Pantless Peas and Despots

Hey-ooo. Well, halloween has come and gone. ANd I must say, we had a good one. I have a great video of Jones dressed as a lobster but for whatever reason it may or may not play. Astronaut Jones is a powerful rabbit and I'm sure the powers that be are in his corner. He was less than thrilled about being a crustacean for Halloween. Now, a cephalopod on the other hand...that would have been different. Boudreaux and Bridger did not dress up, but promise to for our Christmas card.

Caroline looked adorable in her pea pod costume. Popa did too. However, I did have to have a talk with him and explain that it is not right to not wear pants under his costume. there is somethign very wrong and dirty about a grown man wearing a pea pod costume sans pants. Caroline thought he was hilarious and kept cracking up at him. Not at the fact he was pantless, but rather a grown man dressed as a legume.

I find myself unable to fall asleep the other night because I couldn;t stop thinking about dictators. Not how they oppress or rule tyranically, but rather how much they look like babies. And people will do anything for a baby....or a baby-alike cuz you don't want them to throw a fit. Kim Jong Il- looks like a baby with adult glasses on. Chavez.....looks like a baby with questionable fashion sense ( c'mon, now. an uniform is a uniform but you can't wear the same button down shirt every day. Put a patch on it and bam, it's a uniform. But try telling that to a baby. ) Fidel Castro......not so much like a baby. I haven't figured that one out. I challenge you to review the world's despots and you will find a baby factor. Not the cute side of a baby, but rather the fearsome pre-fit glare matched with chubby cheeks.

I hope you do not lose sleep over this.

Bing has a training today. He is basically playing "cops and robbers" with glorified paint guns at the range with other cops. He gets paid to do this. No wonder he loves his job. Me and Caroline took down the Halloween decorations and are merely counting the days before we get to take out the Christmas decorations.

School is school these days. I really do have an easy bunch this year. I still find myself shocked at 8th graders in general, though. And they remain shocked at how immature a 35 year old woman can be. Needless to say, they love me. One of my girls told me the other day I should have a cartoon character " since you are so crazy and funny. Do you act that way at home?" I assured her that yes, I do behave this way at home and it is more than tolerated.

I leave you with some pics of peapods with and without pants.

Plumpkin in pumpkins

Ok. I know I said I would be regular with this. I do apologize. It has been buuuuussssyyyy. And the three of us have been sick for a while, but are all well now! Yippee!

Took Plumpkin to the pumkin patch. She is in the 5th percentile among pumpkins as well.

All is well with us. I swear I think she is close to saying her first word. I actually think it might have happened already. She loves playing with her rubber duckies that her Auntie Grit got her. She has a little Mexican one that is her favorite that we call Pato. We often make pretend phone calls to Pato throughout the day much to her squeling delight.

Me, with a crazed look in my eye: " Hola???? Pato? Hola??!!!!! Pato??!!!!!" This screechingly continues to a carzy manifesto of pretend Spanish gibberish. Caroline thinks this is WONDERFUL and she grunts and grins and heehaws every time.

Well, anyway, she was taking a bath today when she turned around holding Pato and said to me " pato". I would have said I was making this up had she not sounded like she had said it earlier when we were playing with Land Pato ( not to be confused with Marine Pato). So, our little gorgeous girl is not only a looker but apparently she is bilingual. ( Pato is spanish for duck, by the way.)

Genius....just like her Moma!!!!!!!!!!

Back to the bath tub. When I was taking my bath this evening, which is truly one of life's greatest pleasures and a time of some of my best pondering. Mostly I pretend to be Billy Idol or try to hold my breath under water while pretending to be the first person to develop some sort of mutated gill membrane. Or sometimes I fashion 18th century wigs out of shampoo head.This is how I relax. Every night. Well, tonight I was listening to my IPod on shuffle, which is truly wonderful and I love my little ipod. Well, little Ipodito really summed up the joy that is life with my bathtime song shuffle. I will now share these song titles with you with a few comments on life that I thought upon whilst taking my bath.

1. " Give Me Back my Wig" - the walter trout power trio

No one has the right to steal your wig.

2. "Fistful of Steel" Rage Against the Machine- It's fun to get mad. I really don't have fits of rage but I like to pretend I do when I listen to this song. It's fun and kinda hilarious to pretend to be mad. I'm M-A-D!! Hahaha.....mad people are funny.

3. Simple Man- Lynard Skynard. Man, what a song. I feel like I should stand up and doing something patriotic. but I'm in the bathtub. So, I'll just think that this is an awesome song that every 17 year old boy should hear. It should be a law.

