It's Elemental

Dear readers,
Ever want to watch Monkey and Bear grow before your eyes? Now you can do so! Notice on the right side of your screen there is a new addition to our virtual home: a slide show. Right now, I am still working on putting the pictures in order, so one could be very confused as to the time line of the show. Never fear, dear Readers. I will get it done so your brain won't be taxed with why poor baby E's hair grows and falls out constantly.
Until later, warmth.
-s-

Back to the Future

So I was packing up books today and ran across my copy of Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Staring up at me in the box was this book cover:

And the first face I thought of was this one:

Do you think I should aside one of my sick days already for blue oatmeal day?

Karaoke with the Monkey

And now for your listening pleasure, Eleanor "the Monkey" Gacek is ready to take the stage.

Thank you Minneapolis and thank you Ringmaster for that wonderful introduction. Hello everyone and thank you for coming. You know, being 10 and a half months, I've learned a lot about life, love, and music. So in honor of Valentine's Day, I'd like to sing you one of my all-time favs: "Love Hurts" by Nazareth.

Love hurts, love scars, Love wounds, and marks,
Any heart, not tough, Or strong, enough
To take a lot of pain, Take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud Holds a lot of rain
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts

I'm young, I know, But even so
I know a thing, or two I learned, from you
I really learned a lot, Really learned a lot
Love is like a flame: It burns you when its hot
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts

Some fools think of happiness Blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves I guess. They're not foolin me

I know it isnt true, I know it isnt true
Love is just a lie, Made to make you blue
Love hurts, ooh, ooh love hurts Ooh,ooh love hurts

GUITAR SOLO-Take it Abigail!!!

Wait, what? I wasn't, what now?

I know it isn't true, I know it isn't true
Love is just a lie, Made to make you blue
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts
Ooh ooh love hurts
Ooh ooh...love hurts.

Oh thank you Minneapolis! You are so kind, so kind. We love playing here! Thank you! We'll be back soon!

Yeah, don't ask what that was, but just know that I thought it was funny. It just looked like she was singing and that song popped into my head and....

See what we have to deal with?? Sigh. I sure hope those weird genes all went to Eleanor and not me!

That Old Black Magic

I am not your average Gen Xer. I only read 2 blogs regularly. I know other people have them, but usually I forget the address and it's such a pain to sift through my mail to find the URL.
So yesterday I am reading one of them and I come across an entry talking about Oujii. Now anyone who knows the Ringmaster, knows that I was ADDICTED to Oujii in late middle school, so of course when the word is brought up, I am all ears, or, in this case, eyes. In reading further, I see that kms refers to a procedure that you can do to "predict" your future children with just a necklace, a pendant, and your bare hands. Well now I am totally focused. What does the Ringmaster love more than french fries, Chipotle and Diet Coke but the mystic arts!! So of course I had to do the trick at my desk (yes, I have a job now...more on that later. Stick to the story at hand. Geez!) So you take a necklace with a pendant on it and hold it so it dangles from your right hand. Let it dangle over your left hand, holding it as still as possible. It will start to move and it will tell you not only the number of children you are having, but their sex as well. It all depends on the trajectory of the pendant: back and forth means boys (apparently they make you rock, possibly in fetal position) and in a circle for girls (cuz they make your head spin-or maybe it's their heads that spin). It will briefly pause between readings, indicating another child. At first the necklace gods were right on-circle, Eleanor, pause, circle, Abigail, pause, circle, pause, circle, pause, back and forth, pause, circle, pause, back and forth, pause...at which point I stopped the game. This far from scientific predictor coupled with the fact that if you already have fraternal twins, your chances for having another set with the next pregnancy quadruple, well, let's just say that me and my little Mirena are BFF.

incidentally, if you would like to read the original post, migrate to http://caffeinatedlove.blogspot.com/
and for something to quell your sorrows in a truly Minnesotan way, go to http://dackyardigins.blogspot.com/ great recipes and great photos.

That Old Sinking Feeling

So the babies love to play in our room. Problem is that the house is old and in order for the door to stay open, we have to use a rubber doorstop stolen from the Graves 601 Hotel fka Le Meridien. Well, usually, one or both babies will take out the doorstop and the the door will eventually swing almost completely shut. They are in there right now, giggling and babbling to each other. Any other person in their right mind would think, "Oh how sweet! They are playing together and having fun." Not me. Apparently I have issues, because I feel like I have been magically whisked away to 8th grade and the popular girls are in the other room making fun of me. Sigh. I know this is ilogical, since these "popular girls" are only 9 months old and can only speak Baby. But still, it's hard to refute when I go into the room and Monkey unsuccessfully lurches for the door to shut it before I get in. Then both parties guiltily put down the mounds of my clean underwear over which they had apparently been dishing. They stare at me and I swear I can feel the braces back on my teeth. Man, this parenting stuff is hard.

Happy New Year and Hallelujah!

Sweet Mother, it's late!!

I know, I should always take advantage of the time that the little animals are sleeping by doing something constructive, but in a sense I am: I am ringing in the new year on the sofa and talking to you, listening to our downstairs neighbors whoop it up and someone, whether it's of the Monkey or Bear variety, let out a single howl of welcome to 2008. So Happy New Year, my dear readers. May it be a pleasant one of great learning and wonderful surprises. Until next time, be well and don't forget to laugh.

Year-end top ten for babies!

Top ten...oh MAN!!
Yes, dear readers, it's that time of year when everyone and their brother makes a top ten list of their favorite things about the year. Usually they are books or movies or music, but as the ringmaster of Casa de Gatos y Ninas, and being who I am, mine will not be your run of the mill top ten. It may not even be a top ten. We shall see as it unfurls below. So here it goes...
The top ten or so things that I have either said, done, learned or experienced this year that I didn't imagine doing, saying, learning or experiencing last year.

1. Baby mittens do not belong in the VCR, although they do fit nicely in the movie slot.
   
2. "No, Sister's ear does not come off no matter how hard you pull on it."
3. Teaching Bear to say MMMMMMM when she eats does pay off when, unbeknown to Momma, she is in the kitchen chowing on cat food
   
4. "Please don't eat that [fill in the blank]!" Some examples are dreidel, Christmas tree, cat, Sister, CD of Ryan Adams you found by stretching to your full height and knocking it off the desk with the very tips of your fingers (although I do admire your tenacity on that one.)
5. I learned that although it took 15 minutes to set up the elaborate baby keeper inner that would rival that of a state penitentiary, the sheer force of 2 nine month olds can break it down and escape in 5 minutes.
   
6. The blind sweep that you learned in CPR for clearing a choking victim's airway also works for getting any number of shredded pieces of tissue paper, fur balls, cat food, and any random nastiness that shouldn't go into babies' mouthes back out.
7. "Eleanor, stop licking the DVD player."
8. In a blind taste test, the left-hand side of the cart handles at the Minnetonka Target taste much better than the right-hand side.
9. This one I already knew, but since I have been out of college for almost 12 years, I had forgotten it: no matter how many times you wash your hands, you can still smell the vomit on them.
10. I never realized that I can carry on a 20 minute conversation about poop.
11. When wet, Mum-mums and Gerber Puffs are stronger than super glue.
12. Our kids will curse us for our capturing a lot of their embarrassing moments digitally, like these most recent photos:

Eleanor with a puff stuck on her nose

Abigail with Chris's socks on

Now that wasn't too painful, was it dear reader? 2007 has been quite the year for us Gaceks, but it's been a great ride. Here's hoping that 2008 is just as fun and interesting. Until next time, peace, love and a lot of patience.