adazzle,dim

I did it - gave blood at a blood drive on my campus today. It’s ok if you think this isn’t a big deal or that I’m silly for being proud of myself. It’s a big deal to me! I was so nervous I felt faint *before* they took the blood. And after? I felt great! :P

Scene: Early Sunday morning. Joey and I are lazing about in the bedroom, and Annabelle is playing in the front of the house.

Joey: She’s awfully quiet in there. Maybe we should check on her.

Kathy (calling out while walking toward the living room): Hey, AB, Whatcha doing in there?

AB (liltingly calling back): Making a mess!

LOL!

***

Also, I was thinking this morning of the power of parenthood to change you in seemingly small but no less powerful ways. For example, I have always adamantly insisted that toilet paper should roll over the top and hang in front of the roll. However,  I had repeatedly seen AB roll square after expensive square off onto the floor just to watch it with delight as it cascaded down… so this morning I thought, you know, if I turn that roll around it will be harder for her to do that. So I did. After years of insistence that the roll should be one way, I turned it the other way.

AB promptly entered the bathroom, placed her hand on the bottom of the roll and pulled it upward, producing the much-loved cascade of white. How did she know?

Oy. Well, at least she’s quick. It may challenge me, but how wonderful will it be to watch her call on this intuition and ingenuity as she grows?

***

Ok, the little Dooger has waited patiently. I’m going to play blocks.

Both our cars were totalled. We won’t have amounts til Monday, so I’m not sure what we’re going to be able to do. Whatever we do, we’ll have to do it fast as I’m leaving for Seattle early next Saturday and will be gone almost a week, and we’re paying a fortune for a rental car until we get something new.

We’re having friends over for dinner tonight, so no more time to think or write - gotta go clean the bathroom and put together a lasagne.

More soon.

Tonight was Picture Night at gymnastics class. I took about 300 and posted about 30 on Flickr here.

This website is so wrong… but I can’t look away…

Water has gone down. Just opened my car door and was greeted by a rush of flood water. It was up over the seats, at least, because they were wet. I have no doubt that my car will be totalled. I am so *cursing* sad. I’m going to bed.

I just helped someone push their car out of at least three feet of water in our street.

Our cars are trapped in the driveway thusly:

We live in Highland. High. Land. !!!!!

(*weep* for my precious Marienkafer, my sweet buggy bug, who will never be the same)

Oh, and it’s still pouring rain.

 They’d have played this game all day if Daddy had been willing… :P

I just posted two new batches of pictures, one of AB at Chuck E. Cheese’s yesterday with friends and one of AB and AE’s sleepover last night.

Featured: What may be Annabelle’s first date, sand, bath crayons, whack-a-mole, an exciting new game involving tossed bowls, and lots, lots, lots of *cute*.

Also, these pictures were taken with my new baby, my Mother’s Day gift - a Nikon D40X I’ve named Emiko. (Yes, I’m an inanimate-object-namer. But only my favorite ones.) You’ll be seeing a lot more pictures from me now. :D

A few of the bajillion reasons I love my Mommy:

• You stayed home with me and Adam even when money was tight, and then you worked part-time when we were in school (sometimes in jobs you hated) so you could be there when we got home.
• You were my girl scout leader and sunday school teacher and volunteer school librarian and whatever else needed doing. You always found ways to be present and active in our lives.
• You sewed me clothes from infancy right up through high school. These, not the fancy store-bought labels, are the clothes I remember with great affection.
• You made popcorn balls with us for Christmas, and knew just how to wrap them and hang them on the tree.
• You let me be myself and love me for who I am, even when the rest of the world seems to find that difficult.
• You know how to be silly and dorky and laugh and play like nobody’s looking, even when they are.
• You’ll drop everything you’re doing to contemplate a spider web or a cool-looking bug or a beautiful cloud. You haven’t forgotten how to wonder, even now.
• You know five million songs, and sing them as much now as you did through our growing-up years.
• You taught me to love books and reading.
• You pursued your dream of finishing college and becoming a teacher as a 38 year-old woman who’d been out of school for almost 20 years (which I am just now beginning to truly appreciate), and you did it with straight A’s and honors.
• You thought it was fun, when you were in College Spanish and I was in High School Spanish, to practice together and not speak English no matter what.
• You put silly little notes in my lunch box all the way through high school. (I still have a stack of them.)
• You were there not only for me but also for Shannon when we were facing pain and fear and loss we couldn’t begin to comprehend. You were as much a mother to him as to me in those hard days, and you helped fill his last days with love.
• You adamantly insist that you cannot work a DVD player or spreadsheet program or cell phone (though I know you could) and let us help you with our “expertise.”
• You’ve always known how to name a pet properly, from G.M. Yewditock back in the 80’s right up to Pergo in the new millenium. You ignore all cries of “What kind of name is that for a cat?”
• You made us oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies and spaghetti from scratch, not from packets and packages and cans.
• You sent us outside instead of turning on the television. (I still love that I never know what people are talking about when they talk about the TV shows and movies they watched growing up.)
• You were never afraid to get your hands in the mud or the (home-made) play-dough or finger paints.
• You never seem to run out of love, even (maybe especially) for those who don’t particularly deserve it.

I hope I can be half the mom to AB that you have been to me.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy. I love you.

(Note: Finals in school and end-of-term at work this week. Will post soon, I promise! In the meantime, my latest favorite AB-ism, spoken this morning: )

” I have a buggabite.”