4. Nessun Dorma- Luciano Pavorotti. Oh........I am a lady with a giant dress made of cupcakes. Elegant cupcakes. I'm floating down a gilded staircase. With my shampoo fancy wig. Oh, opera is good for the soul. Rest in Peace with the angels, Luciano. Everybody needs a cupcake dress.

5 Angel Flying to Close to the Ground- Willie Nelson This is the last song I could listen to cuz it makes me cry every time I hear it. What a sweet, sweet song. I am so thankful for my two angels that just so happened to be flying to close to the ground. I'm so glad I caught you too and so thankful. I love my Popa Bear and my lil Plumpkin.

On that sappy note, I leave you with Caroline wearing Astronaut Jones' Halloween costume. Yes, it is a lobster. And yes, they wear the same size.

Foosball is de debil!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Septembers are terribly busy as a teacher. I teach 200 8th graders and it takes awhile for me to acclimate back to the insanity. But I kinda like it. Leaving my sweet Caroline has been horrible though. I really miss our play time.
Poor little thing got her first real bug last weekend. She had really high fever but the doc said it was just a virus and to wait it out. After her fever broke, she got roseola. Which is exactly what it sounds like. She was a splotchy little roseola for a day then it disappeared.
Now the other baby in the house is sick. Actually, Bing has always been pretty tough when it comes to getting sick. But as the years go by, he is taking to being a bit more pitiful .There's just so many family members competing for Moma's attention, an extra sniffle and moan always help. ;)
I got Caroline the cutest peapod costume for Halloween. bing is gonna be a pod too, since they are two peas in a pod. He is very adamant about it. I'm thinking of going as a carrot. You know...peas and carrots, Jenny!!! Of course, Astronaut JOnes will be going as a lobster and I am thinking Boudreaux may go as Mary Magdelene and Bridger as Baby Jesus. Yes, I am being serious. I think it might make a great Christmas card: The traditional manger menagerie of vegetables, lobsters, and the Holy Family. I just need to find Joseph....maybe Jones can be a lobster dressed as Joseph. Oh, the decisions a Moma has to make. It is dizzying.
today I'm putting out our Halloween decorations. Caroline loves Halloween already, especially giant spiders. Just like her Moma.
Caroline had her wellness check when she went in the other day too. She is STILL in the 5 % of size....such a teeny girl but strong as an ox and Doc said she is right in target for her percentile in growth. No one can believe she is 9 months old! But she is smart as a whip, despite her lilliputian size.
All is well here at the Smith house. Lanky is coming in for a visit this week. Can't wait to show off Plumpkin.
And here is your fast update on all members of the household:

Bing ( aka Popa, Steve, Officer Smith, Stinkpot): has the sniffles but is getting better. Also has been eating way to much cereal and the methane levels in the house are nearly lethal
Caroline ( aka Plumpkin, Plumpkers, K-line): getting over her sniffles and laughing and clapping the day away. Waving at everybody and saying "blahblahblah" all the time.
Boudreaux ( aka Bigguns, Loudmouth, Mr. Sweet Feet,Butterscotch Boy): doing great, napping and eating constantly. Always ready to bark, kiss and go for a walk. Often at the same time.
Bridger ( aka Lil Girl, Miss Pants, Lil Fox): looking to attack Boudreaux constantly and snuggle at any given moment.
Astronaut Jones ( aka The Man in Black, Jones, Mephis Jones, Mephis): Very explorative. Eating all the cabbage and loves to snuggle with K-line. Plotting to overthrow the governement.
Moma ( aka Baby, Jef-fer): Loving her little idiot family more and more every day.

Ok. You have updates. You can now sleep at night knowing we are OK. Promise to write at least once a week.

And look up Colossal Squids. Which ARE different than Giant Squids. I am obsessed with cephalapods as of late. I love their eyeballs.

Leisure is dangerous to your health

You know the dance. You know the part where the zombies are all hunched over holding their knees and walking away? That is Bing this weekend.

He hurt himself whilst lifting a hotdog.
Yep.

You may recall that in my last post, my sweet obsessive husband made us all go to WalMart on a Saturday to procure a grill for the boat. Well, he found the perfect one and expertly fastened it onto a very nice piece of shelving that fits across the bow seats and can be stored under the boat. To his credit, it is very well done and a great addition.
But then he decided to use it without supervision. On his SECOND day of leisure boating ( we've had unseasonably wonderful weather since school started...go figure), he was grilling some weenies for his buddies. As he reached down to grab one of said weenies, the sheer athleticism of the Olympic feat proved too much and he pulled something in his back. He continued to have a good time with a minor pain in his back.
However, when he got home, he had become one of the Thriller dancers. Actually, he was lucky to even get the dance position...I caught him crawling to the toilet last night. So sad!!! Needless to say, he is now on the couch with Vicodin and muscle relaxers thanks to the ER doctor.

