TAPPA TAPPA

tonight, i did this...

...for the first time in 20 years when i took tap as a p.e. credit at wsu (don't even get me started on that 20 years thing!).

i took a beginning tap class with a friend.

our pre-class conversation went something like this:

me: i feel a wee bit self-conscious but excited. i mean, look what i'm wearing. i haven't done laundry in a while so i'm wearing this dorky brown t-shirt.

her: i can't take off my fleece tonight because i'm wearing a white t-shirt and polka dot bra.

me: i'm wearing my old lady sweatsuit...wouldn't even pass for cool in boca raton.

her: i'm wearing short pants with unshaven legs.

we. are. awesome.

our post-class conversation went something like this:

me: that was fun, but totally crazy.

her: i was hoping tonight i might find out some big secret about my inner tap abilities. i didn't.

me: i couldn't look in the mirror. i kept seeing this big brown blob and it threw me off count.

her: what's up with these ten-feet-tall teenage girls anyway?

me: what about me in my hammer pants sweats.

her: or me trying to tap in my socks.

me: there were things jiggling on me that i simply do not like reminded that they do indeed jiggle.

her: i was doing my kegels so i wouldn't accidentally pee my pants.

can you believe we even enjoyed ourselves and will go back next week?

HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS OR BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

with my lack of holiday blog posts in december, you might assume that our entire christmas and new year's celebrating consists of some red and white junk sprinkled around our living room in the form of decor. alas, that is not all we did! so here are a few highlights of our holiday season, in no particular order.


since we went to spokane for christmas, we had a special little family christmas at home the night before. these sweet boys were very excited for presents! who wouldn't be?


the guys (with some help from mom) wrote and illustrated a book for daddy inspired by captain underpants. they called it the adventures of boon and hudson. it. was. awesome.


is this not a most familiar sight after a christmas gift-opening fest? mom or dad slaving over a pile of instructions, batteries, mini screwdrivers and the like.



on christmas eve, the boys put out reindeer food for santa's team. claudia and her kids used to bring this to the boys when they were young, so it's a special tradition for us.



our christmas eve feast at grandma and grandpa's was domini sandwiches and popcorn. yum yum yum. we often got these delightfully huge deli sandwiches for christmas eve dinner when i was growing up. and they are flippin' good. and ginormous. you really have to work at it to get these babies in your mouth. but it's well worth it.

ok, this post is starting to go on and on and on, ain't it? how about i say ta ta for now and tantalize you with other holiday highlights to come, like...nuts over nutcrackers! not to mention completely cooky over camden (that rhymes with spooky, not cookie, and no camden is not spooky, he's wonderful. ok enough. more later. sheesh!)

HOME IMPROVEMENT BOY WOES

we are trying to improve our home right now...namely, our living room. and it's hard on the boys. hard on them because they have opinions. and they tend to hate change. and it causes us some problems.

let me try and paint you a picture.

a while ago, when we mentioned that we were going to eventually buy a new couch, boon said, "ok, you can buy a new couch as long as it's exactly like this one!" well, buddy, i don't think they sell couches with huge gaping holes in the fabric, ginormous cushion stains and torn piping. i don't think you can purchase a couch that you couldn't give away to a frat house for their front porch. (this couch used to be downstairs. when we moved it upstairs to make room for another couch, boon threw a hissy fit. how dare we move his beloved couch!)

when i started prepping to paint our brick fireplace, hudson cried buckets. he begged me to leave it brick. then he tried to negotiate. "mom, can you leave part of it the same as it is now?" while boon suggested i make a pattern on the bricks with paint...red, white, red and then white, red, white.

and then there's this.



the dreaded entry way light fixture. perhaps the ugliest light ever "designed". when we took it down, hudson wanted to make sure we were putting it right back up. when we responded in the negative, he immediately burst into tears and begged for us to keep it. begged. now i get that change is hard for my kiddos. but seriously?

ON MY MIND...

1. this conversation between my boys:

hudson: how did she get to arizona? i think she FLEWED there in an airplane.

boon: hudson, i think it's time you KNOWED. the word is flew.

2. this reminder of my life:

wyatt and i painted our living room walls and ceiling on a sunday. i spent a monday through a wednesday on coat number 2. on a thursday i cleaned up the drop cloths, put the furniture back, vacuumed, and put the place back together. it was so clean and open and fresh. and by that thursday evening (actually, i think i just blinked), the floor was covered with a train set and more importantly, a two-square court on the carpet made with blue painters tape. awesome.

3. chuck e. cheese

how can something so loved by childred be so hated by adults?

4. exercise

hate it.

5. couch buying

sucks. well, maybe not the buying, but the decision making.
which one (in charcoal gray)?

the dana:

or the digby:



6. this "design me" banana sticker.

how cool is this?

INSTALLMENT #2 OF "OVERHEARD DURING PRESCHOOL CARPOOL"

hudson and one of his buddies are talking.
his other buddy interrupts with...

"guys! guys! i've got something REALLY SPECIAL to tell you!!!"

the boys stop talking to listen.

"my brother made it to world 4 in super mario galaxy two!"

6 BAGS OF KITTY LITTER LATER...

we're painting our living room.
i went to the paint store to buy paint.
i bought fancy, low voc paint.
it was not cheap.
i brought it home.
i dropped one entire gallon of fancy, not cheap paint...
on the aggregate concrete walk in front of our house.
the entire gallon.
after i had a panic attack,
we began picking up what we could with rags.
we tried the hose.
the paint began washing away down our driveway,
across the sidewalk,
into the gutter,
and towards the storm drain.
we tried kitty litter we borrowed from our neighbor.
it helped save the storm drain.
and soaked up a lot of the watery paint.
but then, it started raining.
of course.
awesome.
we went to the store and bought 5 more bags of litter.
we worked for darn near 2 hours in the pouring rain.
after that, we gave up and hoped for the best.

i love love love home improvement projects, don't you?

INSERT WITTY BLOG POST TITLE HERE

early this morning, hudson crawled into bed with wyatt and i. later, when wyatt got up, our little guy followed his dad around the room, clinging and hugging and kissing. he just couldn't get enough of daddy. as wyatt left the room, with hudson shadowing him, i said,

"looks like you've got a sidekick today."

wyatt replied,

"more like a frontkick."

NOODLE NOTES

looking for a unique and innovative way to leave notes to your loved ones? try noodle notes! simply grab an uncooked, broken lasagna noodle and a pencil, and voila!

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BOYS

boon on science-

boon: dad, can ants see atoms?

dad: nope. no eyes can see atoms. and there's an explanation which we won't get into right now (because it's bedtime).

boon: the scientific theory behind that is...CUZ!

hudson on language-

isn't pickles a funny word for pickles?

and

chocolate milk is a perfect name for chocolate milk. it's milk and it's chocolate!

FIRST PROJECT OF 2011

declutter the refrigerator. i'm thankful for a fridge, you know? to keep our food from spoiling, but also to have a place to hang creations from the boys. but after a while, the fridge looks less like a kid gallery and more like a dumping ground. and with all the decluttering and organizing projects i have swarming around in my head, i chose this one to begin with. it's small. and i need small...to feel accomplished. and also because i haven't had much time this weekend in between my naps. i'm just storing up some energy for all the fun and frolic i plan on having this year.

here's before:




and after:


and in case you were wondering, that's our job chart...ewoks and jawas. oddly enough, it works. well, the star wars thing, not always the guys who are supposed to be doing the jobs.


seriously, i can breathe better already.


oh, and here's my all-time favorite magnet. my sentiments exactly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

it's 1-1-11! cool!

just wanted to take note.

that's all i got.