I'm back!

Muffin Man and I drove up to High Falls, NY to visit QuiltsAlot and TellsDonaldDuckStories.

It was a pretty good drive up, 5.5 hours not counting stops. When we got there, my parents bore MM off, not to be cared for by me again until the drive back (aside from the whole sharing a bed with me thing, but that doesn't count. He was sleeping.)

Saturday was thoroughly about the G-Rated entertainment. After a good breakfast and a good running around outside in the cold air, and freeing a bird that got stuck in the screened-in porch (the storm had ripped some of the screens off), we drove into New Paltz and saw a fabulous puppet show.

It was the Fairy Circus, performed by the Tanglewood Marionettes. Super-duper fantastic, guaranteed stunner. MM was entranced. He was laughing so infectiously at some points that a little 15-month-0ld laughed, just to hear him.

After that, we had some lunch. And after THAT, we went to see Wallace and Gromit at the movie theatre. Muffin Man's first time in a real theatre, as opposed to our living room. He loved it. He had to sit on my lap for a few scary bits. But he ate up the whole experience like popcorn. Which he had plenty of as well.

And today he ran around outside, freed another bird and cuddled with his grandparents. And then we drove home, got back by 5:30 and so to bed...

It was a good weekend, but I'm glad to be back.

Apple Pigs

Apple Pigs
Originally uploaded by Mystery Mommy.

This is a book from my childhood that I wanted to find for Phantom Scribbler, because of her loving post about apples.

I'm going to post a few samplings from the book here...this is from the actual copy I read as a child. My neice and nephew had it and sent it to Muffin Man.

...

Plenty of apples,
delicious to eat,
juicy and crunchy,
crisp and sweet.

The more we ate
the more they grew.
We began to wonder
what to do.

We ate apples for breakfast,
sliced on toast.
We ate apples on Sunday,
baked with the roast.

Apples for dinner,
apples for tea -
too many apples,
we all agreed...

We packed them in baskets,
in boxes, in trunks.
We stuffed them in cupboards
and up in the bunks....

The more we ate
the more they grew.
At last I knew
what we must do.

The sign we hung
said, "Apple Feast!
Come man, come bird,
Come wooly beast."

...Apple fritters,
apple-ade,
apple custard
Father made.

Apple strudel,
apples dried,
apple pigs were
Mother's pride.

As for me,
I love to bake.
I started off
with apple cake.

Then toffee apples,
hung up high,
apple-pan dowdy,
and Dutch apple pie...

Quiet weekend ahead

Muffin Man and I are going to visit QuiltsAlot and TellsDonaldDuckStories. We'll be back Sunday evening. Have a good weekend everybody!!!

Ahhhhh...a convert

The Muppet Show first season DVD set arrived today. Muffin Man watched the first two episodes.

He's hooked.

Mahna-mahna!

As seen everywhere, and completing my feeling of inadequacy...

My blog is worth $22,017.06.
How much is your blog worth?

Childhood Friend

1973
Originally uploaded by Mystery Mommy.

LoveThoseFreckles was one of my best friends of childhood. Our moms were friends and our dads were friends. Her parents got divorced at about the same time mine did. Even though we went to different schools and different summer camps our close friendship lasted until around high school. After that, we drifted apart. But I still have loving feelings toward her and am always glad to hear news.

So it was with great happiness that I heard this weekend that she's pregnant with twins.

LoveThoseFreckles, I'm thrilled for you. I hope that your children bring you as much joy as Muffin Man has brought me.

I will love you always.

Is it just me or is Typepad off the air?

Sigh....

Less than I thought, actually.

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Henry the Octopus

Octopus_Drawing
Originally uploaded by Mystery Mommy.

As drawn by Muffin Man.

Please note that he has the proper number of legs.

Muffin Man Goes to Burger King.

"LOOK MOMMY! WALLACE AND GROMIT! WALLACE AND GROMIT!"








Well, yeah, kid. That's why Mommy brought you here.



Wait until he finds out that they have a new movie out. Shhhhhhhhh, I still haven't told him.

The Picture Book Meme (as seen at RaisingWEG)

RaisingWEG got this list from the NY Public Library. She has the ones she's read to her kids in bold, so I'll do that too. I'm going to put the ones I've read on my own in italics. I'm pleased that they included so many great ones and disappointed by some gaps.

