Saturday Sweethearts

Friday Funnies

Sadly, we can identify with this particular "Baby Blues" cartoon. (Click to enlarge it.)

Enjoy! And have a fabulously funny Friday!

Another Reader Is Born?

My kids are rabid readers. I just can't keep them in books. A trip to the library could happen every other day, and they still wouldn't have enough reading material to satisfy their voracious appetites.

I say this not as a "mommy bragging" moment -- though I am very proud of them -- but more as a "mommy excitement" moment. It utterly facinates me how quickly they devour the books we check out.

(For awhile I tried to limit their weekly library book reserve to 5 books each to keep it tidy and to remember how many we borrowed. But how could I possibly say no to "Could I please take out 7, Mommy? There are these two other books that I was hoping to read.")

And that's not even beginning to count the speed at which bookstore giftcards are used to extend their personal libraries. Sometimes the newly-purchased books are read before we even get home.

Hmm...

I was reading this blog post about readers being "born or made," and I have to agree with the author that most readers are born.

I've seen many kids who live in households filled to the brim with books, who have little to no interest in cracking open a page or two of one. That said, however, I think exposure and parental interest plays a key part in the process, too, as well as (gulp!) turning off (gasp!) the ultimate zapper of book enthusiasm: the television.

Perhaps it helps, too, that my hubby and I both are book lovers?

But years ago when naptimes ended, I began a reading tradition in our house. I decided to continue that "quiet time/mommy break" by enforcing a one-hour reading time right after lunch each day -- with Saturdays "off." It gave all of us a break and forced the kids to look into another "world" for a little while. Even now, if time and our schedules allow, that reading time extends voluntarily.

Okay. So enter our new little guy, 5-month-old Ethan. Will he be a "born reader," too? Well, if he continues his current interest in "eating" the letters and words he sees on t-shirts and studying the packed bookshelves that he's been staring at since birth, I'd have to say yes.

Only time -- and a pile or two of his own books -- will tell.

Wordless Wednesday

It's Time

Hmmmm.... One of the myriads many trials joys of parenting is the honesty that is proclaimed through your children.

Recently, I was talking sadly about how I missed going to my favorite maternity clothing store to try on the fun and bouncy clothes offered these days.

My son -- the sweet, adorable now-8-year-old one -- took it upon himself to say, "But, Mommy, you can still shop there. You still look pregnant."

Chagrinned, I smiled and reminded myself that he meant no harm. Really.

Sigh.

Get thee to the treadmill? Do some sit-ups or crunches? Employ the belly-buster??

Or, at the very least, hide the chocolates?

Sigh.

I guess it's time.

Sigh.

Mainly Musing on Monday

Happy Monday to you! The final Monday in February. We managed to sail quite quickly through this month, huh?

We've had several weeks of craziness in our household, between school, doctor's appointments, and birthdays... I'm still spinning. So bear with me as I catch my breath.

Speaking of doctor's appointments... Our bigger boy Edward is growing weed-like, following in the footsteps of his sister and older cousin. He had his 8-year-old "wellness" visit last week, and he measured 54 1/4 inches and weighed 63 pounds. He's always been in the 80th percentile for height, but he just shot into the 95th percentile. Can we say another tall one is on the way?

We're looking forward to another great episode of 24 tonight. Jack gets smacked by another character Renee. I'm really looking forward to seeing how all the emotions play out. It looked like a good scene on the preview. I splurged and got us a bag of chicken wings a couple of weeks ago. Stuart has become the "wing master" and definitely has the knack for cooking excellent wings. We need something to munch on during the tense moments of our favorite-most show...and there are many.

Speaking of 24, I tried my hand at playing the PS2 game again. [Insert wild fits of laughter.] A-hem. Sadly, I'm not any better. I ended up blowing up the car more than once and running down a few people along the way. Still, it's a fun game...I think. *wink-grin*

Our "tiny" guy is learning to sit up. He can mostly do it by himself now, though he still gets a bit "weeble-like" at times. He loves the dog and cat, who are very patient with him as he pets them. Both the older kids said "cat" as their first word, and now they're coaching Ethan to say the same, only Edward began teaching him "felis domesticus" as well. My money is on "book" being his first word. He is constantly staring at them.

Speaking of Ethan, he has a new favorite game. He absolutely loves playing "horsey," bouncing on your knees through the lady, gentleman, and farmer. He even anticipates the word "farmer" and begins to laugh before you say it. Then he grabs your hands and grunts to do it again. I took a video and if I can get it to upload, I'll post it here sometime. It's truly hilarious to watch. What a funny guy!

