yes i am still here

I know I said I wouldn't be blogging while my mom was here and I was fully utilizing my every moment of assistance straightening closets and redoing my basement food storage shelves etc. But things have just been complicated lately. My car broke down, one of my husbands sisters passed away unexpectedly last week so he has been away for the services, and smart baby has been demonstrating his amazing 22 mo old skills at opening everything childproofed-my home does not have enough high surfaces to keep everything i need to out of reach- I have to worry about him pulling chairs, climbing, plugging in dangerous appliances, spraying furniture with cleaners, etc - so I have been attempted to keep the the house in a state of semi order, get some projects done, drs and dentist appointments, etc. anyway thanks for your patience

easter review

Well the Easter bunny found it's way to our house- and managed to leave a nice assortment of candies. I am proud to say smart son is a boy after my own heart- growing up i was the master Easter egg hunter (It is something I don't lose at- like the game scattergories- I have never lost a round- i think that is why smart daddy-o hates playing it with me- a guaranteed loss-I challenge anyone to a game). Egg hunting was always an a sore subject with my sister who was two yrs my senior, because when it came to egg hunt totals I always far exceeded hers. Smart son loves the hunt as much as I do and we do it over and over again in our house (cheap simple thrills here). This year we also went to the town library egg hunt- each child got 10 eggs and 1 mystery egg which they got to trade in for the prize of their choosing. I have to say i was impressed- first of all the candy in the eggs was really good candy- not the junky kinds they usually use at community egg hunts and then the mystery egg prizes- whoa-- This was what smart son got for his mystery egg- a 20$ hardcover book on the worlds of the star wars trilogy- as we were leaving the town center he said "Wow this is the coolest prize I have ever won!" I didn't knwo what tp say- that wasn't the kind of stuff i got at my egg hunts growing up. Since then he has been busy teaching smart baby how to say Dagoboth, Hoth, Tatooine, Endor, etc. Thats one egg hunt i won't be missing again.

i really am here

i know i know i have been a terrible blogger and blog friend lately-- I made it through my way over-full sloshing over the sides week (which only was further complicated by a tragedy in the lives of some close friends and a few other unexpected events). Despite all of that, I made it through kids night out at school, finished sewing my dress, finished a painting, taught my last after school painting class for the year, finished all the gift baskets, had fun at the town ed foundation auction and now my mom is here visiting (so i am trying to use every precious moment!)- our plan was of course to whip my sorry house into shape after some serious trauma forced upon it by the ever active almost 2 yr old smart baby and to help it recover from the serious neglect I had shown it as of late. So I have been spending my days cleaning everything out from under bathroom sinks, sorting through those piles that seem to spontaneously appear, revamping laundry room closets, spring clothes clean out, food storage shelf redo, etc. This cleaning extravaganza was interrupted slightly by a phone call yesterday at 1pm (you should know when the caller id shows it is the school -that you afternoon is about to be shot) Smart son was running a fever and needed to be picked up- so we have the coughing and fever action going on here- So I will probably be scarce for the next week or so as i continue to use my every moment of maternal assistance on behalf of my house and sick kids-anyway stay tuned

my cup runneth over... (a new twist)