1. Abuela by Arthur Dorros
2. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
3. Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel
4. Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty
5. Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
6. The Bossy Gallito: A Traditional Cuban Folk Tale, retold by Lucia M. Gonzalez; illustrated by Lulu Delacre
7. Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban; illustrated by Lillian Hoban
8. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.; illustrated by Eric Carle
9. Bruno Munari's ABC by Bruno Munari
10. Buz by Richard Egielski
11. Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina
12. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss; illustrated by Crockett Johnson
13. A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
14. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault; illustrated by Lois Ehlert
15. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
16. Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons
17. Corduroy by Don Freeman
18. Curious George by H.A. Rey
19. Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Stickland
20. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
21. Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
22. Fire Truck by Peter Sís
23. Freight Train by Donald Crews
24. Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
25. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
26. George and Martha by James Marshall
27. Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
28. Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack
29. Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
30. Goodnight Moon by Margaret W. Brown; illustrated by Clement Hurd
31. Gossie by Dunrea Olivier
32. Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
33. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
34. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion; illustrated by Margaret Graham
35. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D. B. Johnson
36. Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
37. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen
38. I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy
39. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura J. Numeroff; illustrated by Felicity Bond
40. It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish Folktale, retold and illustrated by Margot Zemach
41. John Henry by Julius Lester; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
42. Julius by Angela Johnson; illustrated by Dav Pilkey
43. Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
44. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
45. The Line-Up Book by Russo Marisabina
46. The Little Red Hen: An Old Story by Margot Zemach
47. Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story by Ed Young
48. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber
49. Mabela the Clever by Margaret Read MacDonald
50. Machines at Work by Byron Barton
51. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
52. Maisy Goes Swimming by Lucy Cousins (but we have read lots of others.)
53. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
54. Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Flemings
55. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
56. Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
57. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia L. Burton
58. Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág
59. Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard and James Marshall
60. Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Birmingham
61. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale retold and illustrated by John Steptoe
62. Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming
63. My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
64. The Napping House by Audrey Wood
65. No, David! By David Shannon
66. Off to School, Baby Duck! by Amy Hest
67. Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth
68. Olivia by Ian Falconer
69. Owen by Kevin Henkes
70. Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me by Eric Carle
71. Pierre: A Cautionary Tale by Maurice Sendak
72. The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg
73. Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Fred Marcellino
74. The Random House Book of Mother Goose: A Treasury of 386 Timeless Nursery Rhymes by Arnold Lobel (no, but we have others.)
75. Round Trip by Ann Jonas
76. Rumpelstiltskin, retold and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
77. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
78. Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri
79. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
80. The Stray Dog by Simont Marc
81. Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
82. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
83. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
84. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
85. Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
86. Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
87. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback (My sister went with his son, Jason. My first crush.)
88. The Three Bears by Paul Galdone
89. Trashy Town by Andrea Griffing Zimmerman
90. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs By A. Wolf by John Scieszka
91. Tuesday by David Wiesner
92. Uptown by Collier Bryan
93. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
94. The Wheels on the Bus, adapted and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
95. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
96. Where's Spot? by Eric Hill
97. Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
98. The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kaska
99. Yoko by Rosemary Wells (no, but again, plenty of others.)
100. Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa, retold and illustrated by Gerald McDermott

Isn't it strange how different we all are?

Yesterday I went to pick up Muffin Man from daycare and saw another mom and her son as they were coming out. Her son only recently moved up to the toddler room. He's about 22 months. She's carrying him.

Me: "Oh my goodness, how he's grown!"
Her: "Yes, and he's walking so well too."
Him: (Stretches out arms for me to take him)
Me: "Can I?"
Her: "Sure!" (I do)

People. This boy is heavy.

Me: "Holy Guacamole! What a big boy you are!"
Her: "35 pounds."
Me: "Wow!"
Her: "Your son is getting so tall."
Me: "Yes, I'm living vicariously through my tall son."

People. My son is 2 years older, 1 and a half feet taller and 5 pounds lighter than her son. And her son isn't FAT, he's dense. I swear, she's feeding him lead weights or something. But he's awfully cute.

Good weekend

Friday Night: Ladies Night Out. Made food for the next month.

