Miss Understood

So far the tally of headlines which I have completely misread is at 5 for the morning. My favorite so far is a 2 part one from MSNBC:

Miss. tornado wreaks 'widespread damage.'

I, of course, read that as some pissed off beauty queen opening up a can of whoop-ass on some unsuspecting trailer park. I stared at it, figured it out and scrolled down a little to read:

Miss twister injures 17, destroys homes. (Holy crap, these girls are beating the shit out of each other! )

Yes, I managed to misread two headlines about the same thing in about 15 seconds. I am a moron.

Here is one I wish I had misread:

Vacuum sex act draws 90-day sentence. Seriously???? Why for the love of God, whhhyyyyyy?

And in one more display of why I don't read the news on NPR, I read the headline "Hedge fund's ponder Obama's carrot, fear stick." as:

Hedgehog ponders Obama's carrot-stick.

I'm going to go take a nap.

Breaking dumpling news!

OK, quick update. Noah is walking!!! Albeit only while pushing his little wagon, but he is doing that all on his own. Grace follows right behind him cheering and ready to catch him if he falls, which he does frequently as he giggles with glee to the point of collapse.

AND, Kai is now a yellow-belt in karate. He got up in front of everybody in the class by himself (he was the only one testing that day) and went through the punches and kicks and got his yellow belt. It was a last minute thing, the instructor told us he was ready and they could do it right then if he wanted to. He is the youngest by a few years in that group and I am just so proud of how brave he is. He feels pretty damn good about himself I can tell you. It was an awesome moment.

Pictures to follow. The stomach flu is back in Noah and, well, I just don't have anything nice to say about that!

The difference between boys and girls.

Both my kids love to cook, bake, do crafts, garden, ride horses, ski, in short, they love all the same things things I love to do. The difference between their enjoyment comes in what they deem as the necessary accessories for success in any one of these activities.

Grace tends to want to do everything swathed in pink, carrying extra bags full of changes of clothes, dolls and jewels. So, she can frequently be seen riding her pony hell-bent for leather with princess attire flapping in the breeze.

Kai likes to do everything armed to the teeth, which means he can frequently be found baking cakes with a gun on his hips, or playing with the baby by giving Noah swords to hold in an effort to get a jump on his swashbuckling skills.

So, the other day I started a new knitting project and both kids decided they wanted to learn too, so I searched out some nice thick wool in festive colors, found some fat needles and cast on for each of them. Grace, not surprisingly, is making a blanket for one of her "babies." Kai is making a blanket for his new cap gun (an exact replica of the rifle "Pa" used in Little House on the Prairie, which he is completely loving.)

Yes, my 5 year old boy is knitting a gun cozy.

I love parenting!

Aaaahhhhhh. Fresh air.

Oh. My. God. That was a long stretch of sickness and weirdness and funk! But it's over and the sun is out and the weather has been glorious.

We got out today for a little cross country skiing. Unfortunately my camera battery died half-way through the outing, but I got a few good ones.

Two of my beautiful men getting ready.

My little pink ski princess. Jesus, that's a lot of pink. That girl loves her some pink.

Look at how white we are. It's like we just emerged from a cave. Very attractive.

He even makes falling look GOOD.

Minutes before pegging her grandmother in the ass with a snowball. She's not as innocent as she looks.

Makin' tracks.

Beautiful grandma, beautiful day.

Going downhill on cross country skis is so much more unsteady than on downhill skis therefore the shrieks of glee must be louder. It helps the balance, don'tcha know.

It's good that spring is on it's way. I need to air out my house, air out my head and dust in the corners of my mind. I am stuck on where I am going in my life and in our family's life. So many different scenarios are going through my head. Kai heads off to kindergarten next year, and I hate it. I would home-school in a minute, and it is a possibility, but I think he should at least go to kindergarten to see how he feels about it.

I am having a hard time moving past the baby phase. For some people, they know when they are done having kids and they are relieved to move on. But I am definitely grieving the end of this phase in my life.

I think we are done having babies, and although I have always wanted a fourth, it just doesn't feel like it's in the cards for us. I am having a hard time knowing that there will not be another baby to look forward to in our family's future. I have never had that before. We knew we were having each one of our kids, they were all so definitely planned. (There is no such thing as an accidental adoption. Can you imagine? "Honey, I don't know how to tell you this, but I accidentally filed 47 different pieces of official documentation with the State and, well, it's a girl!") So now, I have to come to grips with ending that chapter in our lives. We have been so lucky, and raising the kids is so far beyond anything I could have dreamed of. But still, I am sad at this ending.

And then there is always the old "NOW what do I do with my life" thing. I mean, besides raising our kids, which frankly is more than enough, but my brain (I think it's still in my head, I hear something rattling around in there,) my brain could use a little training. Some calisthenics. A little yoga. Arguing about whether or not someone can wear their party shoes into the muddy driveway is not the mental exercise I am seeking.

I am actually incredibly fulfilled staying home with them. I know that is politically incorrect to say. I am supposed to "want it all," but I don't. I just want a small slice of a delicious life that is rich and filling. I don't want the whole cake, especially if it is some low-fat version of something I know should be great. But I do want to keep my brain nimble and possibly do something part-time or go back to school, or something I haven't even conceived of yet.

So, what should I do with my life? Seriously. Some of you know me pretty well. Any ideas? More babies? More school? Full time job? Part time? The hell with work? I am open to all suggestions. Just know that cubicles and fluorescent lighting are not a personal dream of mine.

And mom, you don't get to answer this one online because I KNOW you have thoughts on what I should do with my life. The comment section is only so big, however, so maybe you should just call me and tell me what I should do. And try not to be right so much of the time. It's very disheartening.

Sick, sick, sick

Ugh, we have had the stomach flu, head-colds and now I think I have the Plague. Sorry about the hiatus.

Noah turned one March 4th and celebrated by vomiting most of the day. Kai, is totally impervious to illness, and Grace only got a cough, but Noah and I have been out with the funk.

So I'll be be back soon. And in a month, this blog will attain a certain je ne sais quoi, as we head to provence for 5 weeks. I'll blog a bit from there. Can't freaking wait. Mud season sucks. Except for the spring skiing. And the sugaring, but other than that, I am just about done with winter.

OK, I'm getting dizzy. Back later........