Shot through the heart

One of my bullets is bound to get you. It's nifty stuff. It's a cute baby girl who is growing up, up, up. It's all good.

• I am feeling like Santa Claus today. October is a great time to start holiday shopping. I do not enjoy holiday shopping during the holiday shopping season. Not even online. October is pretty much the last possible minute for me if I do not want to lose my mind. Three boxes from Amazon have arrived in the last two days. We are talking about a stuffed-animal (not real!!) puppy in a pink purse, a spring-action lightsaber, a darling Latina babydoll, cute wooden play food, and a moving dinosaur. Legos and football gear still to come. In case you are wondering, I want a culinary torch (for creme brulee, of course) and some new Donna Karan Gold perfume, and any books you think I should be reading.
• You know you want a secret stash of high quality chocolate like me. Green & Black's has been on the aisle-end clearance shelves lately down at the Target. When see it there I know I am meant to have it. It is my destiny. Plus, I am working out almost every day now, so I deserve it. And I'm quite sure I need the antioxidants.
  
• At my favorite place, 99c Only, I found a cool drink called Switch! My kids think it is soda pop. I know it is 100% juice. They drank a ton of it in Fruit Punch flavor with our Mountain Mike's pizza last night. Yeah yeah, I know, kids are not supposed to have a lot of juice, either. But you know it is better than soda. And you need something fizzy with your pizza.
• Z now has bangs. Just light straight-across bangs. She looks more than ever like Dora the Explorer. Appropriate, because the whole theme of her just-begun potty training experience is Dora. She has a Dora potty and Dora panties and a new Dora dolly. So far this week we are up to 4 poops and 1 pee in the Dora potty. Pretty good, I think. We favor the Kimya Dawson "Peepee in the Potty" song. My brother J tried to turn us on to Kimya years ago. Why didn't I listen? She is fabulously funny, with enough potty humor even for my big boys. Including G.
  
• I think Z thinks she actually Dora. Evidence: she calls Dora "Wohwa." She also calls herself "Wohwa." Today she was going down for a nap with her two stuffed bunnies - "my nunny," she calls each one of them. I said, "Two bunnies are going to sleep!" She said, "An Wohwa!" She was planning to go to sleep with them. Awww.
  
• Z also is very in tune with things going on above her. For the first time in several months, we have had clouds in the sky this week. Every time we go outside, she halts and points in wonder, often yelling, "Mom!" When I acknowledge and name the clouds, she is satisfied. I don't think most kids would do this. I know we all think our kids are special. But doesn't this seem special to you?
• Speaking of special, K told me about a dream he had. He has really vivid dreams right now and usually ends up sleeping on the floor beside my bed. (I have turned mean and don't let kids in my bed anymore. I'm still down with the idea of the family bed, but these days I just wanna sleep.) Anyway here was the dream. "I was in a dark room. It was scary. A lot of kids were there. They were scared. I was the leader and I told them, 'It's going to be OK.'" See, special.
  
• I am finally finding some success again in dressing G. I used to be able to get him vaguely outdoorsy stuff from Sierra Trading Post or whatever and he was satisfied. Now I think he thinks he is a little more urban or something. Anyway, the most successful thing right now appears to be lots of Levis stuff (Loose Straight jeans combined with modified cowboy shirts and tattoo-print Ts). You might wonder, shouldn't a 37 year old Ph.D.-to-be dress himself? Well, you would think so. But what he does when faced with the daunting challenge of Shopping is this: Prefer to wear rags.
• Remember my broken camera? I found the replacement policy that my in-laws bought for me when they bought it for me. Hallelujah for nice in-laws who know my kids are destructive and, rather than trying to tell me how to change the kids, just provide for the contingencies that follow. I'm a lucky lady.
• New work project now on the rotisserie. It will be a slow roast; I have a faculty committee to report to. But it is a fun one anyway and I am optimistic about persuading them to do some innovative stuff.
  
• I am loving the 20-hours-from-home work week. They are hiring my replacement pretty soon, and after than I will probably continue on a similar schedule, just as a freelancer. I have been lucky to be able to continue with benefits as long as I have. The benefit of freelancing is, I can raise my pay myself when it's appropriate.
• Holy heck, I think my kids are watching Flight of the Conchords. I better go. Not that it's that inappropriate from what I've seen so far, but it ain't no kids' show.