The Baby Juggler

You May Have Noticed the Housekeeping

This is in keeping with being more big and gay.  Or gay and big.  Anyway, I feel the need to press the gay and lesbian parenting issues a bit, as having children has thrown us into a different financial stratosphere.  It would be nice to know if something happened to either of us, we would have the other's social security benefit, for example.  Anyway, CIVIL RIGHTS FOR QUEERS NOW!  EQUALITY NOW!

Carry on.

The World According to Costco

Who else loves to go to Costco just to eat the free samples?  Why are we like fish in a tank, hovering near the food cart waiting for the sample lady to place her item on the tray, then fighting each other to reach the food first?  Or is it just me?  Oh, but it's not, cause it was about six other piglets hovering with me. 

So I made the mistake of once or twice going to Costco and getting the kids a hot dog to share (which they are not even that crazy about, but I really like the price and the drink IS included).  Now every time we go to Costco we have to get a freaking hot dog or they lose their minds.  They do not understand why Mommy doesn't do the same exact thing everywhere we go.  Like when we go to the big store at the mall with the play area?  WHY AREN'T WE GOING TO PLAY TODAY, MOMMY?  MOMMY?

Heard in the Baby Monitor This Morning

Jr. coughing due to the recent typhoid influenza cold outbreak at our house.

Mini says, "Are you ok, Jr.?"

Jr. says, "No.  [pause]  I am HOP-PY [happy]."

Mini says, "Okay, that's fine."

Jobs and Head Injuries

The other day Mini's chair fell straight back, banging her head and back flat onto the hard kitchen floor.  She was in her booster, which was strapped onto the chair.  This was frightening to me for several reasons:  One, I think y'all know about my fear of head injuries, Two, um, it hurt her and was a head injury, and Three, it was very very loud and sounded terrible and was a head injury.  The nice Man-Nurse advice nurse at our pediatrician's office was not concerned, and as she is fine now, I am not either.  The only positive to this is that she is now more cautios about pushing her chair away from the table with her feet, which has been a really really REALLY annoying game for the past three months or so.  If I could have achieved this without the head bump, I certainly would, but it IS a definite benefit.

In the next two weeks I have a few job interviews lined-up, as well as one lunch that is not an official job interview, but we'll see what happens.

In my "interview" tomorrow, I am going to propose to a professional I have never met to allow me to become her partner in the future and share profits in her business, should I be able to build the current practice.  She is going to think I am incredibly presumptious and throw me out of her office and warn EVERYONE in this darned small town not to hire me.  I am not really persuasive by nature.  I am scared and more scared that I'll chicken out when the time comes.

So, keep fingers and toes crossed that SOMETHING good happens soon on the job front.

Going to watch Top Chef now, the ONLY reason to have cable.

Stuff Babies Do That is Very Very Cute

Some of this is going to be like, "yeah, duh.  Your kids a re growing-up and learning to talk."  But it's cool to me, ok?

Jr. is thinkng and creating language.  By that I mean, he doesn't just parrot sentences that are familiar, he creates brand new sentences that are contextually correct.  I was cleaning the porch this morning when he said, "Mommy is sweeping outside."  Yes, yes, baby, Mommy IS sweeping outside.  Ok, I KNOW how silly it sounds when it's written here, but when it is YOUR two year and three month old saying it, you tell ME it's not an amazing milestone.

Mini is very funny in her sibling rivalry, 'Mommy-is-Mine' behavior.  I say the them BOTH, "Are you Mommy's Angel-baby?"  Mini worries over this for hours, stating periodically throughout the day, "Jr. not the Angel-baby yet."  She looks at me earnestly, her eyes pleading with me to agree with her, which, of course, I cannot do.  I say to her very seriously, "Are you my Angel-baby?"  to which she responds, "Umm, umm, Jr. not the Angel-baby yet."  Sometimes she places her hand on my cheek to turn my eyes directly towards hers, as if to make me understand that this is a Very Serious Question with only one right answer. 

Yesterday Jr. did something sneaky, maybe pulling something off a counter (items on the counter are no longer out of bounds, BEWARE ye mothers and fathers of tall children), and I smilingly said, "Jr. is a sneakypants."  To which Mini giggled and repeated, "Jr. is a sneakypants, Jr. is a sneakypants.  That's funny, Mommy.  That's silly."

Today at our indoor play area, a parent left his 6 month-old with me while he changed his older child's diaper.  Mini then asked to hold the baby, which I let her do while sitting on the floor and me supporting the baby underneath.  Then Jr. asked and we did the same thing.  They both looked so proud and happy, it made my heart break that we are 85% sure we are not having another.

Julia Roberts, I challenge you to a duel

What is it about me, that I can be thrown for a loop by this Julia Roberts person?  She has twins after I do, she loses all her baby weight before I do (and it's still not gone and I'm becoming concerned that it will never ever go away) and now there are rumors that she is pregnant.  Again.  Just as I'm going through my "should we, shouldn't we" angst. 

Harumph.

I AM A BIG OL' LESBO QUEER

I'm a bit afraid about the google searches I will get from that title. 

Sometimes I think this blog doesn't discuss the issues of gay parenting enough.  I feel I should be more IN YOUR FACE as a lesbian, although I'm not sure why I would need to be.  I describe our very normal life in a very normal (albeit snoozin' kind of way- hey did I mention before the really cute thing my kids have been doing for months now, which is to pretend they are asleep and they SNORE.  Uh-huh, they pretend SNORE.  I mean, how freaking cute is that?  And then Jr. says, "I go fast asleep... and SNORES and CLOSES HIS EYES.-) way. 

How was that sentence, eh?

So, briefly as I just went through my blog's email cleaning and tidying and maintaining and it took longer than I wanted, I will mention a couple of thoughts, one about being a gay mom, and another related to a gay person.