The other day I was at a meeting and a woman remarked that if she didn't work she didn't think she'd get anything done (she would just put everything off). I had to laugh I don't "work" and at many times it seems like i don't get things done (seeing as cleaning the house and organizing with a toddler around is purely lateral movement and yields no quantitative measurable progress) in a day I really do get a lot done. If you know me you know I like a full life, My life is one giant multi-tasking extravaganza- there are always 100 things going on in my life. And most of the time it is all fine and I stay very busy, but very satisfied with my life- sometimes though there are delays, unforseen incidents that get thrown into the mix and that when things get dicey and i push myself or things get more chaotic than I would like. The common response I get though is that i need to learn to say no--(unlike many women I am actually a good limit setter and generally feel very in control of the boundaries in my life) but you know the simple answer is I don't want to say no. Here is reason- if i can work it into my schedule I'll say yes-I say yes because life is short- you get just so many minutes- as much as i would love time to sit contemplatively, to ponder, relax-- I tend to prioritize in the camp of doing etc- I am by nature a doer- a fast and furious doer. And I take my analogy this way- if life is a glass of water would i rather only fill it half way or would i rather fill it so full some sloshes over the side (yes the stuff I don't get to or get to put the time or energy I want into) Now, if i got paid for all i do I would probably be a wealthy woman. I find I am constantly in a state of decision making, prioritization. My to-do list right now has 19 things on it-- None of those are cleaning, meals, child rearing, etc. They are the other responsibilities. See to me the family stuff comes first (okay not all the cleaning does and sorting my food storage shelves doesn't always rank) and the rest are squish ins- which is why my to do list is never done- actually there are things on there that stay on there for months. I wake up knowing that i can never accomplish what is on my to-do list which is at times very depressing...But to me there is a moral element to it. I have to be the kind of mom that lets my kids make messes, that doesn't let them watch much TV, that cuddles them and reads to them because it makes a big difference. I care about the quality of education and not only for my children but the rest of the children in my community and so I go to meetings and volunteer. I believe in helping people in areas where I have expertise it is the moral thing to do. Yes it's alot- but you tell me what i should cut out? what doesn't make a difference? I can tell you i feel better doing these things than watching oprah or getting my nails done.
Here's my week in review (by sub categories):

Town ed foundation- meeting at my house with fresh cookies, shopping for gift basket items (3 different stores), assembling glam baskets for auction dance event next sat, sewing dress to wear to event, working on painting to donate at event, met up with two different people to drop off/pickup items
PTO- meeting this week, researching available grant money, and budgeting out a family book writing event, making posters/sinage for next friday festival.
Church- planning a lesson, helping a few different individuals with personal crises at the time, family night, scriptures, prayers
School- volunteered in smart sons classroom doing learning centers, taught after school painting class
Family- family night complete with games and instruments, made homemade donuts, got tadpole shrimp habitat set up, played countless rounds of legos, read a ton of books, played creative games, helped smart son make a kite for show and tell, took boys to the library, set up after school treasure hunt, practiced piano w/ smart son & took him to music.
Friends- helped two friends on their dissertations this week, spent more that 3 hrs this week on the phone with people providing professional educational counseling, delivered muffins to someone sick, committed to do cake and flowers for a wedding in july,
Home- paid bills, 7 loads of laundry, dinners, cleaning, grocery shopping, lunch making, planned vacations, booked 4 sets of airline tickets, set up 3 appts for the kids
Personal- had a drs appt, painting, listened to a few podcasts, watched dvd of oscar wildes good woman, showered 75% of the time, hair done 50% of the time, blogged!
Other - cleaned major diaper disaster (more than 2hrs), major makeup disaster,

the rules are changing

seriously, someone keeps forgetting to give me the memo on the "new normal"

I have blogged before about children's birthday parties going out of control-I don't know where i was but the cost of the party locations be at least 15-20$ per child- then the gift bags, and don't get me off on presents Seriously smart son got a gift card from a girl who didn't even attend his party that was 60% of the entire budget I spend on his Christmas gifts.

And babysitters- I used to get 2$ an hr growing up- the going rate around here is $10-- what happened to the babysitting rate to minimum wage ratio?

Next item on the agenda --bottled water- when you go to someones house and they offer you a drink of water no longer is it cool to get it from the tap, not even from your filtered ice and water dispenser- the new thing is their very own sealed bottle- seriously.

It's not that i am not all for generosity but -- whoa...

Anyway I must be missing the meeting when they vote in the new rules- or maybe they didn't invite me because i'd object...

