unsurprising mittens

mommy recently returned from oslo where she went to watch the potus get the nobel peace prize.

as per usual, mommy came home from her travels with a little gift for the kids.

for better or for worse, jack has come to expect these prizes, and when mommy returned, one of the first things from his mouth was: "where's my surprise?"

and as he waited, eyes closed and hands outstretched, mommy proffered a white plastic bag.

jack reached inside and pulled out ... mittens. two pair. one smaller purple pair and one larger brown.

"mittens?" he plaintively asked. "mittens are *not* a surprise!" jack declared.

true that, young jack. the surprise was the exchange rate between the norwegian kroner and the weak dollar. so mittens were the splurge.

ah, our grateful, gracious son. christmas ought to be interesting.
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fashionista jack

as mommy was getting dressed today, she asked jack, "should i wear regular shoes or shiny shoes?". jack decided shiny (eat your heart out tim gunn)

then ... he said, "obama will think your shoes are pretty. he'll say, 'oh mommy! your shoes are beautiful.'"

don't think it'll happen, but it would be pretty cool!
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weekend update, saturday

a weekend update so chock-full, we're splitting it into two editions.

fluffy white flakes fell on our fair city and what could be more idyllic and iconic than going to cut your own christmas tree in the snow?

insults 101

today, as we were rushing to brush teeth so we could get out the door to school, jack got frustrated when mommy chided him for playing with a ball instead of heading upstairs to the sink.

so, he said, "forget it! you are a poo-poo diaper!"

it took every ounce of self-control mommy had not to laugh.

and while jack was reprimanded for not speaking respectfully and nicely to another person ... it was also sort of nice to see ... it was so developmentally appropriate -- sometimes you measure the milestones by the bad stuff as well as the good.

just as long as he doesn't make a habit of it ... cause being called "poo-poo diaper" could hurt a girl's self esteem!

standin' annie

unedited and raw ... so excuse the bad camerawork ...

but look at that proud papa watching her little triumph ...

holiday portrait, failed attempt #2

it's like herding cats ... one child is difficult enough ... two -- and one pre-walker??? nearly impossible!

but ... perhaps a winner? or at least a fall-back plan if attempt #3 goes no better ....

turn that sucker black and white, boost the contrast and crop it tight ... it'll look like annie leibowitz shot the thing!

thankfulness, redux

last year, mommy recorded a list of what jack said he was thankful for without any prompting besides the question, "anything else?"

this year the experiment was repeated ... with slightly different results. check out the very gastronomically-oriented list:

• cake
• bread
• butter
• stuffing
• green beans

anything else, jack? "nope. that's it."

that's it.