Blogapalooza

Yes, I made up that word. Did you know Shakespeare added something like 3000 words/phrases to the English language? If you're interested at all in the development of the English language read "The Mother Tongue" or "Made in America" by Bill Bryson. (I think I've mentioned before that I would happily trade one of my uncles for Bill Bryson. He's busy as the Chancellor at Durham University these days. Geez, you'd think he was a personal friend or something.) They must be the only books on linguistics that anyone could stand to read with any fervor.

I love blogs. Sometimes I read random blogs (the other day I tried to get the gist of a Swedish blog - written in Swedish - didn't understand a whole lot) just to see what's out there. The first thing I noticed is that there are a LOT of spelling errors out there. A lot. Then I realized that in this new Internet/Text Messaging/IM World We Live In, spelling just isn't that important. It's really important, though, in 4th grade, when you're up against 5th grader Billy Franks, and you want to win. In my case, I didn't win until 5th grade b/c I misspelled "prairie." What? But I learn a lot from blogs. Sometimes it's b/c it's a more professional one, like thesimpledollar.com, and I actually learn something new. The best ones, though, are those written by my friends. You get to know each other in a much deeper way; plus, sometimes there's pictures. And you can "keep up" with friends you don't see much of and let them get a glimpse into your world, too. So thanks to everybody who blogs and gives me something fun to do.

Helena is reading her "Ratatouille" book to herself in her room. Imagine, if you will, the 3-year-old way of pronouncing that word. Hilarious. Earlier, she was reading her "I Can Use The Potty" book to herself. Here's an excerpt:

"Hi. I'm Amy. I don't like to have wet diapers. They feel yucky."
"Momma says I can make my poop and pee go tinkle, tinkle and plop, plop into the potty."
"Do you want to be a big kid like me? You can do what I do. You can pull your pants up and down, all by yourself. You can make your pee and poop go into the potty just like me."

(She has this whole book memorized. Meg, if you'd like a recording for Madelyn to listen to, it's free of charge.)

We're a little concerned about Hunter. He started eating solids about 2 weeks ago (he'll be 5 months old on Friday). This is fine, except that today he ate 4 TIMES, plus nursing. And it wasn't like he ate 2 oz at each feeding either...more like 4-6oz. That's not the only thing: He eats really fast. Watching him is like watching a garbage disposal with a tongue. There's a major protest, too, if I try to slow down or stop before he's ready. I suppose he thinks it's time to grow up, food is good, so let's eat more. He might have gotten the "let's eat more" philosophy from me. Oops.

There's a wicked cool breeze floating into N.M. right now, and I think I'll take advantage of it and go for a walk. Once both kids are zonked out I don't feel too bad about leaving Dan to finish his web work while I take off. Sometimes I call Andrea on the phone (I don't feel like I should bother anyone else that late); sometimes I listen to the iPod (technology borrowed from Dan; if it were up to me I'd have the Walkman - the CD Walkman, not the tape one, at least!).

I'm posting a picture of our house from last spring. This year the flowering trees hardly flowered. Any ideas why? Also featured: Helena first thing in the morning and Hunter rocking out (Aerosmith was actually on the radio during this picture.)

"Real glory springs from the silent conquest of ourselves." - James Thompson