Munchkin Moving

Growing up is hard. So hard in fact, that sometimes we just want to skip it. Do you remember feeling this way?

Lately, Squirt has taken to saying she's going to move out when things don't go her way. In the past it's been a response to not playing video games, or going to a friends house, or some other disappointment. Tonight it was because we asked her to wash her hands before dinner. Determined to prove she can live by herself out in the snow (Something we would naturally never let her do.) or in an abandoned car at a junkyard (Really? I'm not sure how she thought of that one.) she took her blanket outside and endeavored to show that she could indeed stay out there for hours on end without getting cold.

She lasted about a minute and a half.

After a few hours of being convinced she was going to ride her bike to Texas, she is now calmly and peacefully sleeping indoors in a warm bed. It's hard. She misses her dad and puts us through a little bit freaking ton of drama as she is learning to handle some big emotions.

At least at this point no one is moving; not outside, not to the junkyard, and not to Texas. Here's hoping it stays that way!

Getting anxious

It's finals week... again. The quarter system just flies by and before we know it we are in the midst of finals again. Which means that if I want to remember what my husband looks like I will peruse the image files on my computer - or steal a passing glance at the hermit crab who periodically emerges from the office for a drink of water.

Finals bring good things too. Once they are over it is SPRING BREAK!!! We couldn't be more anxious for it for a few good reasons, not the least of which is getting to spend it with our Jellie-bellie. As if that weren't enough, we get to fulfill her many-months-long request to go camping. I honestly can't wait to have TWO little people out on adventures with us. And truth be told I can't wait to teach them the joy of roasting things. His Hotness thinks I'm crazy with the list of stuff I keep asking if he's ever roasted so I'm certain that will be quite an adventure in itself.

Oregon granted us a couple sunny days during which we completely forgot that we ought to air out our tent. Once the thought occurred to us it was, of course, raining. Instead we moved our furniture out of the living room and set her up right in there.

It displaced a ton of stuff...

And took up pretty much the entire room...

But sitting in it playing Skylanders was a complete blast - for Squirt anyway. Taking the tent down again made our tiny apartment suddenly feel HUGE. It's funny how that happens.

Happy Finals Week!

Every Who down in Whoville likes pancakes a lot...

In typical fashion (lately anyway) I'm really slow to blog about our life. Last Friday was the birthday of Theodore LeSieg, aka Dr. Seuss. Squirt's school had a reading appreciation day and book exchange. One of the perks of living in the liberal-arts-land that is Eugene is that the schools have really great programs to encourage creativity and artistic expression. The kids were able to dress as a favorite character from a book and Squirt chose to be Kit Kitteredge. Quite frequently storytellers visit the school and this day was no different. At the end of lunch, one of the storytellers handed out gifts to some of the kids. What kind of gifts, you ask?

Well, when Squirt ran home from the bus she was wearing this:

We have a sheep in the family.
She is in love with this silly little hat and sleeps in it almost every night. It's good to be a kid!

In our tradition we ate Whoville Stackers as an afterschool snack. Several years ago we started making teeny tiny pancakes and stacking them into tall skinny towers reminiscent of a drawing from a Dr. Seuss book. She loved them and it's stuck with us ever since!

I confess that they are a bit of a pain to make. With each pan full the pancakes get slightly larger as my patience gets weaker. About halfway through the batch I cave in and make full size ones but not until there are plenty to stack like this:

Stab, dip, and eat!  

Happy Belated Birthday Mr. LeSieg.