stuff

Yesterday was Nicolas' 4 1/2-year-old birthday. I was going to post about it but didn't get done with that. It is not an upsetting day for me, these half-birthdays, though i do notice them. It is hard to believe it is nearly five years.

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Speaking of nearly five years, my department chairman told me last week that the department wants to put me up for tenure review this year. I had no idea, i was thinking next year at the earliest. In fact it is a huge project, applying for tenure, and i don't have any clue how i will find the time to do it all, when i am barely keeping up as it is. So technically i could easily put off until next year. But on consultation with advisors/mentors i decided to go this year, because this will maximize my chances. I have done ZERO work, effectively, since i found out i was pg with twins, and if i wait until next year there will most probably be a nice fat hole in my publication list that reflects that fact. I look better on paper this year, than i will next year. But my god i don't know where i am going to find the time to prepare my stuff.

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M & T have given up napping during the day (they are power nappers now -- 15 or 20 minutes & that's it) and don't want to take a bottle from April...even a bottle of breastmilk. The upside is that i can keep up with their needs by pumping at work, now that they aren't eating anything, ha ha. Lately they've been happy with April -- playing, not screaming -- buy they just refuse to eat until i come home. I guess as long as they are not screaming, that's okay....

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I got a crock pot, before Michael went on his trip. It has made my life workable! Though it does require some advance planning. I can fill it with stuff when i wake up in the morning, before the babies wake up, and dinner is ready when i want it. It is great....except it is a little difficult to make anything, well, palatable. Thus far the verdict on the food produced ranges from 'disgusting' to 'acceptable' to tonight's victory of 'i guess i can't complain'. That is A's verdict, by the way. The husband is too smart to say anything really bad, he is just glad that he doesn't have to make dinner.

Does anyone have any good crock pot recipies?

young love

I just saw one of my Calc students waiting for his girlfriend after her class. Such a look of supreme joy on his face when she just walked into the room!

How is it that we go from that joy....to resentments, hatred, and constant bickering over coffee grounds and the lawn?

Sigh...

C's days

"Let's play school, mommy"

"OK"

"I the teacher"

"Sure"

"Sit on the blue line cross your legs cross your legs mommy these are the primary colors this one is a primary color that one is a primary color it isn't time for lunch yet but you can have some snack here are some crackers and cheese do you like it? I made you crackers and cheese for your snack Monday Tuesday Monday Tuesday Monday Tuesday don't be rude. What do you have for lunch today Wednesday Thursday be nice mommy don't be rude. It isn't rest time yet I use the potty every time do you want to draw a picture these are the primary colors it's time to go to the playground..."

too much time with a toddler?

So i walked into class this morning and overheard some students working on a problem together.

"a plus b, no, b plus c"

and i very nearly said

"I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree!"

Now that would have been embarrasing. I guess it is clear i am not neglecting my mommy duties...

Clematis paniculata

is currently making quite the show in Nicolas' garden.


(the bush gone wild is Rosa Rugosa Alba, which desperately needs a trim)
Can you believe the clematis is so huge, after just two years? Not much else is blooming now.
A few roses have some flowers....
And i managed to get the winter pansies in the ground before DH left for the week. He is in Japan now (at least i hope he is, he left yesterday afternoon and i still haven't got word that he arrived safely) and i knew that if i had them sitting in the 6-pack all week they would die. So i made a point of dropping them in the ground on friday.

I have a doorbell!

And it only took three years!

Do you see it? It's the thing in the middle of the new door....


The doorbell was the first piece of hardware i bought for the house (ebay). It is an old Eastlake Victorian one, like the rest of the hardware. Yeah, i know it is iron & the doorknob is brass, but in fact they *would* mix like that, so it's okay. I should take a picture of the bell on the back, but i didn't, ha ha. It makes a beautiful *bing*. So, no longer will people have to call me on their cells to make me come open the door.

Except, noone can seem to figure out that (1) that is the doorbell and (2) how to make it bing (you push up, not down or out), so now i will have people calling on their cells to ask me to explain how to make the doorbell ring!

double the fun

[photos removed]

undie update

I bought the boy's Lightning McQueen underwear and C is happily wearing it as we speak. It is colder this week so she is wearing tights, i doubt the other kids will even notice. In any case i mentioned it to her teacher so that way i can find out if it causes any social problems.

