The Two Of Them Together Should Never Be Left Unsupervised

We drove down to fabulous Gridley last night, home of the world famous Hurloween celebration. Shortcake's flowergirl dress is being made by the mother of Poke's best man and she needed one more fitting before piecing the dress together. It's going to be adorable, and the two girls together in their matching dresses should be a sight to see.

Anyway, that information is just background. The real point of this post? My brother and Punkin. I can not explain to you how similar their personalities are. Honestly, it keeps me up at night thinking about what this child has in store for us during the high school years if this trend of "I act just like my uncle" continues. It doesn't take much to get a reaction out of Punkin - be it positive or negative - and Poke is the biggest antagonizer I know. The way he gets Punkin worked up to maximum crazy mode in a matter of moments is incredible. Two peas in a pod, those two, and it's a bit frightening to watch.

The three of us joined Poke & Cari and their friends Buddha and Rink for dinner at Monical's following Shortcake's dress fitting. It was a relatively uneventful meal and I was actually quite impressed with how well both Shortcake and Punkin did. It was well past our normal dinner time, but they both ate well and sat quite nicely throughout the meal. That is until after Punkin finished her meal and I made the rookie mistake of switching places with her, putting her in direct contact with my brother. Honestly, what was I thinking? I know better than that. So the questions begs: was I surprised by the events that followed? No, of course not.

First, my brother encourages Punkin to drink the remaining Coca-Cola out of the pitcher with a straw.


She obliges, of course, because she's obedient like that.


Then he says it's time for full tilt boogie chug-a-lug. What he actually said to her was, "What? Are you baby-sitting it or drinking it? Let's go, down the hatch!". This is the moment when I officially declared he is not allowed any type of contact with our daughters from the ages of 15 to 30.


Not enough fun for one sit down meal? Then it's on to paper straw wrapper target practice. It's fun for the whole family!

I'm so sorry, fellow Monical's patrons. I can only be held responsible for the actions of the little one. That big guy is someone else's problem.

Trouble, with a capital T. Together they can not be trusted. The world just isn't ready for this dynamic duo.

An Interview With Punkin

While looking for a document hidden somewhere in my files the other night, I got wonderfully sidetracked by numerous video clips saved on this here big magical box. There was video of Punkin learning to walk, the girls laughing and playing together, and then a couple of hard hitting, no holds barred interviews with a three year old Shortcake. They've been published here previously, but if you have a few extra minutes I'd highly suggest you consider checking them out again. I will warn you though: if you and I are cut from the same cloth what you see may make you weep. Footage like this serves as cold, hard evidence as to how much she's grown up and it sort of makes me want to cower in a corner, crying for my mommy.

Shortcake: The First Interview

Soon after watching the videos I realized that I didn't have a quality interview with Punkin at the glorious age of three. This could be true for a variety of reasons: life is crazy, I just plain forgot, and pinning her down to answer any type of question for longer than thirty seconds requires either a small act of God or bribery of the highest order. Whatever the case, yesterday seemed like a good day to try a sit down with our youngest daughter to get her take on everything important to her. Apparently she was so pleased with the way the interview was going that she even broke out in yet another musical number, this time solo. Well, almost solo. Just like Barbara Walters tricks people into a tearful discovery when they least expect it, Punkin got me involved in the musical act for all the world to hear. I apologize in advance.

Without further ado, I give you Punkin: A Three Year Old As She Ponders Life's Biggest Questions.

She Thinks Quick On Her Feet

I do not enjoy bath time. Wait, let me clarify. My own bath time, yes. That I do enjoy. Bath time for the girls, however, is not one of my favorite jobs as a part of this whole motherhood gig. Last night I was feeling particularly not-in-love with this part of the girls' bedtime routine. I was also feeling a bit run down - sleepy and just totally over the lingering congestion that I've had since late last week. These two do not make for a great combination. Take this and then consider that it took three requests before the girls begrudingly exited the tub, two times too many from my point of view given my frame of mind. With my tolerance threshold at its very lowest and the girls being excessively silly, I let unleashed Psycho Mom* a bit.

