things my children have argued about today

• whether all birthstones are jewels
• the age of a stuffed giraffe
• who interrupted whom (this took quite a while to resolve because - yes - they kept interrupting each other)

my transformation into the crypt keeper is apparently complete

just returned from a doctor's appointment. while the nurse took my info, i killed some time knitting. the nurse looked at what i was doing and said:

"are you making that for a grandchild?"

we must never, ever make fun of the ipad again

granted, it's not the greatest product name. but it can't compete in the awfulness department with what i heard today on the radio. the announcer was talking about:

"the new barnes & noble nook e-book reader"

but what it sounded like was:

"the new barnes & noble nookie book reader"

did no one in their marketing department ever say this stuff out loud?

you know your play date is ending badly when...

the guest erupts in chicken pox. even though he's been vaccinated.

the trouble with laptops

there are now three laptop computers on my smallish dining room table, up from two the day before and one prior to that. these things are multiplying like freaking tribbles around here. tis life with IT guy.

best mother's day present ever

thing one's teacher, saint margo, compiled the favorite recipes of all her kindergarteners and created a cook book for all the moms. how she managed to take dictation on these creations with a straight face, i will never know.

here are some samples:

josie's chicken with a really yummy sauce on it (cuban chicken)

• whole jar of olives
• whole small can of tomato paste
• whole onion - skin peeled then chopped up in little slices

mix it in a blender. take it out and see how smooth it is. if it's smooth, take it out. if it's not, put it back in and blend it some more. pour it over the chicken. cook the chicken for maybe about 10 minutes or so at 8 degrees.

emma's chicken noodle soup

• 1 piece of chicken
• 100 noodles
• 1 cup of water

put one piece of chicken, 100 noodles and 1 cup of water in a bowl. cook it on a stove for 2 minutes.

sierra's homemade cupcake

• 2 cups vanilla
• 1/4 tsp coconut
• 4 eggs
• whipped cream

you put it in a mixer then mix it for 2 minutes. get a cupcake pan. put cupcake papers in. put the dough in. cook it for 3 minutes at 8 degrees.

eli's gingerbread man

• baking dough
• you can put m&ms on it

smash it. then cook it in the oven maybe 10 minutes at 20 degrees. then put the m&ms on for the mouth, the eyes and the buttons.

braeden's lasagna

• noodle thing that's bumpy - maybe about two eighths
• sauce - enough to fill the whole bottom of the blue tray
• white stuff - about this much (2 hands held close together)

first put the sauce in the bottom of the blue tray. put in the white stuff. put on the noodles. then you do that all over again. then you cook it in the oven for a minute or two. maybe at 8 degrees.

happiness is

five gallon-size bags of freshly harvested and chopped rhubarb. there are some benefits to living in minnesota.

seen

outside a store near my daughter's eye doctor:

SEXY

ASIAN

FARMHOUSE

ANTIQUES

the mind reels...