My baby has to have surgery next Friday. *cries* Max has an inguinal hernia (indirect); fortunately, fixing it is a pretty simple procedure. He’s actually excited about the surgery– once he found out that he wouldn’t feel anything it became an adventure. I, on the other hand, am more pensive. I’m not really worried, but it’s still my baby boy on the operating table! Hopefully he will not get too nervous as the date grows closer. He has to miss ‘pajama day’ at school and is completely bummed… but I promised we’d do our own pajama day at home. We’ve even got plans to have breakfast foods for every meal that day.

Khai got sidewalk chalk all over his fingers today while playing outside. “See? It’s SO BEAUTIFUL!” Aww. Such a great kid. He did that right before running off to gather every dandelion he could find in the backyard– “they’re for our whole family. Let’s put them on the table.” This is the same child who will punch Max in the head, completely unprovoked, or will lick my arm (or pull my hair, or head-butt me) because he knows he’ll get in trouble for it. As Dorothy Parker put it, “This wasn’t just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it.” It’s the age, I know… but I enjoy the sweet Khai so much more than the impish Khai.

Tomorrow, I am paying people to come clean my house. Yay? I don’t like spending money, especially on something I should be doing myself. But I can’t keep up. Maybe with all the regular stuff done I can tackle some of the bigger tasks that have languished on my to-do list for far too long.

I ate chocolate while watching part of a modeling show on tv earlier. Ha! Excellent.

Busy weekend! I’m still recovering. We were going to watch The Departed, but I’m not sure if the energy can be mustered.

Links…

For Anne: The Design Disease

The most beautifully channeled OCD I have ever seen: Jen Stark’s paper sculptures. Also awesome? This little paper animation. The animation is best seen with music playing in the background, preferably from:

Alienswede. I recommend Scando Brilliance… and though I’m still downloading his Schizo mix, I have no doubt that it is stellar.

Oh! And how hot was Maggie Gyllenhaal last night?!?! Gorgeous.

Three Terrific Things for this Thursday…

~I freaking LOVE my kids’ Montessori school. We had a meeting there this evening to talk about the elementary classes (they go up through 3rd grade) and the curriculum they follow. Max will start 1st grade in August, so we got to see some of the things he’ll be learning and the ways in which they teach. They have lessons on conflict resolution, peace and emotions (!!!) in addition to math, geometry, language, grammar, biology/botany/zoology, history, and geography/physical science. The teaching methods make so much more sense to me than what the traditional public school system uses. I could overflow the internet with happy rantings about this.

~Josh is home. Finally! I think today was his 20th work day in a row… and even though he was working, at least he was at home. Tomorrow is another work day, but this weekend will be all about the family time. No work! I will prohibit it until Monday!

~I made some rockin’ chicken crepes for dinner tonight.

I’m glad tomorrow is Friday… yoga class!

For breakfast I’m having Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. (Picard’s voice is in my head every time I drink Earl Grey. Hee! That alone is enough to make me happy!) Also, fresh bread. I do so love the automagic timer on my bread machine… waking up to the smell of fresh bread makes mornings slightly less painful.

I have this song stuck in my head– it goes, “when I look at you all I see is polygons” and then later, “I hope that you don’t hurt me… with your pointy vertices…” It is one of the many fine things I found on MeFi Music and is by one Josh Millard. PooOoOoooOooolygons.

It was 18 degrees outside when I got up this morning. I thought I was in Texas, but I must be wrong. Also, I’m so spoiled with the easy winters that I *never* think about needing to scrape the windshield until I see it all frosted over. Which is, of course, the reason why we are later to school on cold mornings.

Now it’s time for yoga class! I’m venturing out in yoga pants, a couple of tank tops and a big sweatshirt. And a stocking hat. I’m stylin’. Happy day, all!

…and you know what that means: Three Terrific Things Thursday!

First terrific thing: hot coffee on a cold morning. The cold makes me grateful for the existence of warmness.

