Finally a Haircut and the Rocks get Painted

Moby has needed a haircut for a month but I've been putting it off so that her cut is fresh for our trip to Chicago. I finally couldn't wait any longer, since she was having so much trouble listening, I mean seeing. The listening problem has nothing to do with the hair. So, we went to our usual place in the mall where Matt-Matt works for a trim. I didn't have time to wash her hair this morning so when the stylist asked, I said "Yes! I would love it if you would wash my child's hair so I don't have to do it and put up with her whining and screaming over it!!!" Moby was nervous, since if you couldn't tell, she HATES having her hair washed, but she was brave. She had her hands clutched in fists the whole time, but they have a nice table for the kids to lie down on with their heads over the sink and once she realized her face was not going to get wet she was more into it. The cut went fine otherwise and she even got the sparkly hair spray she loves. We stopped by Matt's store to say hi since it was our last chance. Next week he'll be moving to the downtown store, so sad. We will visit him there on occasion, but the free parking and play area in the mall are pretty hard to top.

After naps and quiet time we spent the rest of the day outside, since it was 70 and sunny. Moby has always been into rocks. I mean REALLY into rocks. She has built up quite a collection of "outside" rocks that she will play with, mainly washing and sorting. Today she said she was "painting" them with water so I got the idea to bring out the finger paints and let her go to town on the rocks. She loved it! They actually turned out very cool once they dried.

The Governor

It was a Jade day, so I don't have any stories about the girls to tell. But, I have three new favorite pictures of Devin that I thought I would share, enjoy!

Ant Day

This morning we woke up to about 2000 ants on a long path between a small crack under the front door through the entry, past the stairs, into the kitchen, around my desk and to a spot just under the fridge. Apparently there was something tasty under there, although all I can see is dust bunnies. We took this opportunity to celebrate today as "ant day". We read our ant book, we did experiments with the ants like putting things in their path to see if they would go over or around them, and we called the two aunties, aunt tess and aunt greer, to say "happy ant day!!" We talked a lot about insects and ants in particular. It was a good opportunity for Moby to feel more comfortable with bugs, she's been a little afraid of them lately. We will finish off our day with some ants-on-a-log while we watch the movie "A Bugs Life", which for those unfamiliar, is all about the lives of a group of ants.

Tonight after the girls are in bed I will be getting out the dust buster, filling the hole in the door, scrubbing whatever tastiness is under the fridge and putting out a jar with a boric acid solution to be sure that the rest of our ant experiments happen outdoors this summer.

Another "Make" and a new toy for a steal

Today the "make" was caramels. Morrison was pretty into it, since daddy finally let her stir something on the stove. It is well known that I HATE caramel. Except when Lenny makes it. I actually like the stuff! Wednesday we'll take the booty in to Jades to share.

I spent a few hours at goodwill today, mostly looking for summer clothes for the girls, but I found this toy which retails at $60 and only paid two, yes TWO dollars!! I will MAKE money on it when I sells it on craigslist after Devin is done with it. Found some really cute clothes too....

Pretzels and Pancakes

Today I was working, but daddy was kind enough to photo-journalize their day of pretzel-making. When Matt-Matt and I were kids, we made pretzels on a semi-regular basis with both our mom and our favorite baby-sitter, Marit. So, I suggested it on Friday and daddy thought it would be fun. Morrison is always asking to "make" so he thought it would be the perfect project. They had a ton of fun and made really awesome pretzels. For dinner daddy thought it would be funny to have "breakfast for dinner" so he made omelets, pancakes, bacon and sausage. Morrison got a kick out of it. I call it "recession dinner".

Devin has something to say

Today was a Jade day, so I didn't see the girls much. But, I fed Devin a small bottle and put her down, and she wouldn't settle. She was crying and complaining and I thought she might still be hungry since she doesn't always drink her full 2 bottles at Jades. I made another small one and took it up. When I opened the door she was on her knees looking so desperate and sad. I said "Niesta....." in a reassuring way, and she said, very clearly, "maaaamaaa....."

Devin's first word. This means a lot to me, since Morrison said Dada for MONTHS before she ever said mama, and "mattmatt" shortly followed for her.

Things that make a mama smile.....

Homemade Udon and a Carousel

Yesterday Moby and Daddy spent a better part of the day making Udon noodles from scratch. Moby had her own little batch of flour, kneaded it and put it covered in her own little bowl to sit. Later, she rolled out her little dough ball with her very own tiny rolling pin. Daddy had to cut them, we haven't gotten her the "learning" knife yet, soon soon. Next they hung them from their rolling pins to dry and she helped cook her own noodles separate from the rest. In the end she ate her own noodles while Daddy and Mama shared his. I kept thinking the whole while how lucky she is to have the chance to do this kind of thing with her dad. What a great memory, maybe it will be her first?

Today we headed out for a day at the zoo (along with about 1/2 the city!). We had fun, it was Devin's first trip there. The highlight today was the bald eagle. They have rehabilitated about 60 bald eagles at our zoo, and there is one there now who is flying again. He is getting lots of practice "swooping" in front of us - no glass between us. Moby almost jumped out of her skin when he swooped down in front of her. And for good reason! The bird is about her size!!! At the end of the day we had a little ride on the carousel that the zoo had refurbished and was originally from 1918!!

We will finish off today with a viewing of Moby's (and mommy's) new favorite flick - My Neighbor Totoro, the Japanese animation that was recently dubbed, very well I might add, into English. Check out the trailer on youtube, it's a lovely story and beautifully animated.