I am interviewing for a job (which I desperately need) that doesn't have DP (that's domestic partnership to you) benefits and does not list sexual orientation on its workplace anti-discrimination list.  Huh.  Not sure exactly how to bring that up without losing the job offer.

Now, on to more exciting things than my BIG FAT GAY life (or not, not really more exciting to me, but to some it may be).

I know and honestly care very very little, teeny tiny dinosaur (oops, sorry, NOT reading this to my son right now) about the Rosie and Donald thing.  So little in fact that, while treadmilling at the gym the other night and watching a TV that's about a mile away (I SO SO had it good at my YMCA which had individual TVs for each treadmill, I didn't even need my glasses and I didn't KNOW how good I had it) while listening to my Harry Potter book I on my new IPOD shuffle which J splurged for for me for Christmas while she got a $19.99 Target sweater and that is IT, I swear it.  I'm stopping that sentence right there.  It is such a mess I'm just staring as if it was a complete sentence, mmmk?  SO I was listening to Harry and eying the TV.  Larry King was on.  Ick.  What an Ick.  He had Donald Trump talking about the Rosie O'Donnell feud.  Ok, I don't even know what the feud was about, but at one point something on the TV sucked me in and I wanted to HEAR what was going on, so I plugged in my headphones and I hear Donald saying pretty harsh things, then he said, "she's a degenerate?, and she's ... some word that implies unattractive and gross..."  Wow, what a great story, right?  I can't even quote him directly.  But you get the idea. 

Anywhoooo, I felt immediately angry at Donald and horrified and angry at Larry King for his smile of agreement, and angry at society at large, that a woman's looks are still attacked when a disagreement is in hand.  Her looks (and frankly her sexual preference) have nothing to do with it other than using them against her weakens her position in the eyes of the person slinging that mud and, more unfortunately, in the eyes of the public.  You KNOW thousands of men and hundreds of women were thinking, yeah, she IS pretty...  insert negative thought about her looks and/or sexuality here.  So by making her an object to be thought below everyone due to her sexual preference and to make her sexuality not worthy of others' recognition (and somehow this weakens her position) because she is deemed by this TRUMP person to be unattractive, makes it seem a woman can only be respected and treated on equal footing as men if she lives up to some standard of beauty or good looks.

Well, obviously it's been a while since I've written a college paper commenting on the sociological aspects of feminism and the beauty industry, but please accept my poor comment and read the intent. 

I felt miserable the rest of my workout.  I have naively thought that people were growing, society was improving, women were more respected for their contributions than their make-up.  I would not have felt so insulted if he commented on her grammar, or disliked the persona or role she presents as Rosie the Celebrity.

Alright, enough about a subject I care little about, really.

G'night

To Apa

Daily now, Jr. and Mini are asking about you.  We get dressed to go to the park, or to our play "group" and one baby says, "go see Apa today.  Anjou (sp.), Anjou.  Go see Apa and Anjou."

J claims you will need to move into the apartment across the street.  $500 for rent, all utilities, and cable tv.  I believe even high speed internet. 

When are you coming home to us, at least to visit?  The babies remember and miss you.

We wish you well, in your home country of Pakistan, and please stay safe and see us soon.

Love,

K, J, M, and Jr.

Heard in My House Today

"You can only keep playing with mommy's underwear if you leave your shirt on."

**Edited to add:  I feel this needs explanation, although probably funnier without it.  Erm, no, I was not wearing the underwear.  Mini is obsessed with wearing underwear, and anytime she finds some in the 'clean' basket (hopefully) she takes her pants off and puts on the undies over her diaper.  Because utilities are so freaking expensive here (anyone ever hear of a $300.00 heating bill?) we keep it pretty darn cold in our house.  Mini was taking off her shirt as well for reasons unbeknownst to me, and I thought it was too cold to be sans clothing with only mommy's "panties" and her diaper, so I told her she could only wear the underwear if she left on her shirt. 

And Another Thing

I am so terrible about posting, I know this.  I actually do think of clever posts when away from te computer, but never seem to have a pen handy to jot down a sentence or two to aid my memory later.

I had a post about Jr. looming in my mind the other day, but now, I got nothing.

So instead, I will try to talk about more cute things my kids do daily. 

Mini has taken to singing this song over. and over. and over. and over.  Call us on the phone, she'll be happy to sing it to you.  And Mommy (me) has to sing it with her, not Mama (J).   She can only articulate about half of the words, and sometimes she stumbles over all th superfluous words, you know, the extra things that give meaning to sentences.

Mini makes many of her consonant sounds sound like "y".  She might say, "I want da viyamin" for "vitamin", or sometimes even say "mnm" (YOU kn ow, M&M) since we've begun trying to potty train using M&Ms (jury is out on if it's worth it).  So she calls all candy (including vitamins) M&Ms.

Jr. has recently had a language SURGE.  J and I would always hear his complete sentences and contextually correct discussions, but he is quieter in front of other people but he is beginning to come into his own.  He wowed Grandma and Grandpa this weekend with his discussions, musings, and observations. 

Jr. will make an observation like he just opened a present and needs to yell out what it is.  He might say (quite loudly, almost a yell), "there's a COYOTE out there" when we hear the howls of coyotes in my mothers "yard".  His earnest expression in face and voice make me laugh over and over.

The babies are currently obsessed with having hangnails, and are constantly announcing that they have one while shoving the villainous appendage in our genera direction.  I made the mistake of putting Mini's finger in my mouth briefly once, thinking this would help temporarily with any soreness (why do we do this?) and since then she insists her hangnail fingers get placed in my mouth again.  Luckily this has not yet occurred in public.

That's all for tonight, I'm for bed.