Me: Punkin, enough! I asked you to get out of the tub. Now, OUT!

Punkin finally exits tub and begins dancing around naked

Me: (as I'm brushing Shortcake's hair) Punkin, please sit here until I'm ready for you.

Punkin spends the next three minutes singing - and I use that term very, very loosely in this instance - made up songs, getting in my and Shortcake's faces, and just generally doing anything she can to annoy me further.

Me: Punkin! Sit down and ZIP IT!

Punkin: (looking down at her unclothed body) But I don't have a zipuh.

Touche, Punkin. Touche.

*The only thing that kept me from total Psycho Mom status is that I had warmed the girls' bath towels in the dryer while they were bathing so that they would be toasty warm after getting out of the water. I'm a little crabby sometimes, but I'm not pure evil.

It’s Not Like I’m Getting Any Younger, So I’m Wasting No Time Getting Started On The List

I’ve always been an avid reader. I was the big nerd who enjoyed spending summer days at the library as much as I did at the pool. As I’ve grown older and my personal time has shrunk considerably due to the demands of owning a home, having children, work, and other various social obligations, I’ve found that I am often hard pressed to carve time in my day for reading for enjoyment. It’s a shame, really, because there’s something about getting lost in a book that is so relaxing to me. Now that Shortcake is quickly developing her own reading abilities I think it’s more important than ever that she sees me reading to instill in her the importance of reading for life long learning and enjoyment.

Because of this, I’ve placed a few reading related goal on my life list of dreams. I’ve always loved the idea of belonging to a book club. There’s something about the camaraderie and discussion of a shared piece of literature that sounds so fun to me. I have also heard they often serve snacks at these shindigs and that doesn’t hinder my interest at all either. I’ve been told by multiple people on multiple occasions that the Harry Potter books are a must read and therefore I’ve added that to my list of goals to accomplish as well. Part of me wants to wait to read them with my daughter(s), but I’m not sure I’ll be patient enough for that. Perhaps it would be better for me to read them first as a censor? Yes, I think that’s the excuse I’ll use.

The biggest and most ambitious reading related goal on my list is this: Read all the classic novels of the 20th century according to Time Magazine & Modern Library. I am one that is often overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer volume of books available to me when I walk into my local public library. I almost exclusively choose to read works of fiction, although the occasional non-fiction work might find itself in the rotation every once in a great while. In order to fine tune this goal, I did some (Google) research to find a comprehensive list of classic “must-read” novels. I was pleased to find two such lists which I cross-checked and then compiled into one mega-list of the most important novels of the 20th century. In all, the list included more than 200 works by a wide variety of authors. Some are penned by very influential and well-known writers. Others I haven’t the first clue about; I’m not even sure I’ll be able to find them in my small town library. In case you’re interested in what books made the cut, you can check out the complete list here.

I’ve read a few of the books previously but I’ve decided to reread them on this go-round either because I loved the book so much the first time (A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is by far my favorite book of all time) or because it’s been so long since I read it that I can’t really remember the details (Lord of the Flies and sophomore year novels class with Mr. Patterson was oh-so-long-ago). I’m easing into the massive list slowly: yesterday I started reading the Judy Blume classic, Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret and together Shortcake and I are reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis each night before bedtime. Punkin is invited to join us as well of course but the book's lack of colorful pictures coupled with the short attention span of a three year old makes that time together a little less appealing to her than it does to a story loving Shortcake. Punkin would much prefer to roll around on the floor making patterns in the carpet with Daddy’s back scratcher. To each her own, I suppose.