The thing is, since the boy's undies have the trapdoor on the front, the design is on the back. This was a problem for Miss C, of course -- 'I want to see Lightning!' so you can guess the solution. She is currently wearing her boy's underpants backwards!

a problem

C *so* wants Lightning McQueen underwear that she wants to be back in pullups. The only Lightning McQueen underwear they make is for boys. All the girl's panties are princesses (of which we have plenty and to spare) Can i buy my girl boy's underwear? Won't the kids at school mock her?

bumbo boys

Grandma bought the boys Bumbos! Which is great because i wasn't about to pay 40 bucks for a molded piece of rubber/plastic/whatever. And they like 'em for a little while at least. I think they are probably a little young for them yet, since they can't sit in them long without starting to look uncomfortable. M has the blue one, T is green. C is busily engaged in her new favorite task of cutting up paper into (almost) infinitesimally small pieces and scattering them all over the room.

[photos removed]

been better

Well, yes, i know it is a period of transition, what with the work schedule + the new school + the babysitter etc. So i comfort myself with this...it will improve, this is just a period of transition. But yeah, when the highlight of your day is the catcall of some random truck driver, there is certainly room for improvement.

Gee, i must not look all that bad after all, if truck drivers are hooting at me. Yes, i know it is because all of my tops that i wear to work are size 'small' and my boobs are a size 'filled-with-milk-XXL' but hey, a girl will take what she can get. The giant boobs at least pull the eyes away from the flabby disgusting belly. I would be really out-of-luck if i wasn't breastfeeding. Except, if i wasn't breastfeeding, i could be spending more time working on & cleaning the house, and diet and even go to the gym -- as my ever so helpful loving supportive husband tells me. OK, to be fair, he did not actually say out loud the horrifying words 'diet and go to the gym', (which are banned in my household). Though there has been some under-the-breath muttering about 'weight training' recently...

I haven't really talked about my marital issues here, and i don't want to. Even if it is restricted in it's readership, i just don't want this blog to go there. After all, what is going to happen except me venting about what an ass my husband is, and everyone else responding 'OMG what an ass your husband is!' Not sure what the point of that would be...plus even trying to talk about it makes me tired. Hell, everything makes me tired.

He's not always an ass, by the way, but he does have his moments. We were getting along badly through my pg with the twins, then when they were born things abruptly got better between us. Pregnancy is always difficult on us...but now things are going badly again. And, by the way, he is going to japan for a week, leaving on September 17th. And i actually am looking forward to his being gone, so that tells you things. Not that he doesn't help around the house -- he does do alot. It will be very difficult with him gone, even if April can do alot more hours. But somehow a certain stressor will be missing...

Pumping at work sucks. Ha ha no pun intended though. I find it emotionally very difficult to have to do -- to do this & that, run back to the office to pump, try to do it efficiently, and to get enough milk. This thing about looking at a picture of your baby while trying to suck milk out of your body so that someone ELSE can feed it to them while you are sitting in a room far away looking at a picture is just a modern absurdity of epic proportions. And i am lucky, because i have a private office in which to practice this absurdity....i don't have to go to some 'pumping room'. I am responding more & more poorly to the pump, of course, and it seems that the babies are having a growth spurt to boot. That or they are freaking out that i am gone too much so that when they see me they want to be connected constantly. Or both, dunno which. I am glad it is the weekend. Where my husband can sneer at me while i feed them and tell me i would be better off for the whole family if i gave them formula 'and just 2-4 ounces of breastmilk a day, they'll get plenty of antibodies'. Harrumph.

first day of school pics

[photos removed]

culture clash

Grandma came....and took C to the big box toy store OF DOOM.

Gee, what girl doesn't need a giant stuffed horse?

Me: You bought her WHAT?

MIL: I know, isn't it gross? Totally a gift only a Grandma would buy. People were staring at us as we were leaving the store with it....thinking 'Boy is she going to get in trouble!'

Me: But why did you BUY it then?

MIL: I told her i would get her whatever she wanted, and that's what she wanted.

Me: *temporarily without the power of speech*

MIL: You should have seen her, she was so excited! Running down all the aisles -- there was that pink princess aisle...she was amazed. Eyes as big as saucers.

Me: Well, of course. She has never been there before.

MIL: *temporarily without the power of speech* She's never been there?

Me: Nope. She probably thought she was in heaven. Why would i take her to that store?

MIL: *stares at me in wonderment*

Me: If you took her to a GOOD toy store and let her pick what she wanted, she would be less able to pick something gross.

MIL: Well, actually she really wanted the giant PINK horse with the silver mane, but i nixed that one.

Me: Good call.

look what we grew....

[photo removed]

A giant zucchini! It was so big C could hardly lift it. The neighbors said we should've entered it in the state fair...however we were really hungry so we ate it instead.

first day of school....

...for C at the montessori, and for me back teaching. Oy, very depressing. Leaving her screaming there, leaving the boys. I know it is only for a few hours. I know i am very lucky that i had the whole summer -- didn't have to teach since 29 weeks of pregnancy. They are 2 1/2 months old now, a lot of people don't get that much time off and have to go back 40 hours a week...i only do 20. But still it is depressing. I don't want to go...