night in order to do something truly memorable at age 30. I will also do it at age 30. I expect the same from those of you who come after us.


It's hard to see, but the kids loved that part of the celebration even more than Fernando wearing a fish on his head, which, as you can imagine, they loved a lot. The moral of the summer is that stuff that kids love doing is also really fun for people pretending to be responsible parents.

Siblings

Right now Samuel's favorite thing, besides swinging outside or dogs, might be hitting his sister with any available object. I've seen him hit her--or try--with a multitude and quite a stunning variety of items.

Last night Miranda came tearing into the family room with sheer terror on her face and climbed up to the highest and most inaccessable spot available which is the corner of a ledge above the couch. Sounds dangerous, I know. Not as frightful as the heavy handed Sam.

I apprehended the item of infliction and silently showed it to Fernando before sitting back down to resume watching a recording of the debate (yes people, my husband comes home from a long day of work and school only to sit in front of the television and watch a recorded presidential debate, and what is more astounding...I watch it with him...which now that I think about it pretty well explains an 18 month old entertaining himself by hitting his sister with everything in the house); Fernando took a sideglance at the plastic mini-bat of offense and stated: "Club." I guess we feel it is important to at least recognize his ingenuity in finding things to hit her with.

Aside from the obvious male physicality that drives Samuel's violence, I think he really enjoys Miranda's very dramatic reaction. I've tried to tell her so, but it's difficult to convince someone who is being chased with a toddler holding a ROCK over his head that she should calmly not react. I find paralell in this example to myself and my tendency to allow fear to enroach upon my faith. It is easy to be calm and trusting when things around me are calm, but more challenging to have faith and be still when there is uncertainty or when I make myself or allow myself to think that there is some rock hanging over my head. I'm not sure who Sammy represents in that analogy but you get the point, I hope.

Sammy also likes to try on shoes of all kinds. His favorite are green rainboots of Miranda's with faces on the toes. Can you blame him? If you had the option wouldn't YOU wear them whenever you could?

Even though Sammy likes to terrorize his sister on occasion, they love each other a lot, and I am so happy to see this since Fernando and I both love our siblings and value our sibling relationships so much. Sometimes Sammy and Miranda love each other to the point of annoying each other, and I want to send a little shout out to our siblings to say SORRY if we do that sometimes. Love is at the heart of how annoying we are. :)

Anyway, I have a few fleeting moments to straighten up, bathe, and mentally and spiritually prepare, at least 2 of which I may not complete, before the hitting and loving begins, so I'll leave you with these:


(the boots)

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore

You know you're in Africa when you can't carry clubs onto the airplane.