I’d like to extend the following invitation to all of you: would any of you like to join me as I embark on reading my way through this mighty list of literary greatness? We could read the same book together (and then discuss! like a book club!) or you can pave your own way. Also, after reviewing the list, if there’s a book that you’re outraged to see didn’t make the cut let me know what it is and I can add it – what’s another couple of books when you’re already at 218, right?

Ye Old Bucket List

It is no secret to anyone who truly knows me that I am a list maker. I love lists. I love lists so much that I have been known on many more than one occasion to make lists of lists. Some people think it's crazy; it's just how I get things done. For me, there's nothing quite like the satisfaction I get after crossing off items on a to-do list. It's downright empowering. In times of high stress I am physically incapable of functioning without a list guiding me. It's a powerful bond we share, me and my lists.

Therefore, it may come as no surprise to many of you to learn that I've recently created a life list of sorts, more widely known as The Bucket List. I've seen other versions, most commonly the "40 before 40" list, but I didn't really want to tie myself down to any one particular age or deadline date (no pun intended). All of these items are things that I hope to do, see, and accomplish sometime before my time here on Earth is done.

Some items on this list may seem simple, but to me it's significant enough to warrant a spot on this list. Other items are more lofty. Why dream if you're not going to dream big, right? Also, I feel as though it should be noted that since this is my list I tried to keep it as personal as possible, but I will admit that on almost every one of the adventures listed, when I close my eyes and picture it coming to fruition, The General is always by my side. I just want him to know that up front so he can begin mentally preparing himself for the challenge as well.

Do I think I'll be able to cross off every item on this list? I have no idea. But I have decided that since it's in a list format I am going to make it my life's mission to make sure I try as hard as possible to complete as many items on this list as possible. You can watch my progress as time goes on - I'm going keep a link to this post over there on the sidebar and update it accordingly. I'm exhausted just thinking about the time & energy (and money) that it will take to complete this list, but I'm also unbelievably excited at the prospect of making these life long dreams come true.

Travel – Places I Want To Visit

• Hawaii
• The Grand Canyon
• Yellowstone
• Mount Rushmore
• Washington D.C.
• Oregon Coast (again)
  
• San Diego (again)
  
• South Carolina
• Coastline along the Gulf of Mexico
• Tahiti
• Australia
• Ireland
• Vegas
• Niagara Falls
• San Antonio
• Sedona
• Napa Valley
• New Orleans
• The Mall of America
• Savannah, Georgia
• Denver
• Greece
• Rome

Adventures – Things I Want To Do

• Ride in a hot air balloon (even better if it’s during the fall season)
• Parasail
• Snorkle
• Scan old photos from my albums & my parents
• Attend an NFL game
• Watch my three favorite people as they see the ocean for the first time
• Swim with dolphins
• Drive cross country
• Visit all 50 states
  
• Hover over a volcano in a helicopter
• Take the girls to Disney World
• Get a passport
• Ride in a horse drawn carriage
  
• See Bon Jovi in concert
• Take an Alaskan cruise
• Read the complete Harry Potter series
• Read all the classic novels of the 20^th century according to Time Magazine & Modern Library
• Set out on a road trip with no specific destination in mind
• Enter and finish a 5K
• Enter and finish a half-marathon
• Enter and finish a marathon (just typing that scares the living daylights out of me)
• See a taping of The Price Is Right
• Pay for a stranger's dinner anonymously
  
• Eat a slice of deep dish pizza in Chicago
• Visit the Sears Tower (no, not Willis. Sears.)
• Spend a week long vacation at a beach house
  
• Take the girls camping for an entire week by a beautiful lake
• Attend the Oprah show
• Learn how to crotchet
• Figure out how to make a chocolate chip cookie that doesn’t disappoint
• Conquer the crescent roll
• Retire
• Replace flooring throughout the house
• Have our family picture taken by a professional photographer
• Display our family portrait in a prominent place in our home
• Create/maintain annual Christmas traditions
• "Publish"a book for every year of the blog
• Take annual family vacations
• Go on a zip line course
• Create a will
  
