It's My Pity Party

Lately, Butterfly has been having a difficult time when her opinion of what needs to happen differs from her parents' opinions of the same.

The resulting drama can be quite annoying EXCEPT that usually amidst her quite tragic tears, she will sob out, "Oh Baby Butterfly, Baby Butterfly." (using her real name, of course.)

It cracks us up every time. I don't know if she is trying to comfort herself or is just feeling sorry for herself, but it is pretty cute. It doesn't WORK, of course, but it is cute!

The Making Of A Rock Star

Butterfly in the studio recording her latest album, "The Pin-sy Spider (aka Itsy-Bitsy Spider)", the follow-up to her last best-selller, "Now I Know My A B D's".

Conversations With Butterfly

Inspired by Her Royal Excitedness and her Conversations With Judah, here is the first installment of Conversations With Butterfly. These are some of the fun moments I can remember right now. There have been SO many more.

(Keep in mind that Butterfly is not quite two. She is rather loquacious, however, which is her first discernible resemblance to her mother.)

SETTING: Several months ago while Butterfly was tasting her toes.

Daddy: Are those toes good?
Butterfly: Yes
Daddy: What do they taste like?
Butterfly: Bananas

SETTING: In the car yesterday

Daddy: Butterfly, what are you eating?
Butterfly: Dinosaur (as she nibbles on her plastic toy)
Daddy: What does it taste like?
Butterfly: Bananas
Mommy: Do you want some bunny crackers?
Butterfly: No
Daddy: What do bunny crackers taste like?
Butterfly: Rabbits

SETTING: Shopping at Target last week

Mommy: Butterfly, we are looking for some skewers. I wonder where they are.
Mommy: Here they are! We found them!
Butterfly: Good job, Mommy!

SETTING: Missing Daddy who has gone to work.

Butterfly: Daddy here?
Mommy: No, Daddy is at work.
Butterfly: See Daddy?
Mommy: No, Daddy is at work.
Butterfly: Pretend Daddy?
(A while later)
Butterfly: Daddy here?
Mommy: No, Daddy is at work. Would you like to talk to him on the phone?
Butterfly: SEE Daddy.
Mommy: Let's call him.
Butterfly: Hello Daddy! (on the phone)
Daddy: (something)
Butterfly: Daddy working hard!
Daddy: I am so proud of you. You slept all night long last night.
Butterfly: Till the sun comes out!
(more conversation)
Butterfly: Bye-bye. See ya later.

SETTING: A friend brought Butterfly some toy dishes and food. They were going through the food, and Butterfly was telling her what everything was.

Valerie: What's this? (holding an egg)
Butterfly: Egg
Valerie: What's this? (holding a banana)
Butterfly: Banana
Valerie: What's this? (holding cucumber)
Butterfly: Pee-pee!

(She'd only seen a cucumber chopped up & never whole, but she HAD seen Daddy getting dressed! She'll be so embarrassed by that answer one day....haha!)

SETTING: Butterfly is still nursing during the day, but we have begun to do it less frequently, which is new to her. She has somehow picked up some negotiating techniques!

Butterfly: Nursey night-night (she says this even when she doesn't want to go to sleep)
Mommy: Not right now. We just nursed 5 minutes ago.
Butterfly: Nurse real fast?
Mommy: We can nurse later.
Butterfly: Nurse just a minute?
Mommy: Not right now, sweetie.
Butterfly: Pretend nurse? (Her last resort!)

SETTING: Butterfly got her Ibuprofen bottle & dropper off the table and was trying to open it.

Mommy: Butterfly, you can't open that. (Meaning both that it's impossible and you shouldn't be trying.)
Butterfly: Pretend, mommy. (accompanied by a look that said - no kidding - Gosh, mom, I'm not stupid! - just like a miniature teenager!