saturday thoughts- why i am not a doctor

Today was a divide and conquer saturday- smart daddy-o took smart son to Y for swim and gym and I took smart baby to Boston for a quick pop in at a vascular malformations clinic to take a quick peek at a mysterious blue spot on his back (which thanks to an ultrasound which provided a clear diagnosis a fairly superficial venous malformation with only low flow vessels). I knew almost all the clinic docs from my work with the vascular birthmarks foundation. As I walked through the halls of Mass General Hospital - it made me realize how much i miss being in a hospital-- it sounds crazy but when i step into a hospital, I just want to go read charts, journal articles, go on rounds, and visit patients. seriously- even cafeteria food and linen carts make me nostalgic. It makes me think back to my days as a child life specialist- the training at johns hopkins was second to none, I turned down an offer to stay on and do a special fellowship because i felt i needed to finish up my classes and see where things were going with smart daddy-o (we were dating at the time). It was a hard choice but the right one-- after all i have two cuties to show for it. I love being a child life specialist because I love coming up with things to help patients and families and tailoring it to a specific individuals diagnosis, procedures, and needs- and it is the closest I will ever get to being a doctor. I really would have loved to have been a doctor-- and I think i would have made an incredibly good one- but i also knew i wanted to be a mom-- and i knew they were two jobs i couldn't do at the same time and do well (insert irate comments from feminists to me here). Life is about choices- I am happy with mine- it doesn't mean we can't miss things though--Life is short and in the words of a song I used to sing as a child "there are pages you'll turn words, that you'll never know, things that you never will learn". There is a truth in that that has always made me life my life fully- knowing my time is short- To me life is liking getting lots of invitations to parties all on the same day and at the same time. You might make a few appearances, but ultimately you pick the one you want to be at most!

here are my smart boys riding around together on the plasma car during family clean- aren't they too cute- I wouldn't trade them for a white coat any day (okay make that most days!)smart son with his all purpose "super gadget" and smart baby with his pencil aka wanna be super gadget

watch out mark hamill

smart son's hair has been getting thicker and straighter. His hair has never been short. Today though I noticed he was sporting mark hamill hair. I pointed out the uncanny resemblance to smart daddy-o who agreed. When I tried to tell him he looked like luke skywalker- he cut me off before I could even say it, "I know-I have looked in the mirror hundreds of times and noticed I look just like him!" It was the funniest thing I had heard in a long to time to imagine that whenever my 6 year old looks in the mirror he thinks to himself "I look just like luke skywalker". I then suggested maybe that's what he should be for Halloween to which he remarked- "yah- that would be good because i wouldn't even need to wear a mask" -- It's shame it's not han solo- I always thought he was the cutest and Luke was kind of whiny.

50 things you might not know about me

50 Things you might not know about me-
I hate the ice cream truck music
My favorite food is pot roast
I bake (cookies/cakes/muffins) at least 3-4 times a week
I love foreign films
I used to play lacrosse and like sports with skirts
I get nostalgic for jr. high when I hear Milli Vanilli songs
I was in Math club
I was almost a cytogeneticist
I said I wouldn’t marry someone from UT- but then did
I have been to 47 states.
I love Moroccan and Turkish food
I always find good deals
I really like to help people
I always have creative projects going
I can talk to just about anyone- which is surprising because I was a very shy child.
When I taught at the college/university level most of my students were older than me.
I hate drying my hair
I really like HOT baths
I hate to get water in my eyes even in the shower
I love going to school
I had a fabulous collection of leisure suits and 60’s clothes in high school (only for special outings)
I can play Latin scrabble
I get whiny when i am sick
I can’t stick to a rigid schedule- it stresses me out
I hate not wearing mascara because my eyelashes are blonde
I rarely just watch tv- I am always doing a project at the same time.
I keep these weird free form journal/sketchbooks where I record things from favorite quotes, to plans for parties, painting sketches, Christmas shopping lists.
I am kind of a flavor of the week girl- I love change
I get very attached to my friends, they affect me deeply
The only time I wear tennis shoes is when I exercise- I hate them any other time
I make great homemade whole wheat bread
I don’t get intimidated by anyone.
I have been pregnant 8x- miscarried all but my 2 boys
I love sour things
I fall asleep in movies 90% of the time
I can’t buy really expensive of extravagant things- it freaks me out
I have been to 13 countries but never to mexico.
I think watching local news is torture
I like marshmallows in cold chocolate milk
I sound like my mom on the phone
I have many many pairs of shoes
I love museums
I don’t like the way lotion feels
I do well in math but I can’t remember number sequences and only have 5 phone numbers memorized
I can hear really really high pitched frequencies that most people can’t like those emitted from TVs even when they are muted.
I like overcast days as much as sunny days.
Sometimes I forget how tall I am walk into things like branches
I was a totally easy obedient teenager
I hate looking at condiments (like puddles of ketchup on a plate)
My arm span is 4” longer than my height (yep you guess it I am really a monkey)