Saturday: Got gas ($2.59/gal! twenty cents cheaper than all the others! Why? No clue.) Got lunch. Went to a Moon Bounce.

Sunday: Brunch. Target (new stools for Muffin Man, he loves them.) Nap. Swings and Slides. Bath.

All-in-all, a very cozy weekend. How was yours?

Muffin Man-ia

New game:

Scene: Muffin Man's bedroom two nights ago. MM is half-way to pajamas, out of all clothes except his snazzy Nemo Underwear. He is lying on his back on the floor. I am kneeling nearby.

MM: "Mommy, tell me what 'P' starts with."
Me: "You want words that start with 'P'?"
MM: "Yeah!"
Me: "Well...'P' is for pig, and puppy, and pillow." (I kiss his tummy, he laughs). "'P' is for pen, and pencil, and paint." (another kiss, more laughter)
MM: "And 'P' is for pet! And pink! And...PUPPY!" (I kiss his forehead, he laughs)
Me: "That's right. And 'P' is for purple, and...umm...potty."
MM: "And POOP! And PENIS! AND TUSHY!"
Me: "No, tushy starts with 'T'."
MM: "Oh, okay."
Me: "And 'P' is for pinky" (I kiss it) "And pinkie toe" (I kiss it) "and...Pajamas."

At this point MM is laughing so hard we can't go on. I can't wait to see what other letters he's interested in.

For the rain it raineth every day.

I'm starting to grow moss.

A very bedraggled squirrel - tail wet and spikey - looked at me today with such a forlorn expression on its face. The geese outside the office building where I work go about their business with a grim determination.

Muffin Man looks outside during a pause in the drizzle, "LOOK! IT'S NOT RAINING!"
"You have to bring your raincoat anyway."
"Awwwwww."

What is it about drivers of grey cars that they refuse to turn on their headlights in rain and dusk?

Sound the "All Clear"

Test results came back normal. I'm absolutely fine. I've got to see the cardiologist annually from now on, but that's so that we can be pro-active what with the family history and all. He wants me to have a blood test to find out if we should be a little more aggressive about medication, but he thinks there's no reason to be concerned about my health at all, except for the family history.

Whew.

STOP!

Muffin Man can read!

Well, not really. But he knows STOP, FOOD, POOL, MOMMY, DADDY, his own name, and our last name.

He can read them and he can write them all except MOMMY and DADDY.

It made reading Max's Ride really exciting!!!

MakesBooksForGrandkids

Thank you for surviving your heart attack. Thank you for going on a diet. Thank you for quitting smoking. Thank you for taking care of yourself. Thank you for having a terrific cardiologist. Thank you for getting that triple bypass seven years ago. Thank you for taking your diet even more seriously. Thank you for swimming everyday and working out. Thank you for being so healthy and working so hard to stay that way.

I love you. I'm grateful that you are in my life and that you are in my son's life.

I wish I could have met your father. I wish I could have known your mother longer. I'm so glad that you have not followed in their footsteps.

You inspire me.

Yesterday

As some of you may know, last week I had a little scare. Yesterday, I went to get a nuclear stress test and the good news is, my EKG and blood pressure are fine while running up an incline. I won't know how the pictures came out until next Wednesday, but I'm not too concerned.

I'm glad to report that the folks who performed the test thought I did very well.

In the room with the treadmill was a defibrillator. I asked, "How often do you use that thing?"
"Never been used," they said. "But we have called the stretcher guys to bring people directly to the hospital."
"You're kidding"
"Nope, once it was a nice young lady, 'bout your age. A nutritionist. Great shape. We checked her right into Cardiac Care."

So, any day you take a stress test and don't end up in the hospital is a very good one.

Pissed off

I am sitting here steaming mad at myself because I've done it again. I've gnawed on my fingers so badly that two of them are bleeding. One of them looks hideous (bleeding in two places), the other isn't so bad. A third bled yesterday, but is better today. A fourth is healing pretty well from last Thursday.

On the other hand, my nails are looking good. I'm still keeping my teeth off them.

Aaaaaghhh! I'm gnawing as I type! Stop it!!!! Just stop!

I want to stop this. What kind of a role-model am I for Muffin Man if I can't break this horrid, ugly, disgusting habit?