No, I didn't get my hair cut or lose weight (GOD I WISH!). I just figured the old blogspot needed a fresh coat of paint and a little remodeling. Notice the new background and Monkey/Bear photos. One thing I have noticed about them getting older is that it's more and more difficult to catch them being cute at the same time, not that it was EVER easy.
Notice, too that there is a new feature. The copy cat is at it again. Yes, Pepicek, I stole your feature of letting us know what is in and what isn't, but it's only cuz I love it so much. It so helps me to make sure that my little circus is just that and not crossing the border into freak show.
So, until next time, hope all is well. Stay tuned for an update on the Ringmaster and Man's Geek Fest 2008-X-Files, Dark Knight, AND the Star Wars exhibit?!?! Nerd heaven! I seriously can't wait!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
How to keep two 16 month olds occupied for hours
Give them their carseat buckles while you wash the covers to the seats and voila!!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Random update
So if you have seen the little ladies lately, you will know that they are growing by leaps and bounds. This goes for their personalities as well. Here are 3 stories for your reading pleasure which all illustrate a typical day in the life of Clan Gacek.
The Monkey and the Cheese:
So I gave the girls cheese sticks-whole cheese sticks. Both of them plopped on the floor and started munching along. Well, for some reason, A got tired of eating hers and tossed it just a little ways away from her, but right next to Eleanor. So E grabs the stick and hands it to Abigail who narrows her eyes and tosses it again. Again, E picks it up and hands it to her. By this time, A is ticked, grabs the slimy cheese stick and with an exasperated UNH, whips it across the room. Eleanor did not get up to get it.
Music Soothes the Savage Beast[s]:
For those of you who don't know, we moved into our new Casa de Gato y Ninas this past weekend. Along with the house, we purchased a piano, intending for the girls to eventually take lessons. Well, needless to say, they are fascinated with the thing. They can both crawl up onto the bench and reach the keys. So yesterday they are both sitting up there playing away and pretty soon Monkey starts saying, "EH EH EH!!" Then the Bear joins in, both babies yelling, "EH EH EH!!!!" Finally E points down the keyboard. They wanted the bench to be moved down so they could play new keys. As soon as I moved them a bit, they were contented.
Comedy of Errors-funny and pretty sure we are doomed to the seventh layer of Hell:
Unfortunately, we had to make a somewhat unexpected trip to Chicago the week of June 16 for my grandmother's funeral.The whole family traveled there via minivan, which was an experience in and of itself. We also got to meet the two newest members of the family, Anthony who is 4 days younger than Monkey and Bear, and Noah who is now 6 months old. The 3 toddlers took to each other immediately and absolutely loved each other's company.
Being only 15 months, sitting in Church was not their idea of fun, so we spent a great deal of time outside having adventures. It was a beautiful day, very warm and hardly a cloud, so we spent a lot of time outside rather than in. The church was built in 1928, but in the classic Catholic church style which always seems to include millions of steps. So there we are, Abigail, Eleanor, Anthony, my cousin Shari, my mom and I, watching the babies run and frolick through the concrete pathways, ride the statuary and play the bongos on the Virgin Mary's head. Nothing too crazy, until the natives grew weary of their playthings and chaos ensued. First, Monkey decides she would like to do her best Nadia Comaneci impersonation by doing a well executed forward roll into Anthony's OCCUPIED stroller all while standing on the 4th to the bottom step of the entrance. My cousin immediately pulled back on the stroller, via instinct and I lunged forward to grab the still rolling Eleanor, only for both of us to trip over Abigail, who was having a senior moment and was crawling on the sidewalk. The end result was 3 toddlers screaming, 3 adults laughing hysterically, and one older late-arriving funeral attendee giving us all the crusty of a lifetime, damning us, I am sure, to eternal perril.