• Watch the sunrise over the ocean
• Renew our wedding vows
• Own a beautiful piece of art
• Display my china appropriately
• Volunteer
• Spend a weekend with my girlfriends at a spa getaway
• Take the girls to a U of I basketball game
• Take the girls to a U of I football game
• Join a book club
• Host The Mother of All Garage Sales
• Game nights with friends on a monthly basis
• Learn how to make a really good omelet
• Reinstate Cousin Night Out
• Learn how to play (and enjoy) golf
• Own a Kitchen Aid mixer
• Donate blood regularly
• Have my teeth professionally whitened

Wishes – Things I Hope Come True

• Celebrate our daughters' graduations from high school
• Send my daughters into the world prepared for what it has to offer
• Watch the girls find a career that fulfills them
• See our girls walk down the aisle toward their one true love
• Become a grandparent (I’m okay with this wish not being met for QUITE SOME TIME, thankyouverymuch)
• Be mortgage free
• Be debt free
• Find and become involved in a church that feeds me spiritually
• Find peace/acceptance with the body that God has given me

Now it's your turn: what are the top five items on your bucket list?

May The Force Be With Me (At Least For The Next 28 Days)

There's this little movement out there known as NaBloPoMo. No, it's not some new flu strain. NaBloPoMo stands for "National Blog Posting Month" and while I've contemplated joining in the past and have ultimately chickened out I've decided to give it a whirl this time around. The basic premise behind NaBloPoMo is to blog every day, including weekends, for the entire month of November. I've seen others do it with varying degrees of success and looking at our calendar for the upcoming month I'm not sure this is the best time to make this kind of time commitment, but what the heck. I'm not out anything for trying, right?

Some of you may be thrilled by the prospect, others may be groaning loudly to yourselves asking, "Why me?". Either way, the goal is thirty posts in thirty days. I'm not promising they're all going to be winners, but I'm gonna give it my best. Any of my fellow blogging friends care to join me in the fun?

There's No Place Like Gotham City

Despite a big letdown after missing Friday's school celebration, I think we still managed to pull out a pretty awesome Halloween.


The wind was whipping and the temperatures were a bit chilly making picture taking difficult, but at least the sun was shining. I really couldn't complain about my frozen fingers or the fact that money spent on costumes was basically pointless since they were covered up with coats the entire time. I was just thrilled to not be walking through rain or overcast skies.


Batgirl decided she wanted to "fly" from house to house. That lasted about half of a block. The rest of our hour long house to house trick or treating involved constant prompts of "Come on, Punkin!" or "Give me your hand!" or "Watch out for cars - you can't walk in the middle of the street!".


Dorothy had the trick or treat process down like a pro, but I think she had as much fun handing out candy to other trick or treaters at Great Grama & Grapa's house as she did asking for candy for herself.


In addition to trick or treating on the far south side of town we visited with The General's extended family at Hamburgler's & Brownie Scout's house where Punkin's intake of a chocolate cupcake (with chocolate frosting for good measure) put her into a Code Red Sugar High. Shortcake's uncontrollable giggling indicated she was well on her way as well. Following that stop we loaded the two hopped-up-on-sugar children in Big Rocket and made a visit to Big Papa's. From there we then headed back into town for a surprise dinner at Dairy Queen where we were joined by the Seventh Heaven crew & Drmmr7 and also had a chance for a quick visit with Gilligan & Mary Ann's family.


So, a quick rundown for Shortcake: being fever free for the first time in four days; wearing ruby slippers and looking like one of the most authentic (and cutest) Dorothys I've certainly ever seen; all the candy your heart desires; sunshine; spending time with family; chocolate cupcakes with a juice box chaser; dinner with cousins at the Dairy Queen; free ice cream; falling asleep in the car within minutes.


Yes, I'd say from the eyes of this five year old, Halloween joy was certainly redeemed.