puerto rico- part 2

okay back to where I left off (i have so wanted to blog these week but it has been insanely busy and every time something has been in my way- but no more!!)- beautiful warm Puerto Rico - Wednesday we got up and drove to Arecibo to the worlds largest radio telescope- It was cool I really i enjoyed the topography of the karst region with the sinkholes. We stopped at a scenic lookout - i informed smart daddy-o that i wasn't hiking up any further because i knew it was going to rain and yes within 1 minute of my exclamation a sudden downpour started- at a full sprint we were soaked by the time we hit the car. We stopped and had pinchos (tasty and the bread was really good too) at a roadside truck thing- and then went down to Lagos dos bocas- were we went on the free water taxi ride- we were the only people beside the workers and one old man headed home and a boy taking it as his ride home from school. It was so beautiful. We sat there for a while just watching a pelican swoop down and catch fish- and admiring the amazingly gorgeous views. On the way back we stopped at some gorgeous beaches in Arecibo. The surf was rough and i loved watching the waves crash against the rocks- I totally love beaches with sand and rocks. Smart daddy-o was climbing on some rocks looking at hermit crabs and called me to come over- of course just as i tried to get over there a giant wave came and soaked me and slammed me against the rocks. Thursday we got up and went walking with our friend , she takes this beautiful walk along the beach each morning- it was so gorgeous and then we just stayed on the beach for hours- not a person in sight- basking the in the sun and reading books under the palm trees and finished off the afternoon with a trip to Coldstone creamery and went on a little hike up to some bluffs where we sat and enjoyed the sunset with A. Then we night swimming at the pool in our friend's the H's neighborhood. Then Friday we went to El Yunque the rain forest. It was beautiful we went on a gorgeous little hike to a waterfall-we brought a lunch and just sat on the rocks out in the water for hours relaxing. Then that night we met the H's who brought kayaks and we went kayaking in the bio luminescent bay for a few hours- seriously although they are the age of my parents they put us to shame kayaking! It was a gorgeous night and you could see all the stars. We made smart daddy-o jump out and swim around for us so we could appreciate the full effect of the glowing water. (he could have totally been in one of those 1940s MGM movies with the swimming in them- he could be the next esther williams). Saturday we enjoyed our last moments at the beach and the H's graciously invited us to join them with for a delightful lunch at a club overlooking the pristine beach where they were entertaining some church authorities in town for a training meeting. From there we left for the airport- and made our way back home. It was such a wonderful trip and many thanks to our friends the H's who made it absolutely perfect and are the best Bed and Breakfast in PR! and sadly my essence of tan i acquired is now hidden under the layers requisite of 20 degree weather and sunny warmth is a mere memory. So if you are thinking about a trip to PR- I say just do it!

i'm home- puerto rico trip part 1

Well I made it back from puerto rico-- and I had an absolutely fabulous time- i planned on blogging before i left- but life was complicated at the last minute by the great jet blue fiasco- in which our flight was cancelled and we were told we couldn't get to my parents for 3+ days- problem was we had to get there within in 24 hrs of our planned flight to drop of the smart boys and make it to puerto rico. This all unfolded 4 hours before we left for the airport (mind you this is vacation week where we live- and everyone is trying to get out of town) at which time the trains were sold out, tickets to my parents one way were at the cheapest $711 per person- but we were bound and determined to get there- so we rented a car and drove to my parents (9 hrs with smart baby) and had to stop in scenic newark for the night and arrived at my parents in time to basically throw our children in the house, sleep for a matter of hours and get on our plane to PR. It was such a crazy feeling to get on a plane carrying only my own junk! To watch the in flight movie, read a book and drink my drink without it and other things being sloshed in my lap. We arrived in San Juan Monday and rented a car and drove to our friend's the H's house. We went for a stroll on the beach, had dinner, and just enjoyed visiting. Tuesday we drove to ferry and rode it in old San Juan- were i bought the cutest polka dot summer dress, visited galleries, ate lunch 2x- once at a puerto rican place (where i had pork, fried plantains, rice and beans, and mashed plantains) and once at a Turkish restaurant (where i had the greatest Turkish dish ever- iskindir kebab and elma cay) I used to live in Turkey and love love Turkish food and it is very hard to find and so i had to max out my turkish food experience. We went to El Moro, traversed all the streets, enjoyed the gardens at the white house, toured the governors mansion, and then returned to the Turkish restaurant for dinner where we enjoyed a great chat with the owner mustafa who gave me a website of a turkish grocer out of NY) and we feasted on adana kebab, chicken shish kebab, the best bulgar pilaf, coban slata, sigara borek, baklava. picked up some more cute things for me and took the ferry back and drove home. To be continued...

