A Few Random Pictures

Marin found a new friend the other day. We often see squirrels in our backyard, this one was friendlier than most. Since we don't give them handouts of any kind I'm not exactly sure what he was expecting from his interaction with an over-excited 1-year-old. Whatever. He entertained all three kids for a few minutes. Damn, if I'd known he was going to stick around that long I would have at least tried to gather a load of laundry or something!

Marin's new favorite thing to practice over and over and over and over and over and ... um, what was I saying? Oh yeah, Marin loves to climb up in the kitchen chairs. If they are positioned just so, she can reach something on the table that is supposed to be out of reach. Otherwise she just sits there proudly.

She taught Silje her new trick ... "Yay!"
... And even pulled Ailey onto the band-wagon one day. Oh yeah, and knowing she's not supposed to, she loves to turn around and stand up until I come to pull her down.
When is it OK for a girl to pull her shirt up and show you what's under it? When she's 1 and is proudly showing off her belly button! Marin is showing hers off in the background.
Silje finally joined the But-I-Thought-I-Could-Get-Through-Here! Club that her sisters founded a couple months ago the day Marin pulled this stunt and Ailey told her she had been foolish in her youth too. Yes, a rescue was performed ... after the picture was taken.

Such is life.

Snazzy Dancer

Ailey started dance classes a few weeks ago. I finally remembered to bring my camera last week. This is the only "good" picture I got and since I didn't want to use the flash it's a little fuzzy anyway. She's the one on the far right.

She likes to keep her dance clothes on when we get home, though since we take the tutu off for the ride home this is what she looked like after class one day when she said "Look Mom, I'm a teacher!" She, of course, specifically meant that she was a dance teacher. Love the princess shoes and necklace!

And along with a pair of pajamas she got for her birthday came a pink tutu. She wears it over ... everything. Or in this case, over nothing. "Back up to your room, Ailey, and put on some pants!" (Note the bruised knees.)

There, that'll do. Put on a crown too. She was talking to Aunt Sarah on the cell phone here and was trying to describe what she was wearing. We decided a picture would help.

Ahh, girls. Just what are we in for?!

Toys In, Toys Out...

Today I had a strange, unnatural urge to keep the kids' toys picked up. My theory was that if Marin and Silje actually see the toys where they belong more often maybe they'll eventually understand where they need to be returned at the end of each day.

I say this is a "strange, unnatural urge" because for quite a while now we typically only pick up as much as is needed to be able to wade through the living room. Our living room is the playroom, and by the end of each day I am spent on energy and have no need to generate any extra, or to use up the precious little that is left, to pick up toys I know will only be strewn about again by the next morning.

Today's urge probably stemmed from the clean-up yesterday that was necessary in order to vacuum. We religiously follow two rules - no shoes in the house and no food in the living room - so that we don't have to vacuum as often and therefore don't have to clean up. It's a terrible habit I know. But it is what it is.

In the middle of my pick-up-the-toys day I realized just how futile my theory seemed in practice. All it took was for either Marin or Silje to see, hear or sense me putting something back in it's rightful place for them to make a bee-line in that direction to quickly un-do what I had done.

Toy cups in the kitchen cupboard, toy cups out of the kitchen cupboard.

Singing Puppy in the toy box. Singing Puppy out of the toy box.

Shape pieces in the sorter. Shape pieces out of the sorter.

I could go on....

Seriously, I could go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on....

But I think I'd start pulling my hair out again just reciting it all.

In theory I think it was a good idea. But my back hurts. And maybe my pride a little. In practice maybe I'll just try to be better about putting away toys in the evening. Or every other evening. Or maybe just when I step on a significantly pointy toy. Or ... we'll see.

Doing the Macarena

The Macarena is still going strong in our house. Marin even got to try on the skirt.

Ailey takes the little music box out of the skirt and sets it up like a radio. Here are Ailey and Silje "doing the dance"!

Cash'd Out in Ballard

My parents asked Andy and I to join them Saturday night at a "Johnny Cash-alike" type-concert-thingy. Perhaps from that description it's obvious that none of us new quite what to expect. Supposedly the guy sounds exactly like Johnny Cash and he spends the evening singing Johnny Cash songs. Sounds good. The tickets were a gift from my mom to my Johnny Cash-fan dad for Christmas last year.

We had dinner at Lombardi's in Ballard - super good Italian food. Dinner was very nice. Good wine, good food, good conversation. Then we walked the few blocks to The Tractor Tavern where this band called Cash'd Out was to play. We new the doors opened at 8:00 for the 8:30 "concert", but never having been to The Tractor Tavern before we didn't know what sort of set up to expect. Chairs for sure, right?

What started as a night with no real expectations one way or another, turned into an evening spent listening to a band playing Johnny Cash songs, yes, but while standing for two hours along-side a crowd of 20-somethings who were drunkenly singing along with this equally drunken band. Not something any of us would have expected had we tried!

I used to go out on Saturday nights in downtown Seattle. I recognized the scene. Though it's not one I frequent as of late. The four of us were in small company with a few other "older" Johnny Cash fans there to enjoy what was, despite the unexpected venue, thoroughly entertaining.

The Johnny Cash-alike greased his hair back, but otherwise didn't look much like the real thing. But boy, did he ever sound like the real thing. Having never heard of this group before (obviously), I don't know where they tour, but if you hear they are coming, you like Johnny Cash even a little, and have some spare change and time, they would be worth the ticket.

It was a fun night, which is weird to say considering I spent a few hours in a Seattle bar with my parents and left with only half my hearing intact. Long live Johnny Cash!

Edited to add: www.cashdout.com In case you're curious.