There Is So Much Fun To Be Had

1. Turn yourself into a work of art.

2. Make some snowflakes and flowers.

3. Crash the Line Rider.

4. Send an e-mail to your future self.

5. Write a One Sentence Story.

6. Show a toddler these animals.

7. BEST OF ALL.....buy a goat.

There Is More To Sunshine

My husband wrote me another poem last week, and it encouraged me so. I hope you like, too.

An introspection--
Crowds bustle through motions
Birds chatter in hazy summer heat
We, pulled or stayed by currents
of obligation
Feel driven like toy boats sometimes
But we are more than what we do.
There is more to sunshine
than radiation

Unchalked, there rides above us
Between us, some breath, love
that pulls our puppet strings
into dance

Still Alive

So as I was saying.....

Yeah, it's been 7 months.... Why? Well, I really have no excuse at all. None, whatsoever.

But I can give you REASONS, if you want them. Here's my list:

1. We've sold one house, moved, bought another, renovated it, and moved again. I am still unpacking.
2. I have a very energetic, excited 21-month old fairy baby. (See above photo.)
3. I get very little sleep.
4. It's hard to use my computer for anything but surfing and reading e-mails. (See #2.)
5. I have had nothing to say.
6. I have had too much to say.
7. The political landscape is depressing me beyond belief.
8. My husband hasn't written me any more poetry to post. (See #1.)
9. It's hard to read literature when you are a zombie. (See #3.)
10. I don't like coffee, tea has far to little caffeine, and sodas are horrible for you.

However, Her Royal Excitedness has inspired me to get on the ball. Butterfly is doing some really fun and funny things that I must record somewhere. And eventually I need to post about what's going on in our country and the world, as ridiculous as it is. There must be things we can do, right???

For now, I leave you with a fabulous quote I see at the end of every e-mail I get from my friend, Julie M:

"Suppose, then, you content yourself for the present with doing in a faithful, quiet, persistent way all the little, homely tasks that return with each returning day, each one as unto God..." --Elizabeth Prentiss

Blah-Blah

A Conversation Between Mommy and Butterfly

Butterfly: Hand (holding up her hand)

Mommy: That’s right! That’s your hand! Can you say finger?

Butterfly: (blank look)

Mommy: Say fin-ger. Fffffffin-ger. Ffffffin-ger. Can you say it?

Butterfly: (blank look)

Mommy: Try to say it - fffffffin-ger.

Butterfly: Blah-blah! (with the perfect inflection)

Mommy: (laughing) That’s sooo funny! Are those your blah-blahs?

Butterfly: (laughs hard)

Mommy: Butterfly, where are your blah-blahs?

Butterfly: (waves her fingers and laughs)

Mommy: (laughs and laughs)

Moving Right Along

Well, we sold the non-hypo-allergenic house after only 5 days on the market. What? How could we sell the house six months after we bought it? Perhaps this little sonnet (with no rhyme-scheme; iambic pentameter was hard enough) could give some insight.

SONNET FOR A SOLD HOUSE

How could we sell thee? Let me count the ways.
I will sell thee for the heights you’re dreaded
Electricity bills were in winter.
I will sell thee for the depths the termites
Dug into your wood. I will sell thee for
The breaths of fresh air my husband can take
When we leave your character-laden walls
Behind. For the drug-dealers, our burglar,
The UPS truck’s armed Christmas robbers
Just forty yards from your charming front porch.
For the brownies baked in your oven turned
Lop-sided for your roller coaster floors.
For all these things we say goodbye and flee
To a land of quieter things to be.

Oh, if you want to see a virtual tour of it with our stuff in it and it really cleaned up, go here and click on the virtual tour. Ours is the first listing. Micah & Jessica did such a great job on the virtual tour, it made me want to buy the house. But then I read that sonnet and reconsidered...

Since we have to be out by the end of January, we are looking for another place to live. We hope to buy something, but we may run out of time and need to make other arrangements. Any creative ideas?

By the way, soon I will write a blog about our surreal Thanksgiving. Remind me if I forget.