I have to get ready...to relax

So smart daddy-o and I leave this weekend for a 6 days in puerto rico without kids. I am feeling stressed out- why? When i should be so excited to actually get on a plane without a stroller, carseat, and schlepload of stuff. Because I am afraid of not being prepared enough to relax. See I am someone who always likes to be prepared- I have been told by friends that i could easily be chosen as "an ingenious person i would most like to be stranded on an island with (especially if if that meant I could bring all my worldly possessions)" because I always seem to have all the right stuff- you name the scenario I have got it covered (and that coupled with my McGuyver-ish skills- watch out). Thanks to this penchant for preparedness --I am a heavy packer- I cannot stand waking up and not having a choice of outfits, or snack options, or projects to occupy my time. (and no smart daddy-o i can't spend 30 min the night before haphazaradly tossing a few things and a pair of shoes in a bag.) So my packing process is complicated by days of imagining different scenarios and moods.
Currently I am mired in these dilemmas-Have I downloaded all the songs i want for my trip? (or is there one song i will just be wishing i had for beach basking?) Do I have some good books and magazines set aside? (or will i burn through what i have on one plane leg and be wishing i had some for my lounging hours?) Now that i will actually be able to enjoy those things. Have I planned the itinerary so as to maximize enjoying all puerto rico has to offer without putting myself on schedule and forcing myself out of bed when what i crave most in the world is relaxing and sleeping in? Do I have summer clothes that fit me, that i will feel cute and travelish in? Do I have shoes for all my various activities (i hate sneakers by the way)?
The irony of it all half the things i would most love to do without the interruptions of young ones would be a couple day painting marathon (i have been out of my groove but i am feeling a painting binge coming on) and a week of uninterrupted of total house sort and organization! but i guess i'll have to settle for island paradise!

time flies

How does it happen- how did I get so old? how did my kids get to be so grown up?

Here is a pic of smart son with his cake for the 100th day of school- yes kindergarten is half over- he seems so grown up- sometimes it is hard to remember he really is a little kindergartner (they seemed so much younger/smaller when I was a teacher a didn't have kids) and smart baby- well he has never looked his age but tell me does this child look 20 months- He has been hitting all sorts of milestones- He has learned how to walk on his tiptoes and loves watching his shadows. Being a mom is fun- but you have to be careful because if you blink you'll miss 1000 things.

what can i say

After all the hype and nominations- i don't blog for days-yes just when i was going to wow you with some fabulous writing- it happened-- Let's flashback to Friday- what i thought was going to be a quiet catch up day at home- that changed when my phone rang friday morning and I performed the superhuman feat of successfully occupying my 20 month old while engaging in a 2 hr phone conversation with a woman who was trying to develop the research plan of their dissertation and coherently debating the pros and cons of different instruments and study designs. After this i got smart baby fed and down for his nap and the phone rang - it was the school calling to tell me that smart son had just vomited and could i please pick him up- i really wanted to say "no- by the time i get there it is almost time to get on the bus-- can't you just send him with a plastic bag? It would really help me accomplish one thing today"- but i did the honorable mother thing- awoke my sleeping child after mere moments of slumber and hauled my unshowered, grubby mess of a self to the school to pick him up- we survived car vomited and by the evening he was fine. We awakened to smart baby vomiting Sat. morning and rounded out the evening with me becoming deathly ill- yes i could keep nothing down and literally sleep about 19 out of 24 hrs. Sunday night I was was beginning to hold down clear liquids- smart son vomited again- So Monday smart daddy-o returned to work- leaving me, subsisting on jell-o and ring o noodle soup, with 2 very unsick and overly cooped up rambunctious boys. Needless to say i am attempting to regain my strength while finishing a 15 educational profile, doing some educational consulting, baking a cake for the 100th day school celebration, getting ready for PR trip (renting a car is kind of important if i don't want to walk around the island) Anyway thanks for being patient- i wish i had something more inspirational to blog about today but i am afraid I have already used my "coherent thought" quota for the week and what remained beyond that was purged from my body along with the contents of my stomach- so pardon me while i regain my strength

