Alarmingly funny

Cary and I each have our own clock radios. I suspect this arrangement is fairly common among married folks who don't get up at exactly the same time.

Recently the snooze button on my Sony dream machine (purchased at Brand Names circa 1992) has started to go. This is a problem since the snooze button is about the only part of the dream machine that still gets any use.

But more amusingly, Cary's alarm, which is much newer, just changed ON ITS OWN from a regular beeping sound to a sound that I can only describe as a fakey French police siren. Plus it is really loud. Now every time his alarm goes off I just start laughing. I'm not sure if this is an improvement or not, but I do know that even if I sleep through my own alarm there is no chance I will sleep through his ever again.
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Now playing: Belle and Sebastian - Sleep the Clock Around (Black)

Marching Orders

Lucy has a new funny habit at bedtime. She has started ordering me to leave the house. As soon as I mention it's time to head upstairs she says, "I want you to water your plants and go to the store."

Never mind that my garden plants are all dormant for winter and could really use a good clean up more an a watering.

She's been doing this now for over two weeks. At first she would tell me what to buy: vegetables, ingredients for fruit salad (I blame the Wiggles), or a Pineapple. The day she asked for the pineapple she woke up the next morning demanding to see it. I had to tell her they were all out of pineapple at the store.

If I tell her I have to go finish up the dishes as I am turning out her light (which is usually true) she will scream, "No! Go the store! Water your plants!"

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Now playing: Patrick Wolf - Secret Garden

In Print

If you want to check out my latest contribution to Venuszine, you'll have to pony up for a copy from your nearest bookseller. The winter issue goes on sale everywhere December first, and my review of the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir is contained it its pages, along with the 2007 Hott list, and a D.I.Y. gift guide.

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Now playing: The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Aspidistra

You are all invited for dinner!

It's a happy day in our household because we finally replaced our old kitchen table (given to us free by my in-laws, and purchased circa '73). I guess I owe that jerk from Craigslist a thank you, because if he had sold us his table we never would have ended up with one this nice.
Henry picked out a special meal from foodtv.com for me to cook tonight. We had to wait over a month for the table to arrive because Cary found it in an online shop in Phoenix, but it was definitely worth the wait. Now I just have to get used to hauling out the vinyl tablecloth when the kids want to color or paint -- good thing I saved this one.
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Now playing: Feist - Flight #303

It was another very long weekend

1. I visited Henry's classroom on Friday afternoon because he was going to read aloud to the class. He did, and it was cute. But I learned from his teacher that he had refused to cooperate during the math testing she needed to do with him, for his report card. Could we stay after school so she could finish up? What else could I say. Thanks, Henry, for keeping me after school. It may have been the first time but I'm sure it won't be the last.

2. We went to the hockey game with some friends on Friday night, which was pretty fun even though the Sabres lost 3-0. I miss Briere. The sitter left Lucy's door open, so Cary closed it. The next morning she was locked in her room. It took me at least twenty minutes to jimmy the mechanism inside that pops the lock because I forgot you have to turn the knob while you are pushing on the thingy inside that releases the lock. Lucy was terrified and she now has trouble sleeping in her bed. We have to go to an auction at her pre-school tonight and my parents have to put her to sleep. I am very afraid for them.

3. Cary took the kids outside to rake on Sunday and I thought I would get a jump on folding the laundry. When I opened the dryer I found a crayon had melted all over the clothes. Thank god it was a dark load. The only thing that got ruined was a pair of Henry's swim trunks. But the inside of my brand new dryer, the one that doesn't eat clothing, and I just paid off two weeks ago, is now covered in blue crayon. Maybe it will serve as a permanent reminder to check the kid's pockets before I start a load of laundry. Probably not.

4. I forgot to mention the "family turkey" that the school sent home for us to decorate as a family. It consisted of two pieces of paper that we had to glue together, and then fill in with whatever we felt like (we chose old bits of wrapping paper). Needless to say I did not force Cary to participate, and Lucy's participation was equal to crying and grabbing for the glue stick. Thanks school, for adding some great togetherness time to my week.

Too wrong to ignore

I don't normally comment on the goings on outside my insular world, but when Cary mentioned that Aquadots were recalled because swallowing even one dot could send a child into a coma because the coating breaks down into a date rape drug, I had to post something. Lucy has been begging me for these, and I have refused on the grounds that I didn't want to chase a million tiny plastic balls around the kitchen.

You can read CNN's take on the story, and just in case you have some in your household, here is the CPSC recall info. According to CPSC, 4.2 million units have already been sold. Yikes.

This Christmas I'm going to get my kids an unpainted hoop and stick.

A nice ending to an endless day

Lucy was watching Dora on TV today when Dora asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I heard Lucy say, "I want to be my Mama!"

At bedtime, I wanted to see if she would repeat the phrase for Cary, so I asked her the same question and got the same answer. She kept repeating, "I want to be you, Mom."

Then she demanded that I sing her an original song about snow before she would go to sleep.

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Now playing: Jens Lekman - Your Arms Around Me

VenusZine rising!

Venus just launched its new website today, and the new site is more user friendly. Pretty soon readers will be able to sign in and comment. Plus a radio station is in the works too. Best of all, for me, it looks like none of my old reviews got deleted. Sweet!

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Now playing: Moonbabies - Cocobelle