Erica; here and gone.

A record of Erica's all-too-short visit:

Monday, noon:
Me: You have to take a nap so that after nap we can go get Erica from the train station.
Adrian: Erica?
Me: Yes, Erica is coming to see us. She's taking the train.
Adrian: Train?
Me: Yes, Erica is taking the people train to come and see us. But you have to take a nap or we can't go and get her.
Adrian: Night night.

Monday, 3pm:
Adrian and I head to the train station, only to find that Erica missed the stop because a) the conductor failed to announce it and b) she doesn't move at super-human speeds.
So we wait for her to come back the other way on the next train. During the wait, all of the stuff on the floorboards proved to be extremely useful in distracting Adrian from the fact that he was strapped into his car seat. We investigated deceased lady bugs, made puppets out of empty snack containers, and read some books that had escaped the diaper bag in months prior. That took 15 minutes. Then we got Erica, came home and Erica took Adrian outside to play while I made dinner (Thai fried rice with basil-yum!).
6pm: Adrian takes a bath and shows off for Erica, splashing and doing his impression of Elmo swimming.
7pm: Aaron comes home, Adrian goes to bed. I go to yoga (where I learn that I look like I'm 20). Erica and Aaron clean the kitchen (hooray!)
9pm: I get home. We all laze around until 10, at which point I go to bed.

Tuesday 6:30am:
Adrian wakes up. We go into the living room, where Erica is sleeping.
Adrian: sssh. Erica seeping.
Me: Yes, I see that.
Adrian: ssssh.
Teletubbies are watched, at 7 Erica wakes up. Coffee and breakfast are consumed.
At 8:45 we go outside. Bubbles are blown, plants are watered. Holes are dug, hostas are planted. Then we go to the park. On the way there, we pass a small bag of pot laying on the sidewalk. At the park we discover a condom and loose change.
Adrian: monee!
We show Adrian how to put money in his pockets and go home.

Lunch is eaten, Adrian puts hotwheels stickers on Erica's face.
Noon:Naptime for Adrian, and Erica gets ready to go.

22 hours of Erica just isn't enough.

Saving the planet!

I don't know how many of you caught that special on the Discovery Channel with Tom Brokaw about Global Warming and what we "need to know"; but Aaron and I watched and were thoroughly shamed by our living habits.

According to Tom your computer, TV, and stereo use 40% of their power while turned off (as opposed to 100% while on and fully functioning) . Aaron and I have decided to test this theory: every time we finish with the computer, we turn it off and unplug it. At night before we go to bed, we unplug the TV. If Tom's assertions are correct, we should see the difference in our energy bill.
We'll let you know how it goes.

He's a sly devil, that Tom Brokaw, with his gentle voice and concern for the planet. He shames us all with his coiffed hair and LL Bean apparel.

Of course all of that is somewhat silly, when we still haven't had our recycle bin delivered by the city (after 10 months of residence). And last Friday, the truck that dispenses city cans drove right by our house, WHILE WE STOOD OUT FRONT AND WAVED OUR ARMS FOR HIM TO STOP.
This Friday, I may have to lie in the street.

Now I know my Q, R, T's!

Adrian has these tubby letters, made of some sort of foam. Not only do they stick to his head, they are an educational tool. Witness:
Aaron is giving Adrian a bath, while I tidy the living room. The following is the conversationI overheard just this evening.

Adrian: E
Aaron: That is an E!
Adrian: T
Aaron: That is a T!
Adrian: B
Aaron: That is a B! What other letters do you know?
(This continues through R, Q, O, W, A, S, U, D, P, F, H, I, K, and X)
Aaron: Kaaaaaaraaaaah!
Me: Yes?
Aaron: Did you know he knows all of his letters?
Me: Um. Yes, I think so.
Aaron: How long has this been going on?
Me: Um...couple of weeks, I think.
Aaron: Why didn't you tell me?!
Me: I don't know.

I guess I figured he'd find out eventually. And compared with all of the other stuff that Adrian is learning and doing every day, the alphabet isn't all that exciting. (Don't get your feathers ruffled!) I'm just saying he's now sharing his snacks with his toys, engaging in imaginative play--his animals graze the carpet, complete with chewing noises, he's trying to write letters (he does a mean "Q"), he cleans the toilet (no, really), and he's making little sentances.
We're also in the stage of very funny verbal mix ups.
For example: for dinner, Aaron and I had tater tots.
Adrian had tater tits.

Some stuff that happened.

this is the 4th at Brookfield zoo (the joyfully damp one), some watermelon, and baby's first haircut (for which he was rewarded marshmellows). More posting will happen when I'm not up to my elbows in addresses, envelopes, and trying to stay on the good side of the folks at the local post office. (Hi! It's me again! How many ways can we send this? Which is cheapest? Oh...you have to scale them to find out, hunh? Well...would you? Yes, I know that there's a line forming, but I'm paying in pocket change so either way, they have to wait)

Kara D: disgruntling employees everywhere.

oooh, nice

As of late, Adrian has taken to pouring water on himself at bathtime and declaring "ooooh. niiice" The 'nice' is all stretched out and breathy-sounding, and is fairly rediculous.

Not as rediculous as the other instances when he has decided to trot out his new catch phrase:

while rubbing his face on the cat

upon discovery of a long-forgotten stuffed animal

while eating watermelon

To this I would also like to add that I never thought my catch phrase would become:

we only put fingers in our nose.

Parenthood: it's a whole other reality.

Mama's got a new number!

Hello ducks, dolls, and darlings!

I promise to update you sometime soon on the crazy hectic existence that we have been living.
But the big important news is that I have a new cell number and the 571-xxx-xxxx no longer works.

I've emailed a few of you, called a few of you, but for those I have inadvertantly neglected, please email me (karacrafts(at)gmail(dot)com and I will get it to you post-haste.

You can also leave a comment here with your email address, but DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER. This is an open forum, which means anybody and everybody can see your comments!

Kiss kiss!