feelin' the love--you caught me off guard

Blogging is great- I try to extol its virtues to non-bloggers but they don't get it- blogging changes how you think- and just when you are in the middle of a life crisis instead of breaking down- you stop think i am totally going to blog this! It is someone to share your triumphs and tears with. I was really surprised and feel very flattered to be nominated for this years Share the Love blog awards-Site Design (seriously I now feel very self conscious in my feeble template modifications), Woman Power (I am always one to give a shout out for great strong, thinking, world-rocking women but i have to say there alot of amazing inspiring women out there! but i take your vote as the sincerest compliment) and Blogger you most like to Meet (Really?--when and where?- i love to meet people) Anyway head on over and nominate your favorites today before it's too late- after all there are a lot of great blogs out there who deserve some love for their time and efforts and the inspiration and enjoyment they provide to all! And to whoever nominated me- Thanks- that was really nice!

of bottoms, bollywood and barns

You may remember the comical story of my disintegrated swimsuit bottoms . I have survived these two months with only half a swimsuit (thanks to the fact that i live in new england where even in the summer probably rarely gets hot enought to allow full usage of a swimsuit) but excitingly enough smart daddy-o and I are going to puerto rico for a week-- which does require a swimsuit- both pieces -- our trip is only 3 1/2 weeks away- which I was diligently attempting honey kalaria's bollywood workout (smart baby started grabbing my legs just as i was getting the bhangra hands down really well) so I bagged the workout and took smart baby to visit the cows (yes it's 7 degrees outside-with a negative windchill but when you are desperate and realize every waking moment the you stay in your house a new mess is created by your child you will brave even the bitterest wind) and while visiting our favorite dairy cows-we returned home with 17$ worth of pastries, and spinach and broccoli calzones. Good thing I bought a new skirted bottom instead of french cut...

** brief note on the bollywood workout- I have to give it 2 thumbs up- although a little cheesy in some parts,a decent slightly complicated workout (especially all those crazy hands), I figure it is good practice so I can land my breakout role in a bollywood flick.

change the world - one box top at a time

I will confess I am a volunteer/PTO junkie- no not one of those "highly-competitive-i-have-to-do-everything-mom"s- but I am an "always-sucked-into-a-good-cause-mom". When the blue volunteer forms come home I can't help but sign up. I guess I have come to appreciate the power of small and simple things. This week I was on Box Top clipping duty (you know Box Tops for education) my thankless job is to trim the box tops (removing the extraneous cardboard flash that remains when parents careless tear them off the cereal boxes and then to sort and bag them in groups of 50). These scraps seem insignificant, worth a whopping ten cents. But put them together and (after two rounds of collection in the fall yielded almost $3,000 dollars for our little town's school- yes $3,ooo - 10 cents at a time). This principle extends to opportunites. I can't help but teach the after school enrichment classes- helping kids learn to paint and while the money raised goes to playground equipment, books for the reading programs, science programs, etc.? Or gather donations for the town education foundation auction (thanks bose for the wave radio!) Yes I know i don't rock the world with my actions- but i am content to believe if we all took care of our own gardens the world would be a paradise.

I know women, mothers especially, often don't feel they make a difference. They feel like those tiny little 10 cent box tops (especially the torn around the edges ones with food remnants on them). Each kiss we leave as we tuck our kids in at night, every time drive them to lessons, or volunteer to help that teacher, or bring dinner to someone -- it all adds up to sums and products we can't imagine.

