knee deep in "it"

for the past few weeks we have been trying to teach the 3 year year old the concept of sharing - something that be believes is third in line of bull-shit-things-he-has-to-do. third only to going to bed, and leaving the park. we started slowly; chunk should be able to have one of his toys when she plays in his room, but has to give it back before she leaves. this week we have moved more into making him share one of his toys at any given time in any given room. he is fine with sharing, as long as it isn't with his baby sister. but a breakthrough came today by way of goldfish crackers, and ended in her being able to play with one of mickey mouse's friends (pluto, to be exact, but they are his current prized possessions.) thank goodness the chunk already has an affinity for salty cracker goodness, or the clubhouse friends would have been out tonight as well.

the husband is away watching the phillies lose to the mets right now and i have the pleasure of spending all day in the madness that is two children. when my sister called tonight i relished every second of speaking to someone that doesn't spit, say ba-ba, or speak in tongues every five seconds. it isn't that i want to complain, because i love being a stay at home mom, but woah - that's a lot of kid time, batman.

but i am here with my friends, wine and silence. i am watching the phillies game, listening to the effing wind blow in more cold to the region, and typing happily away on my laptop; it could be worse. to be absolutely fair to the kids; i love the husband, but it is kind of nice to have some kerry time tonight, too. i very much enjoy my moments of silence, and when the become scarce (like lately), i seem to drink them in as if it has been years since i have had the quench of nothing.

i have been thinking about my birthdays leading up until the big three-oh, and the one that always comes to my mind is my 21st. my sister and i at wasatch pub in park city; i ordered a beer and the waiter didn't even check my i.d., we wound up at port o' call drinking i.r.a. car bombs that same night. we ended the festivities with family in las vegas listening to a crazy limo driver tell us inappropriate jokes, watching the amazing johnathan at the golden nugget, and me getting so drunk at the night club that i could only remember to take out my contacts after a cab ride i don't remember. oh to be young, dumb, and partying with the coolest woman i know. i am looking forward to this birthday. dinner with my amazing husband in one of my favorite towns, and then spending time with that same coolest woman and her equally awesome husband. i love that i have gotten to that moment in life where it isn't how drunk i get, but the quality of people that i get to celebrate life with.

in keeping with randomly mentioning the theme of april's nablopomo, i have to mention that family has been my greatest source of sprouting, and most likely until the end of time. family has been a center in my life, and those who know me best know that without a doubt (okay, but maybe with a bit of a laugh) and i hope to share that with my children. i hope that my children always grow up knowing how much family means and that no matter what, they are always there. we all sprout as family, and though we may always be at different places in the growing process, all we can hope is that the youngest ones catch up in the end. i know i am glad i have.

with or without lube

williams-sonoma always feel a bit like rape when i am checking out from my most recent purchase. when i purchased chunk's beaba babycook it felt a lot like rape - and that was only with two additional accessories. today i bought four jars for the food that were 30 dollars. and i hurt. and the guy who admired ge's mohawk as we checked out laughed when i told him i needed to take out a loan to afford all the goodness that his store has to offer.

my husband was hesitant when i told him that i wanted to purchase a 150 $ blender / steamer to cook the chunk's food. he saw the bargain that gerber had to offer in a jar, and i saw processed foods and chemicals in evil glass containers. he agreed to give in on the condition that i stop whining, and also promised that he would give my "hippie kid food needs" a chance.

so yesterday i plugged the babycook in and gave it a whirl. in 15 minutes the device has steamed a sweet potato to perfection. i dumped the orange potatoes from the steamer basket into the bowl, and the cooking water and blades whirled together with the starchy goodness and created a creamy, preservative free baby food that tasted - well, wonderful. and i don't even like sweet potatoes! i couldn't even stand the smell of ge's gerber baby food crap and i could have eaten a bowl of chunk's delicious first meal. now all we had to do is try in on the baby that loves boobs more than most men.

chunk wasn't too keen on it at first. part of that may have been because i allowed her 3 yr old brother to feed her her first few bites and he thought that he needed to jam the spoon down her throat. part of that was probably that she was confused why we would try and feed her anything else than teh milks because they are delicious. she started to figure out how to eat after about 10 minutes of trying, and she stated making less disgusted faces as the 1st feeding session went on.

no upset tummy today and we gave the leftovers another try - success! she enjoyed the orange goodness today and was starting to really understand the concept of a spoon. today she probably made it through about 3 tablespoons. we will have sweet potatoes again tomorrow before moving on to a green veggie on wednesday. tomorrow is doctor day, so i don't feel like we should try something new right after we have nurses stab her in the leg.

so my thoughts on the beaba baby? worth every freaking penny. you can cook veggies, fruits, pastas, rice, meats, and anything else blend-able in there. the clean up is easy and i am hoping that it will lend itself to expanding her palette at a young age. the cook book i got to go with it suggests starting in fresh herbs (like mint with peas) once she gets situated on solids. there are curries, rosemary salmon dishes, and the occasional delicious fruit combination. ge hates food with a passion and i am hoping that by starting the chunk of right we can avoid her craving potato chips rather than, oh, anything else.

ge is absolutely obsessed with mickey mouse club-house. i purchased him the little mickey and pluto stuffed animals last week. and today, as a treat, we went to the "mousey story" so he could pick out 3 more animals and 1 for chunk. he picked out minnie, daisy, and goofy for him and an adorable cat for chunk. my little boy, who is so all boy, will pick the girliest of stuffed animals and the pinkest of toys when you let him. i love the innocence of children, and hope that i can preserve his preferences without him finding out that society can be stupid and judgy for as long as possible.