Well, I think I've mused myself out of topics for the moment. Enjoy your Monday!

Saturday Sweetheart

Friday Funnies

On Hospitals, LEGO, and B'day Adventures

This time last week we were on our way to Wilmington, Delaware -- about an hour from our house -- to see a pediatric scoliosis specialist at the Nemours Children's Hospital. Emily did a 3-inch growth spurt and suddenly her curve went from 10 percent to 20 percent...in a mere three month's time.

The hospital was fantastic, created with only kids in mind. It was colorful and inviting and even had wagons everywhere to be used as "patient transport."

Of course, poor Emily was too big to ride in one, but Ethan and his carseat got a ride and that made his big sister very pleased.

Dr. Shah was extremely friendly and kind and explained everything that he was doing and seeing. He concurred with our local spine doctor that Emily's curve had indeed increased and told us that the hospital is a beta testing site for a new genetic study of pediatric scoliosis patients that gives the doctors an idea of how much more growing their patients have to do before puberty. This gives the doctors an idea of how much worse the curves will get so that they can be proactive rather than reactive in treating it. Make sense? Well, we were impressed. Emily had to spit in a little vial and that was the end of it. Doesn't sound hard, does it? But it's actually harder to spit on command than you think.

After a yummy snack in the hospital's mini coffee shop, Stuart took the kids out to the huge playground for a bit of an energy/emotion release. It was a very windy day so Ethan and I headed to the car for his bottle and to watch without being blown away. (Emily's excited to return later in the summer so that Ethan, who will be 11 months old by then, can join them on the playground.)

Being that we were so "close" to Edward's chosen birthday adventure spot -- King of Prussia Mall -- we decided to surprise him by going there afterwards. We figured we'd hit it on a Thursday rather than a Saturday (and Valentine's Day) when it would be much more crowded.

Edward was THRILLED!

We started at the LEGO store where he built a race car and challenged Emily and Stuart to a race. Then he chose an Indiana Jones set to buy with birthday money.

After lunch, we headed to the Build-A-Bear store, and Edward stuffed a cat which he named "Chaucer." Emily chose a bunny which she named "Sweetie." Even Ethan and I joined in the fun. He got a furry blue bear we named "Fuzzy," and I got another frog which I named "Freida."

It was a long but very fun day!

Wordless (mostly) Wednesday

One of my favorite birthday photos of Edward:
The 5-year-old Valentine boy

A Video of the V-day B-day

A video montage I made of Edward's 8th birthday...including some memories from past years. Enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Monday Musings Done A-musingly

Happy Monday to you! Happy Presidents' Day to you!

We're past the midway point in the month and cruising crazily towards March already. Amazing, huh?

We enjoyed a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend, complete with a birthday celebration and lots of hearts and chocolates.

Edward truly enjoyed turning 8, I think. I find it hard to believe he's that age. Sigh. Only two more years and he'll be a decade old. In the double digits.

We went to Old Country Buffet for his birthday dinner. Not the sort of place you'd think would be crowded on a holiday focused on love and romance...right? Wrong. We got there close to 4 p.m., and it was already packing out. Hmm.... On our way home afterwards, we got caught in the throngs of traffic. It reminded me of Christmastime, the crowds were so thick.

Ethan seemed to enjoy his first Valentine's Day. He was indeed a heartbreaker in his "irresistible" t-shirt. He'll probably enjoy it more when he can partake of the chocolate treats for which this holiday is infamous. He turned 5 months old on Valentine's Day. Another fact that's hard to imagine. He'll celebrate his first "half-birthday" next month. Still no interest in trying to roll over again. He did it once, and I guess he's satisfied. But he's desperate to sit up. He does "crunches" all the time. Stuart said it won't be long before he has abs of steel.

Well, I'm off to enjoy a school holiday. You have to love our prezzies for creating a nice break in routine in the middle of the winter.

Ciao for now!

Sweet Sunday

Our new 5-month-old on his first Valentine's Day!

On Love and Valentines

It's hard to believe our Edward is "8" today. I was thinking about it last night when we were decorating the house for his birthday. The time buzzes by so quickly.

What is special about this little Valentine of ours?

He's especially tall and wispy for his age, but he looks very small next to his big sister and cousin.

He wants his hair to be "dark ash blonde" when he grows up.

He's got a great sense of humor and loves reading joke books.

He loves to reach out and hold my hand at the table.

He is awesome in mathematics, but just recently he told me in excitement that he was "full of literature" and couldn't stop writing sentences -- complete ones even, he said.

He still wants to go out on "dates" with me.

He loves wearing matching shirts with his baby brother Ethan.

He has the cutest wink.