Terrific two: I took a nap today! Khai fell asleep in the car, so I transferred him to the sofa when we got home. Max was happily reading a book, so I told him I was going to lie down as well. I curled up on the loveseat, where Max joined me shortly thereafter. We all slept for a long while, until Khai woke up and came to join the loveseat pile-on. He used my face for a pillow, and despite the discomfort, we all slept some more. I wish I had a picture! Here’s Khai and I after waking, and then Max, still sleeping sweetly:

Last but not least… this evening the boys had trouble falling asleep (hmm, naps can be dangerous) so they wanted me to sing to them. I spent many, many evenings singing them to sleep– especially Max– when they were younger. I’m happy that they still ask for it once in a while. They’re not completely grown up yet. I wonder if my mom would sing me to sleep if I asked? Mom? Please?

Earlier today, I set the DVR to record the movie Proof. This evening, I sat down to watch it with all of my ready-to-fold laundry. It was really good. Until! The last 15 minutes of the movie did not record… instead, it’s a blank screen until the credits roll. Maddening. I did a search and the movie does not seem to be on again during the next week– am I really going to have to move this to the top of my Netflix list just to watch the last 15 minutes? Yes, I think I am. At least I got the laundry folded.

My boys all had special Valentine’s day surprises for me– cards from Max & Khai, flowers and chocolate from Josh. I wasn’t expecting anything, which made it all the sweeter. The kids got a metric ton of candy along with their school Valentines; it will go on top of the fridge along with the candy from Independence Day and Halloween that we’ve still not finished. I allow them one piece a day, and after about two days they forget about it… which is just fine by me.

Yesterday was picture day, and Khai chose this outfit:

Linkylove:
How Not to Talk to Your Kids

The Myth of Prodigy and Why it Matters

Carl Sagan’s Familiar and Prescient Voice, Brought to Life

Rendezvous with Rama, the movie? Rock.

Three Terrific Things Thursday!

~This morning at the boys’ school there was a rainforest animal presentation by Zooniversity and I got to go take pictures. I loved seeing all of the kids’ reactions.

~New yoga pants! Really, really long yoga pants– I won’t even tell you how much I paid for that 36″ inseam. Let’s just focus on how fabulous they are!

~Jenny called today, and it is always so good to talk with her. I’m weird with phones and in general don’t call anyone but my family– but it is such a great thing when I get unexpected calls from friends. Especially very far away and dear friends!

I am feeling gooshy-happy this evening, partly because I’ve been thinking about all of the wonderful people in my life. I’m kind of just glowing with gratitude for life, the universe and everything. Hey! I’m glowing at you. It’s like a hug, only lighter.

Why is it that my brain thinks of more things to post when I don’t have the internet at my fingertips? And why, oh why, does my brain not retain these things better?

Instead of upgrading our DSL last week, the ISP actually dropped service entirely. Yay! We’ve not had connectivity since early Friday. Josh spent many hours on the phone with customer service to no avail, though I must say that he impressed me with his ability to restrain rage. He sounded calm but firm with the tech people, while in reality he was seething and turning various shades of purple and red. Bravo!

We’re back up and running as of late this morning, so I’ve been trying to catch up on all of the email that is now trickling into my inbox. It’s slow going, as I have to do things like be a mom and stuff. Khai had his first dental appointment today and was SUCH a brave kid– no squirming or fussing throughout the entire cleaning. Apparently he used up all of his goodness for the day… he’s just being a pill now. He’s even picking on big brother, who came home from school with a tummy ache. Is it bedtime yet?

Last week I bought this purse from Banana Showcase on Etsy. I love it! It’s very well-made and is a great size. Etsy is dangerous for the weak-willed– don’t say I did not warn you.

Also, I could eat green chile on just almost anything. Yum.

It’s already time for Three Terrific Things Thursday again… I can’t believe how fast a week can fly by.

• Although the forecast had predicted only rain today, we got more snow! Beautiful. It doesn’t matter that none of it will stick– I just like watching it float down.
• Hot-hot-hot English breakfast tea is perfect for thawing out my perpetually-frozen hands. I have been trying to be more disciplined with eating breakfast and just with eating more frequently in general (i.e. before the swimmy-head syndrome and bitchiness set in). I’m trying to take care of myself as well as I take care of my kids… it’s tougher than it seems.
• I’ve been spending my two free hours every day (yay, preschool!) working on a friend’s website. It’s amazing how much I have missed the focus, that feeling of being ‘in the zone’ and just making things work. I haven’t felt very empowered as of late, so it’s nice to get a little taste of accomplishment.

On an entirely unrelated note, could someone please notify the Cute Shoe Fairy that I am in love with these Fluevogs: