Case in Point

This afternoon is a prime example of why I had to give up daytime TV.  My daytime TV consisted purely of watching the Food Network.  This really, er, enhanced my afternoon snacking.  I stopped watching TV during the day several months ago.  Today we were all stuck at home with colds.  So the TV has been on all day.  For some reason, we all want to watch TV when we feel crappy.  True to form, the kids go down for naps, and I turn on the Food Network.  Giada is on making treats for a Halloween party.  I'm hooked.  Then Ina comes on and does a show on chocolate.  I'm enthralled.  She makes Mexican hot chocolate, which I love.  As soon as the show is over, I'm tearing through the pantries looking for chocolate to melt down in milk.  Just so happens that I have WHOLE milk in the house, thanks to Jacob's impending 1-year mark.  It's a nasty cloudy, windy day out. Perfect for rich hot chocolate.  So here I am.  It is so good.  :-)

Place your Bets

A quick mental tally shows I have the following sites to keep up with:

- this blog
- my CatchLight Photography blog
- my recipe blog (Ok, I don't really keep up with that one)
- my website
- my facebook site
- family smugmug site
- CatchLight Galleries smugmug site
- future CatchLight facebook site

Who wants to bet how long it's gonna take for me to post embarassing family pics to the wrong smugmug site, or write an entry about Jacob getting his hand in his poopy diaper on the catchlight blog?  At least these things are easily fixed, assuming I catch the mistake.

Oh, and I named my business something that is impossible for my fingers to type correctly on the first try.  Proofreading this blog, I had to fix 4 (that's 100%, people) cacthlights to catchlights.... 

Hawking

I'm not a bird watcher, but it is pretty to cool to see the hawks in our neighborhood at this time of year.  Last weekend Jamie was in the garage with Jordan, and a hawk landed on our driveway with a baby dove in it's claws.  It had a really hard time flying with that load, so we were able to all get pretty close and check it out.  And when I go on my walk, I almost always see hawks circling.  Lots of critters to hunt in the Tijeras arroyo, and the canyon is so windy they don't even have to flap their wings.  Living on the edge of the desert has it's privileges.

Rub-a-Dub Chub-in-the-Tub

Jordan has always liked bathtime.  Jacob?  LOVES bathtime.  He is nuts for bathtime.  For those of you who still think he's incapable of a full-blown fit, you need to see him when I pull him out of the tub.

Jacob is still in the baby tub inside of the big tub.  I fill it up with water, plop him in, and watch the show.  He's a kicker.  He gets so excited, he kicks most of the water out of the tub, but will stop to straighten his legs and point his toes and squeal because he's just so excited.  He also likes to explore a little real estate that's usually covered up by a diaper.  Bath times are good times.

Tonight was the first time I gave him some bath toys.  Not sure why it's taken so long to do this, probably because he's always so happy to just splash and play with the wash cloths.  Anyway, tonight I handed him the two nesting cups that Jordan has had since she was a baby.  They're not very big, but still a little too big for him to palm with one hand.  He was fixated on them.  As soon as he'd get a grip on one, he'd try to pick up the other, but the only way he can get a hold of one is to use both hands.  And he did not want to let go of the one he mastered.  He kept trying and trying.... Unlike Jo, he doesn't get frustrated and quit.  That's my gene.  I was watching him struggle, so I'd try to help him out, but as soon as I put my hand in the water he'd start a fit.  So I let him be, until the water cooled off too much and it was time to get out.  Which he does not like.  He's screaming before his feet are even out of the water.  He continues screaming all through toweling off, diapering and PJs, until I stick the bottle in his mouth. 

Let's hope this phase lasts...I'm afraid that all too soon he'll be a dirty little boy who'll fight me on a good scrubbing.

Jordan's on a Terror

In the last three days, Jordan has

a) painted her room and furniture with nail polish

b) torn apart her Pat The Bunny book

c) decorated an old hand towel with markers

There is

a) no full moon

b) very little remorse on her end (except for maybe the book)

c) a sharp, precipitous decline to my patience

Cheers to all of you moms with 4-year-olds!