He loves that he was born on Valentine's Day.

Happy Happy Happy 8th Birthday, Edward!
You will always be our favorite Valentine!!!

Friday Funnies

Perfect timing for this little funny e-mail ditty? Enjoy! And have a funny Friday!

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING

65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Pennsylvania plant gardens.

60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Pennsylvania sunbathe.

50 above zero:
Italian and French cars won't start.
People in Pennsylvania drive with the windows down.

40 above zero:
South Carolian folks don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, woolhats.
People in Pennsylvania throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Philadelphia have the last cookout before it gets cold.

20 above zero:
People in Miami all die.
Philadelphians close the windows.

Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Pennsylvania get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Chicago are selling cookies door to door.

20 below zero:
Washington D.C. runs out of hot air.
People in Pennsylvania let the dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Pittsburghers get upset because they can't start the snowmobile.

40 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Maine start saying..."Cold enough for yah?"

50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Buffalo public schools will open 2 hours late.

Boys Will Be Boys

You have to love the way nearly-8-year-old boys think.

Recently, when I sprayed myself with a certain rose perfume, it lingered in the area, prompting my hubby to teasingly warn everyone to be careful...there was a "cloud of girliness" in that spot.

So when Edward did a little "toot" a few days ago, he warned his dad with a wink and a smile to be careful because he'd just made a "cloud of boyliness."

Wordless Wednesday

Merriest Musing on Monday

Happy Monday to you! Happy new week to you!

And happy 3rd birthday to our bunny boys, Earl Grey and Clementine! (A pic from their birthday party last year...and, no, their eyes don't always glow like that...just when they get their photo taken, and red-eye reduction doesn't help somehow.) Can anyone say, "Pahr-tee?" Well, party bunstyle, anyways.

Only a few more days until our human boy's 8th birthday! Our little Valentine is growing up! Ugh! Why? Why can't they just stay little? Perhaps that's where the concept of the "lost boys" came from in Peter Pan? Maybe the author didn't want his kids growing up so fast? Still, he is very excited about his big day and has made a list a mile long of all the goodies he's "hoping for." It's quite challenging because he has yet to write it all down, and his favorite-mosts -- the ones he would have marked with an asterisk or two -- change daily. Here's hoping we manage to get the all-time favorites. *wink*

Another episode of 24 tonight!!! Woooo-hoooo! It's so hard to wait week-to-week after we've gotten used to watching whole seasons on DVD or going online to watch "video on demand." What is the world coming to? It's hard to imagine how we ever made it years ago when we HAD to wait...and if you missed it, well, that was that. You might get lucky and catch it on a repeat later in the season or even during the hiatus when reruns might be shown.

We are heading out on a "roadtrip" this Thursday. I say "roadtrip" since it's really a trip to a specialist in Delaware. But since it's kinda faraway and in another state and all, we're calling it a roadtrip to make it fun and help take away any nervousness. We're hoping to get going really early (insert fits of laughter here) so that we can stop for breakfast on the way. A bit of background on the reason for our trip: We found out that Emily has grown a whopping 3 inches since last October which is hugely impressive to us but not a great idea for the curve in her spine. The spine doctor told us to expect that though, so we weren't too surprised or worried when her curve went from 10 degrees to 20 degrees in three months. No. Why would we be? ....??!! So we head down to duPont Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, to figure out what the best course of action would be. It should be interesting if nothing else, right?

We think our little "Mr. Noise" enjoys the nightlife a bit too much...though he never seems to be enjoying it at the time. Ethan has developed quite a pair of lungs, and there's no doubt that he could probably be heard in the tri-state area over the weekend. He's an absolute "peach" in the daytime (eats, plays, and sleeps well)...but we're aren't sure what goes through his sweet little head at night. Still, this too will pass, and one day we'll look back on it and....laugh (bwa-hahahaha!)....yeah, right! Years later when we finally wave goodbye to him as he drives off to college, we'll sink into our bed to sleep for the next year and a half. Who am I kidding? We won't sleep even then. We'll be too worried about what the kids are doing...and where they are, etc.

There's no hope then, huh? *wink*

On that note, I'll sign off for another Monday. Enjoy!

Friday Funnies

Ducking Out

It's never fun to think of animals dying...especially not after having a pet die.

We saw two ducks frozen in a pond yesterday. Literally frozen in it. It was a pond outside a doctor's office. You'd have thought someone would have seen them.

Anyways...

We called the PA Game Commission when we returned home, hoping someone would help them...if it wasn't too late.

