right back atcha

Here Harry is doing his best wise guy impersonation; perhaps he's discussing the merits of various pizzerias or telling you which horse to bet on. Regardless, Violet is very concerned for her brother.

(Instead of writing about what's actually on my mind these days, which is how shitty an experience it is to run errands with my kids, and how much it makes me hate the universe and everybody in it, I am going to post pictures of the babies behaving adorably. When I can come up with something nice to say I will say it.)

best picture ever

That's Violet. She's pretty damn pleased with herself, sitting at the table like such a lady. I made that sweater and she'd better enjoy it because I don't foresee ever being able to have the time to knit a garment again. Whenever there is a convergence of free time and creative energy, I sew something for own damn self. And then I can't get anybody to take my picture so I can't even show off on the interwebs.

soda bread

This is not quite soda bread. It's more like a cake with the essence of soda bread. Whatever it is, it's moist and delicious and I'm all for it. I used this recipe except I used part whole wheat flour and skipped the caraway seeds and the butter/sugar topping. We ate it too quickly so now I have another in the oven, this time with a bit less sugar and butter instead of oil. Because I cannot leave well enough alone.

In unrelated news, my new computer is still causing me grief. My pictures are all over the damn place and I can't get them arranged in a single file in Picasa. I almost cried, then I moped away and ate half the soda bread/cake.

fracking fungi

I just ripped up 20 octopus stinkhorns from my garden.   They are without a doubt the worst smelling things I've ever encountered (rotten meat + vomit + skunk);  I very nearly threw up while digging them out.  Ugh.   The worst is that there will be more of them out there in a few days.  If this is how I need to spend the precious minutes of each afternoon when the kids are all asleep, I really need fewer hobbies.  I want to pave over the garden or possibly set fire to it.  I feel like I can still smell it, so now I need to go wash my hair while pretending I don't have three crying children.

learning curve

We got a new computer because our old one was diseased and geriatric.  Since I rely heavily on my browser to remember my passwords, getting a new computer is like joining the witness protection program.  None of the sites I frequent know who the hell I am, and I can't remember my user ID let alone my password, so it's all very disorienting.  My mind apparently cannot process the fact that the new keyboard is set up a bit differently than the old one; I feel like I'm typing with my feet.  And since I'm also bouncing a baby or trying to wrangle a toddler I just give up and read a book.

Also filed under "annoying developments" is the fact that Joseph finally figured out how to  climb out of his crib.  He's two and a half, which I realize is a long time to stay in a crib anyway, but he's such a troubled sleeper that being in an enclosed space really helped him.  To wit:  now that he is free range he sleeps curled up on the floor in front of his bedroom door.  And by "sleeps" I mean "passes out unconscious for a few minutes at a time."  The other day during naptime he stripped himself nude and peed on the carpet.  This is not a child who knows how to put himself to sleep.  So he's exhausted and cranky, and his parents are even more exhausted and cranky than they were before the criblessness.

And somehow in the middle of all this the babies have turned into actual little people with distinct personalities.  Four months!   I have loads of pictures but I still need to figure out how to transfer them from the old computer and get them off my camera which is what I think I'll do tonight instead of making dinner.