Feeling guilty that we were missing the service and worried that we would have a repeat performance of Miss Gold Medal 1976, we moved indoors to the OTHER set of 25 steps. At this point, my cousin gets tired of listening to Anthony whine, and lets him out of the stroller. He then immediately decides to show us HIS stair stepping prowess by going down the stairs like a big boy. Any of you with toddlers or younger children will know that when they are first mastering steps, more often than not, kids will back down them, using their hands and feet, in a modified bear crawl fashion. Going down like a "big kid" involves walking down the risers like any adult not completely inebriated or otherwise impaired, would tackle a staircase. I digress. Anyway, so Anthony is at the top of these stairs. To his credit, he did make it down about 5 before momentum took over and he started sliding down on his heals, but not going into a full-on log roll until about step 12. I should point out that this is my cousin Shari Lyn and any of you who know her, know that although she is only 5 feet tall, most of those 60 inches are occupied by lungs, so she shrieks, "ANTHONY THOMAS!!!!!!" Chris swears he didn't hear her inside the sanctuary up in the front of the church with the other pallbearers, but I think he is lying.
So yes it was an incredibly sad day, having to say goodbye to such a dynamic and wonderful lady, but really, there she was in all three of those little ones, having the time of her life.
So as you can see, most days we have our work cut out for us. As they say on Jon and Kate Plus 8, "It maybe a crazy life, but it's our life." Here, here, Gossleins.
The Monkey and the Cheese:
So I gave the girls cheese sticks-whole cheese sticks. Both of them plopped on the floor and started munching along. Well, for some reason, A got tired of eating hers and tossed it just a little ways away from her, but right next to Eleanor. So E grabs the stick and hands it to Abigail who narrows her eyes and tosses it again. Again, E picks it up and hands it to her. By this time, A is ticked, grabs the slimy cheese stick and with an exasperated UNH, whips it across the room. Eleanor did not get up to get it.
Music Soothes the Savage Beast[s]:
For those of you who don't know, we moved into our new Casa de Gato y Ninas this past weekend. Along with the house, we purchased a piano, intending for the girls to eventually take lessons. Well, needless to say, they are fascinated with the thing. They can both crawl up onto the bench and reach the keys. So yesterday they are both sitting up there playing away and pretty soon Monkey starts saying, "EH EH EH!!" Then the Bear joins in, both babies yelling, "EH EH EH!!!!" Finally E points down the keyboard. They wanted the bench to be moved down so they could play new keys. As soon as I moved them a bit, they were contented.
Comedy of Errors-funny and pretty sure we are doomed to the seventh layer of Hell:
Unfortunately, we had to make a somewhat unexpected trip to Chicago the week of June 16 for my grandmother's funeral.The whole family traveled there via minivan, which was an experience in and of itself. We also got to meet the two newest members of the family, Anthony who is 4 days younger than Monkey and Bear, and Noah who is now 6 months old. The 3 toddlers took to each other immediately and absolutely loved each other's company.
Being only 15 months, sitting in Church was not their idea of fun, so we spent a great deal of time outside having adventures. It was a beautiful day, very warm and hardly a cloud, so we spent a lot of time outside rather than in. The church was built in 1928, but in the classic Catholic church style which always seems to include millions of steps. So there we are, Abigail, Eleanor, Anthony, my cousin Shari, my mom and I, watching the babies run and frolick through the concrete pathways, ride the statuary and play the bongos on the Virgin Mary's head. Nothing too crazy, until the natives grew weary of their playthings and chaos ensued. First, Monkey decides she would like to do her best Nadia Comaneci impersonation by doing a well executed forward roll into Anthony's OCCUPIED stroller all while standing on the 4th to the bottom step of the entrance. My cousin immediately pulled back on the stroller, via instinct and I lunged forward to grab the still rolling Eleanor, only for both of us to trip over Abigail, who was having a senior moment and was crawling on the sidewalk. The end result was 3 toddlers screaming, 3 adults laughing hysterically, and one older late-arriving funeral attendee giving us all the crusty of a lifetime, damning us, I am sure, to eternal perril.
