Happy Birthday Mom!

One of the cool grandma things my mom has done is make up a song for each of her 11 grandchildren. When the bumble came along, I couldn't wait to learn what his song would be. The deal is though, that we have to wait until some personality starts to emerge before a kid's song would come to her.

After a while, it became apparant to anyone that came within squeezing distance that Colin really really loves to give out hugs. So the song that mom created for him is called Huggy Bear. For Mom's birthday (yesterday), we wanted her to see how good Colin is getting at singing her song. Plus, the kid wouldn't pony up a Happy Birthday tune, so we shall post what we got.



Happy Birthday Mom! Wish we could have been there.

Hi! We almost burnt down our house today! What’s new with you!?

(queue the Who) Whooooo are you. Who who. Who Who…

The scene: The team arrives on the scene and immediately note an odd, electrical scent perfuming the air. They let their noses do the walking and lo and behold, discover a crime scene in the master bathroom. Grissom notes wryly, “this was a hair-raising crime.” Cut to commercial.

In the courtroom… shit, that’s law and order. Oh well. Go with me here.

Sam Waterson reads off the evidence:

Exhibit A: Hair Dryer is in the Sink. Homeowner hangs her hair dryer (allegedly) on a hook on the wall.

Exhibit B: Hair Dryer is strangely black in some places. Said hair dryer can be most often sporting the color purple.

Exhibit C: Big ass burnt hole in hair dryer. Hair dryer most often does not contain big ass burnt holes.

Exhibit D: Black soot all over the bathroom and into the bedroom, black scorch mark on the wall. Homeowner does not typically sift black soot all over the bathroom and bedroom. Homeowner is actively discouraged by spouse not to create scorch marks on the walls.

Exhibit E: The hair dryer switch is stuck melted in the On position. Homeowner does not (allegedly) leave her hair dryer either E.1: On, nor E.2: In the sink.

Your honor, all pieces of evidence point to a certain short person who currently resides in said house and is known for stealthy missions of anarchy and mayhem. That's him, your honor (pointing to the culprit) Look how he is defiantly acting as if nothing happened!!

However, I do concede that the short person had an accomplice who left a key piece of evidence in reach. We conclude that the suspect, upon discovery of an opportunity to flip switches, flipped the switch, in all probability got scared at the resulting loud noise, and fled the scene without reversing the switch back to OFF. Exhibit Hair Dryer likely ran for hours in the sink until it said, “enough of this” and proceeded to explode, flame long enough to soot up the bathroom, melt the hairdryer, and fry the electrical socket.

By the grace of all that is good, it seems like no further damage was sustained by the home. Your honor, don’t let those big brown eyes and cheeky grin dissuade you from metting out the harshest punishment that fits the crime.

Considering the suspect probably has no clue what he did, we recommend the withholding of all graham crackers and dessert until further notice. As for the accomplice, get her some freakin Ginko Biloba or something to help her remember to put potentially dangerous items out of reach.

Cue credits. Go pour wine. Shake head at the sheer luck that the house is still standing.

How did my garden grow?

Loolee Laura, don’t be a bore-a.
Tell us how your garden grew.
Miniature bells, no pumpkin shells
And exactly two sad beets out of a row.

Carrots and peas galore but tomatoes were poor.
The onions were not bad. The corn? Very sad.

Not enough sun, me thinks is the trouble.

Better planning for next year, hope the yields double!

You lost your what?

Words to strike fear into the heart of a squemish mom:

"Mommy, whered my worm go?"

Cooking with Colin

I’ve heard that three is harder than two, but since my hardest year so far was one, I think I can handle three. Hah! I write that as if I have a choice. And we have a few months to go before that epoch begins.


But as the Bumble continues his lightening fast language comprehension, I find it’s a little easier to find things that Colin can actually help me with. He’s a great helper. Always willing to scoot the dust buster around the floor, put clothes into the washer or dryer, put his toys away, and lately, he’s enjoyed helping me cook. Give that boy a spoon and watch him stir away! I love the way he replies to my requests for assistance, “Shuuree! I hep you!”

We had a good Labor Day weekend. Less labor, more weekend. My kind of ratio. Rob’s folks were here for part of it. I'm learning not to be offended that Colin doesn't bother to deign me with attention when grandparents and/or dogs are around. He did show off a doozy of a tantrum in front of them, because normally he likes to make Rob and I look like liars when we talk about his shenanagins to our parents.

To help ease the drama of saying goodbye, I asked Colin to help me make some cookies. I measured out the ingredients and he did a great job of getting them mostly into the bowl. I know that my writing tends towards the vent, but I do actually enjoy my kid. Especially when he looks like this.



And this…


And this…



But not so much when he looks like this.



Or this. Well, he does look kind of cute when he looks like this. But not the sound.