Me: Hello. We'd like to report two ducks we saw frozen in a pond.
Gaming Commission Man (GCM) (sounding very laidback): Frozen?
Me: Yes. They were in the frozen part of the pond.
GCM: They were swimming around?
Me: No. There was a part of the pond that wasn't frozen because there were swans swimming in that part. But they weren't in that part.
GCM: They weren't just sitting on the ice?
Me: I don't think so.
GCM: 'Cuz they'll sit on the ice for the whole day and then fly away at the end.
Me: We could only see their neck and head sticking out the ice.
GCM: Only their neck and head?
Me: Yes.
GCM: Oh.
Me: Yes.
GCM: Okay. We'll send an officer over to check.

We really really really hope they did send someone....and that he/she wasn't too late...

...and that we didn't send them on a wild goose chase...no pun intended.

Bowled Over with Superness

Take two parents completely NOT interested in football...add in their two kids totally turned on to watching the Super Bowl and a singing 4-month-old baby.

What do you get?

Super Bowl Sunday at the Foote house.

Okay. Okay. To say that Stuart and I were wholly uninterested in the Super Bowl is a bit of a stretch. We do enjoy the ads...usually.

Well, that was last year.

What a game! At some points you weren't sure which team to cheer for. Both teams played extremely well.

I grew up in a Steelers household. My parents -- for reasons unknown to me -- were HUGE Steelers fans. You knew when the Steelers played on TV because the volume of cheering (and other vocalizations) went up dramatically.

I didn't pay much heed to the game though. It was too slow for me. The guys huddled too much. The play stopped so often that you could get snacks and use the bathroom and still get back in time to see the end of another beer commercial. Like a soap opera, you could miss some of the action and still keep up with it all. (I'm more of a real football fan. You get lots of action in soccer. And they never huddle or stop to measure stuff.)

But not yesterday.

The game started out normal enough. 1st down, 10 yards. 2nd down, 6 yards....and so on.

The Steelers scored. The Cardinals scored. The teams seemed very evenly matched.

The Cardinals were poised on the edge of their endzone, ready to score another big one...and a player from the Steelers intercepted the ball and ran 100 yards to score for his team.

I stopped breathing during the play. It seemed incredible. It seemed impossible. And, yet, it was happening. Right in front of our eyes.

Our kids were ecstatic. Their first real experience watching the Super Bowl was certainly turning out to be a treat for them.

The ads were so-so...but the football action was fantastic. It was anyone's game. And, even better, the kids were rooting for the Steelers and they won...in the last minute of the game.

Does it get any better than that?

Meager Musings on Monday

Happy Monday! Happy first Monday in February! And Happy Groundhog Day! <-- Click to see and hear the official prediction from Punxsutawney Phil, the original groundhog meteorologist. Apparently, the silly rodent saw his shadow again... Ugh.

Speaking of Groundhog Day, it's amazing how much there is to do in downtown Punxsutawney today...and the last three days. It seems they really know how to celebrate up there in central Pennsylvania!

Still, it's Monday...and that means...a NEW episode of 24!! Yay!! Stuart and I enjoyed the last of our wings last week. They're not really in the budget at the moment so we'll have to save to have them at the end of the season. Darned economy! *wink-grin*

Our Edward is gearing up for his 8th birthday. He declared on Sunday that it was the start of his "birthday month." Yikes! I hope he's not expecting gifts everyday. It's hard to imagine he's going to be 8. He's very excited though now he's not sure he wants a rabbit...the promised gift at 8 if he proves responsible enough. I think LEGO might be the culprit..and a LEGO store in the nearby King of Prussia Mall. We'll see. Eight-year-old boys are very fickle so that's likely to change a few more times before the actual special day.

I found a Captain & Tennille album in the dollar store yesterday. One that had "Muskrat Love" and "Butterscotch Castle" on it. Wow! Did that take me right back or what. I closed my eyes and felt like I was back in the 70s, rollerskating in our garage. Even the photos on the CD cover brought back memories. Toni Tennille's hairstyle was the same one I wore for a number of years as a kid. We could have been "twins."

Here's a video in honor of Groundhog Day -- though muskrats and groundhogs are only distant cousins, I think. Enjoy, and have a happy rest of your Monday!

Sunday Sadness

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She loved animals of all kinds and was very eager to have one of her very own.

In the summer before she turned 12, her parents allowed her to buy a bunny. It made her tremble with excitement since she'd wanted a pet all of her own her whole life. And so began her "love affair" with rabbits.

That little girl was me. And I loved my bunnies with my entire being.