I now like to proclaim in mock pain...." Ow! My leisure!" It's a wonderful thing to say.

Caroline is cutting teeth again. Sooooo glad there aren't any flights any time soon. We are going to a b-day party though. I think she'll be up for that though. She loves some action.

Well, I'm off. Don't mix leisure with weenies.

To Bee or Not to Bee

First, I must tell you about the greatest cereal ever. Post Trail Mix Crunch. Oh, how I love you, Mr. Post for creating such deliciousness.

Caroline had daycare this week. She LOVED it!!!! It was sooo cute. She was so happy to go back the next day ( she's only doing Thursdays and Fridays). The girls up there are so sweet and it's not just a daycare....they are trained preschhol teachers and do a lot of develpmental stuff. We are so happy with it. And the best part is that you can tell that Caroline really has a good time there!! She is so content and happy when we pick her up. It just warms me heart.

School os going fine. I always miss my old kids so much this time of year though. Several have come by to visit...it's amazing how quickly they grow up over the summer.

Not much going on this weekend. Just gonna relax. And go to Wal-MArt which is the opposite of relaxing. But Bing wants a mini-gas grill. He took the boat out yesterday all by himslef and had an incredible day of sunning and just relaxing on the lake. He has now decided ( which leads to obsession) that he needs a boat grill because " we gotta grill weenies on the boat!". The world will not spin just right until he gets his weenie grill. So, off to Wal Mart on a Saturday we go.

I really want an apiary. And one of those outfits of course. I could plant all sorts of delcious flowers around the hive for my sweet bees. I can;t wait to get some land one day. I don't think I'll have time to work cuz taking care of my bees, goats, cow, donkey, dogs, rabbit, chickens, rooster, cabybara, and Caroline will be a full time job. Guess I need ot start buying lottery tickets.

Here is me in 10 years.

baby + rabbit= always cute

Yes, I know. It's ridiculous. Both the cuteness quotient and the immensity that is Astronaut Jones. They love each other. SOoooooooooo cute.

I'm so glad Gustav wasn;t as bad as it was gonna be. Moma said that Monroe was getting hammered...they haven't had power since yesterday. All the Energy people went down South to be there to help out..now North La is being inundated. But they're all fine. They even cancelled school today and tomorrow.

School started today. I always miss my old students so much the first day of a school year. I always think " these kids won't be as much fun"....but of course, I get attached to them after a while ( some take more time than others ;) )
I always start off with this activity where the kids answer questions about me using stuff they've heard or from what they have observed of the classroom. One of the questions I always ask is " Do you think Mrs. Smith will be a hard teacher? WHy or why not?"
I usually get stuff like " No...she seems too nice" or " Yes but she will be nice about it"...things like that. But a kid named Izzy said this today-
" yes, I think you're gonna be hard."
Why?
And with a sweet seriousness he replied...." Cuz I can't understand the way you talk...."
Haha.....I told them they would be picking up my accent in less than a week. happens every year.
Hope y'all are dry and have power. And are not underneath a large oak tree. And by underneath, I mean supporting.

That belly ain't going nowhere.

I chose this picture to share with you for three reasons:
1) Is is strangely wonderful.
2) I feel like that little kid with school starting. School being an obese but oddly athletic adversary wearing diapers and a simultaneously apathetic and piteous look upon its face.
3) Caroline has started a sumo phase.
Now you're probaly thinking...oh, I get it...fat baby...sumo. Caroline is anything but fat...remember she is a teeny lil thing. But she is working that belly. And she has started this "Ay!!"...you know the sharp Japenese "ayyy!". She does it over and over again at full attention. She thinks it's real funny. And she is correct.

No day care this week! I got confused...it opens next week. Bing's Uncle Brockett passed away this week from liver cancer so Bing flew out for the funeral ( everybody is doing well). SO, since there was no daycare and I had to go to Teacher Nonsense Day, I had to get a babysitter for a 8 hour stretch. We were so nervous....we have used two of my 8th graders for short stints before but never for this long. It went great though! Caroline worked that poor girl to death. Play,play,play!!! Alllllll day! No naps for her! Ha! She knew she had a sucker on the line.

Thankfully, i don't have to go in tomorrow and have Labor Day off...then the onslaught begins.

Bing said he heard one of the best things ever today, driving down to the wake with his mom one of his uncles. As they're driving through Virginia, his uncle exclaims..." Oh look! A subdivision with mobile homes." It was quite new to him...the nuance of a trailer park. Yes, what a striking idea. What rare breed thought of that assemblage?

I feel like there was something else I was gonna tell you.
Oh well...for another day I suppose.

Good night!