Jocelyn: I’m going to be a DOG!
me: really!
j: yes! a PINK dog!
me: will you have a doggie name?
j: yes! I will be Jocelyn the Pink Dog.
me: will you do doggie things?
j: yes! I will dig and dig and ruff and ruff!

this morning, her hair was looking pretty crazy, so I brushed it, giving commentary like, “Goodness, look at all this CRAZY hair!” When I was finished, I announced, “All done!” and Jocelyn replied, “Now my hair is BEAUTIFUL HAIR!”

I wish I could remember some of the cute funny things Ethan has said, but they have escaped me. They are this long involved stories of the trucks, and the cranes, and the excavators, and how he is a worker man.

one last story, with no children involved:

we’re both sitting on the couch, me with my laptop and james with nothing, all settled in after the kids are in bed.

me: crap.
james doesn’t take the hint and ask, “what?” he just sits there, watching tv.
me: oh shoot. james honey?
james: yes?
me: would you mind terribly getting me a pen or a pencil?
james frowns at me.
i try to give him my best puppy dog face
james: what will you give me?
i curse the weak-ass puppy dog face. must practice puppy dog face.
me: my eternal love?
james just looks at me.
me: my eternal devotion?
james: what else you got?
i just look at him. finally i drop all puppy dog faces and cut right to negotiation.
me: what do you want?
james: A backrub.
i frown.
me, starting to get up: Never mind. I’ll get my own pencil.*
THE END.

#epilogue: he laughed and got me a pencil. Two, in fact. but i thought the story ended better on that last line. Also, don’t you think this story would be better if something else were in place of “backrub?” I wanted to replace it, but I stuck to the facts. Because I’m a fact-sticker-to-er. I’m nothing if not truthful. Also, I am the best backrub giver in the world, so of course he wanted a backrub. Hey. Don’t read anything into that. BACKRUB giver, you sicko! I need to stop while I’m ahead. TOO LATE!

It’s been so long since I wrote regularly I’m trying to get back into the swing of it. It doesnt’ help that our internet at home is sporadic at best. The internet people are going to come to the house tomorrow to check our gateway to the series of tunnels and tubes (the gateway is called a “cable modem,” who would have figured!) and take some readings and hopefully we’ll be back to blazing lightning superfast internet soon!

-amy wishes for warmth and sun