My first rabbit, a Himalayan dwarf I named Mittens (or "Mitsy-Bitsy"), was my best friend. She heard my secrets, felt my tears on her fur, kissed (literally) my sadness away, and ate cookies with me (okay, not that rabbits should ever eat cookies)..."grasshopper" cookies were her especial favorite. When she died, my whole world crashed. I didn't know what to do with myself. I missed her terribly. I still had another bunny I loved named Willowby, but she was a big girl of a different breed and not quite the same as my little dwarf girl.

Soon after, I got another "himi" bunny and named her "Bitsy" since she was a bit of "Mitsy." She'd been a breeding doe at a rabbitry and was older when I got her, but with lots of love I soon had as sweet as her predecessor. I had her for about four years. She died in my arms, a few months before we moved to England.

I had contacted a few rabbit breeders in England before we moved there since I was hoping to find another "himi" friend. I found "Pipsqueak," and she was beautiful. Perfect markings, sweet disposition. But, sadly, I only had her two months, and she died from complications of a huge furball and worms. I was devastated.

Then it became my quest to find another one like her. It took another four months and tons of phonecalls around England. I spotted her in the window of a local petstore...sitting with a sibling in the woodchips, peering out at me. I immediately bought her and named her "Peepers." She was my "soul mate" of bunnies; we bonded immediately. She went everywhere with me (watch out for a book about the bunny who saw England from the top of a woven straw bag). When I returned to the States to attend university, Peepers came with me. She lived with me another four years and then went to "bunny heaven" to hop with the others.

I felt so empty. I'd always had bunnies. I was lost without her.

After I returned to college, I started calling around the petstores to see if they had any of the breed I loved. Nope. Nada. Not one to be found. Then one day... He (I'd always had "she"s) had been owned by another girl for about 18 months, but she'd gotten tired of him and needed a good home for him. She worked for the petstore and figured someone might buy him from there. My roommate and I drove 75 m.p.h. to get to the store. And it was love at first sight (as always). He became Wellington...because he thought he was a duke and acted like a general...and because Himalayan dwarfs always have grey or brown feet. And he was perfect. A natural fit to my line of sweet pet bunnies. He had tons of personality and loved the freedom to romp around our dorm room and chew things and play games with us.

He journeyed to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, with me when I went to work at Highlights. Then he came back to Reading when I took a job at the newspaper. He had a special relationship with Stuart, and he became an official "Foote" after Stuart received his green card, and we had a pretend "adoption" party to celebrate Stuart.

Then a week after Emily arrived, Wellie hopped off to "bunny heaven." Stuart and I were so sad. We'd wanted Emily to know bunnies, to love them like we did.

I remained "bunny-less" for another six months. I wasn't ready to take on another one when I had a little baby "human" to love and care for.

Then Stuart found "Lulu," a giant version of Wellington. She was so cute and funny and grew to be huge, nothing like my dwarf rabbits. I tried to love her the same as the others, but I began to miss the dwarf rabbits I'd always had.

We went to the Reading Fair, our county's "country fair." I'd been so good for so long (almost six years)....but I remembered that the rabbit breeders who showed their bunnies often sold some afterwards....I knew I'd find another Himalayan dwarf.

I didn't know that I'd find two. Oops.

Since I didn't tell Stuart before we went to the fair (though somehow he knew already), I felt "guilty" and named the pair "Bonny" and "Clyde," in honor of the pair of notorious crooks. (Though I changed the spelling of Bonny's name to the version that meant for "pretty.")

Bonny and Clyde went on to sire "Bubble" and "Squeak" and later "Clementine" and Emily's "Earl Grey." Bonny was one of the best "mommies" I'd ever owned. She took excellent care of her kits, even laying with her boys during the first few bitterly cold days of their life. (Rabbits don't sit with their babies. They feed them twice a day and then let the babies keep each other warm under the "blanket" of fluffy fur from their mother's chest. Somehow Bonny knew they needed more warmth.)

Now, we had six Himalayan dwarfs, and I was in heaven for nearly five years.

Sadly, Bonny left us yesterday. Stuart found her in her cage. It was a dark day in our house.

You see, while we have (now had) nine rabbits (three others are Holland Lops), each is special to us. It's like losing one of your nine kids. The pain is very real and very deep. And while everyone knows that death is inevitable, no one is ever really prepared for it.

But people who have never had bunnies don't always understand this.

Over the years that I've had rabbits people have chuckled at me, thinking that they are "pocket pets" that are easily replaced....like fish or hamsters or mice. (Though I don't agree that any pet is easily replaced.)

Those people have never owned a rabbit -- never had one hop its way into their heart. There's nothing quite like it.

Bonny will be missed...every bit as much as her predecessors. And there will always be a Bonny-shaped hole in our hearts. That's inevitable, too.