Feeling guilty that we were missing the service and worried that we would have a repeat performance of Miss Gold Medal 1976, we moved indoors to the OTHER set of 25 steps. At this point, my cousin gets tired of listening to Anthony whine, and lets him out of the stroller. He then immediately decides to show us HIS stair stepping prowess by going down the stairs like a big boy. Any of you with toddlers or younger children will know that when they are first mastering steps, more often than not, kids will back down them, using their hands and feet, in a modified bear crawl fashion. Going down like a "big kid" involves walking down the risers like any adult not completely inebriated or otherwise impaired, would tackle a staircase. I digress. Anyway, so Anthony is at the top of these stairs. To his credit, he did make it down about 5 before momentum took over and he started sliding down on his heals, but not going into a full-on log roll until about step 12. I should point out that this is my cousin Shari Lyn and any of you who know her, know that although she is only 5 feet tall, most of those 60 inches are occupied by lungs, so she shrieks, "ANTHONY THOMAS!!!!!!" Chris swears he didn't hear her inside the sanctuary up in the front of the church with the other pallbearers, but I think he is lying.
So yes it was an incredibly sad day, having to say goodbye to such a dynamic and wonderful lady, but really, there she was in all three of those little ones, having the time of her life.
So as you can see, most days we have our work cut out for us. As they say on Jon and Kate Plus 8, "It maybe a crazy life, but it's our life." Here, here, Gossleins.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A top nine list for entering the second year of life
Yeah, I know it's May.
So what better time to reflect yet again about all the things that we have learned in our first year of life in the Monkey/Bear Initiative. Here it is, then, without further ado, the top nine things that both the Ringmaster and the rest of the circus have learned, noted, or experienced since March 18, 2007. Oh, and there's a bonus gripe at the bottom of the list. ENJOY!!
And the previously referred to bonus gripe for your enjoyment:
So what better time to reflect yet again about all the things that we have learned in our first year of life in the Monkey/Bear Initiative. Here it is, then, without further ado, the top nine things that both the Ringmaster and the rest of the circus have learned, noted, or experienced since March 18, 2007. Oh, and there's a bonus gripe at the bottom of the list. ENJOY!!
- Falls are much easier to take when cushioned by a sister.
- If you are ever watching our girls and you want them to bring you either the television remote or the telephone, ask them to bring the No. This is now officially their names. Similarly, the girls’ names have been changed to Eleanor No and Abigail No.
- Jamba Juice in Whole Foods has the very best music to get your groove going. Whole Foods also has a lot of cheese for sampling.
- If you are ever building a structure in
- Daddy really likes it when you use your toothbrush to comb his hair, especially if you have been sucking on the toothbrush so it’s nice and wet.
- There is absolutely nothing cuter than a 14 month old saying, “Thank you.”
- The drumsticks from the Bee Band do fit in the VCR, but they tend to get stuck on the door flap when you pull them out due to the little Cilia on both sides of the sticks. This requires one to pull as hard as she can while grunting. This also often requires a diaper change.
- Cheerios are much better if chewed by a sister then pulled out of her mouth and stuffed into your own mouth.
- Although it would seem like they would, the afore mentioned drumsticks do not make any sound when used on the head of a sister. The sister, on the other hand, does.
And the previously referred to bonus gripe for your enjoyment:
· An issue that needs to be addressed:
Dear Margaret Wise Brown,
Thank you so much for creating such a wonderful story like Goodnight Moon. The repetitive rhythm of the text captivates my daughters and they love to listen to them over and over and over. However lately, I have become increasingly annoyed with the choice of text beginning with “Goodnight Moon.” Why follow this sentence with, “Goodnight cow jumping over the moon?” This, in my mind, breaks up the flow of the story by repeating “moon” too quickly. Another sticking point is why say goodnight to nobody? “Nobody” is not mentioned prior to this spot in the story, and yet there is a whole page devoted to nobody. Conversely, the telephone one of the first things listed as occupying space in the great green room, and it never receives a goodnight nod from the narrator. Perhaps it could replace nobody.
I recently read that you wrote your stories as children liked to hear them, not as adults think that they should be written. This is indeed a noble and most child-centric way to write and I fully support your effort. However, please know that until the telephone gets its just dues, nobody loses its significant, yet random kudos and the cow and the moon issue is sorted out, 2 little girls in
Thank you for your time.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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-
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-
Friday, February 15, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
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.
Wait, what? I wasn't, what now?
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!
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!
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