We never think we'll be the important one, the person who changes the world. We live to much in a world of big fame, titles, and celebrities. For me, I'm content to make my mark in life one little box top at a time.

childhood friendship- thicker than blood but not tuna fish

I had to laugh tonight as I was tucking smart son into bed. We were talking about his day and he announced he had not sat with his dearest friend, B at lunch, in fact he refused to sit at the same table with him even. What could be the cause of such a fissure in a hard and fast kindergarten friendship founded on a love of legos at center time and the playing of superheros on the playground? He said he just couldn't sit by him or even at the same table... because he brought a tuna fish sandwhich for lunch! My ever tolerant smart son told me he just can't handle the smell. He admitted that whenever his friend B brings a tuna fish sandwich, he always sits at another table. Evidently this has been going on for sometime and B has been lobbying his mother to stop making him tuna fish sandwiches (so he will not be abadoned and ostracized by friend smart son- the fair weather not-if-you-bring-a-tuna sandwich friend) but to no avail. I tried to explian to smart son that B's mother should hardly be expected to change their diet and their lunch making routine to cater to his olfactory whims. I guess we need a lesson in tolerance.

the year of the lego

forget the chinese zodiac- this is the year of the Lego- smart son got a 9v Lego train set and lego crane and lego tie interceptor. I bought him his first set of small legos when he was 3 and we have been going strong ever since. I have to say my love of legos is probably one things that well qualifies me to be a mother of boys (not that girls can have equal lego prowess- I mean after all I am the supreme lego master of the house and I am a girl) but I do believe my love of legos will create a bond of play between me and my sons for many years to come. I am competitive in few things and I take my lego building seriously. There was quite a bit of trash talk over Christmas as smart daddy-o (yes mechanical engineer) I were intensely engaged in the building of the lego Santa Fe engine-and I am sure it comes as no surprise to any of you that I still reign supreme as the master lego builder in our home. This is a family fact. (although still disputed by wanna be smart daddy-o) Evidenced in the fact that I was recently invited to be the building supervisor for the tie interceptor and in the words of smart son "Mom, you can help me because you are the best lego builder in our family, and dad can clean up the vomit in the car because I think he would be the best in the family at that" (after smart baby and smart son got coughing so hard they both vomited in the car on the way to the drs)
I know many moms who hate legos because of their inherent messiness and tiny pieces. I had to laugh as I was at the lego store picking bricks from the brick wall and many moms were talking about how once their kids built something with legos they wouldn't let anyone touch them and cursing the tiny pieces; all this as I am shaking down our pick-a-brick box to fit just a few more singles in the remaining cracks extolling the virtues and possibilities of each piece to smart son. We have the reverse problem both my boys and husband once they build something want to disassemble it, add to it, or make it into other things (it is that spatial/engineering gene) and seriously I can't deny that type of play. I actually encourage it- yep it is the teacher in me.

lately I have been doing a series of monochromatic themed vehicles
here are a few from our "mother son building time" as smart son likes to call it

the all terrain tank for the sandy planet tatooine
Blue and yellow train platform for the mighty santa fe
the red samurai warrior vehicle inspired by Night of the Ninjas magic treehouse book
the white hothmobile (inspired by the snowy planet on return of the jedi- you should see my skilled ton-ton impersonation!- remember when they went out on the rescue mission- this could have saved the poor tonton from freezing!)
yellow and black bee mobile- used for collecting nectar and honey
green lantern mobile- inspired by the superhero stamps for birthday invites
imperial spy (laying down) seriously this was a great creation
the ice mobile- made almost entirely of clear blocks- also good for the planet hoth

while we are revamping human life

could we add a few hours onto the day- I mean 24 just isn't cutting it for me- if we say added 4 hours to each day i might be able to get stuff done- or maybe sleep enough to actually feel rested (I am sure this proposal will meet with resistance from some like those who are pregnant)-

Any one else want to start a petition with me

one for human hibernation

Last night I crawled into bed early and I began to get warm (yes it is finally cold here in New England-it is a sort of bone chilling damp cold- even though we have yet to have snow) I turned to smart daddy-o and confessed my insane jealousy of bears-- I told him all I could think about was hibernation. How come other species get to hibernate and we don't. Yes I would like to cast my vote for human hibernation. To just crawl into bed and sleep and sleep and sleep- and not get up until spring....

It is especially great because your kids will also be hibernating, therefore no messes, also no shoveling, no freezing cars, no winter gear to keep everyone hatted, gloved, booted, etc, kind of like a mini vacation, and when you awake I bet you will feel like those people look on the prescripti*n sleep aid commercials-