All My Fault

We are (still) potty training Lena. Sometimes we have good days, and sometimes we have accidents. This morning it started out well. Lena was dry all night, and when she got up she politely asked Daddy if she could use her potty. Which she did. Later on today, however she had an accident whilst eating cookies in the kitchen. When I asked her why she didn't pee on her potty she looked at me thoughtfully, and then wagged her finger at me and said "It's 'cause of you!"

Right. It's all my fault.

T Minus 2 Hours

In two hours I get my husband back. This week has been pretty busy for him. Every week is busy, but this week he had two Econ midterms, and then one of his Russian professors (a professor that teaches Russian, but is not actually Russian, just for clarification) sprung a midterm on the class with 24 hours notice... scheduled right in the middle of both of his econ tests. Lovely. So, between revision and his normal (absurd) amounts of homework, Evan hasn't exactly had an awful lot of time to really be home and relax. But all of that is going to change in two hours, because in two hours the testing center closes, and even if he hasn't finished, he will have finished. And that means I can finally clean the glass surfaces in our apartment. One of Evan's little idiosyncrasies is that he likes to solve math problems on our windows and mirrors rather than on paper. I think it helps him to collect his thoughts, and I find it funny and rather endearing. So, I thought I would share pictures of some of the surfaces in our place that have been intelligently graffitied.

Some of the kitchen window graffiti...

And on our linen closet door...

And on our bedroom closet door.

I love my husband. And I'll be glad to have him back, and have our family be back to normal.

That Would Have Been One Crowded Egg

I made quiche last night, and halfway through realized that we only had a handful of eggs left. Minor problem considering it was quiche and all. I promptly sent Evan off to good ol' Smiths on an egg buying quest. Despite the proximity to our apartment, we rarely go to Smiths anymore. I am offended to the core with the exorbitant prices that they charge for their substandard produce, amongst other things (like the distinct wateriness of their Vitamin D - full-fat for those non-Americans reading - milk). After Evan returned, eggs in tow, I was again reminded why we choose to grocery shop elsewhere. Sure, we pay a few cents more for our weekly carton of 18 eggs from Sunflower Market, but at least it doesn't feel as though we are eating genetically-modified eggs from mutant, hormone-stuffed, battery hens, fed and looked after so poorly that they produce flimsy-shelled eggs with pathetically tiny yolks. Anyway, this isn't a rant about my issues with Smiths, I promise. As I was adding eggs to my quiche mixture this happened:


That's right. One of those eggs had two yolks. Now I'm no "eggspert" or anything, but I am pretty sure that is not supposed to happen. I am also pretty sure that the egg white only has enough nutrients to support one embryo, so and egg with two yolk would inevitably become a failed egg. But it is funny to think about the possible scenarios if it did hatch successfully.

I Love My 'Job'

Most of my days are filled with amusing little incidents involving one or other (or both!) of the kids. I often think to myself that I should write them down or blog about them so I won't forget about them, but inevitably it slips my mind as I change that blown-out stinky diaper, or clean puke out of the carpet. But not today! (Lucky you.)

Amusing incident #1:
After Lena woke up from her late afternoon nap I fixed her some ramen noodles and peas, and mandarin oranges (separately) whilst I was getting dinner going. She loves both foods and if she ran things her way I am confident that she would have noddles and orange segments for every meal and snack. That and chocolate. And cookies. And ice cream. I digress. So, I was cooking and had Oliver on the kitchen floor playing with toys. Then I heard giggling and "Good job, Oliver. Good job!" "Mmmmm. Yummy. Oliver likes it." and, low and behold, I turn to find Lena pulling noddles, peas, and oranges off her plate and on to the floor in front of Oliver, and Oliver pummelling the living daylights out of said food. It was in his hair, and on his face, and up his nose, and ground into his clothes, and just... everywhere. He of course was loving it like a pig in poop, and Alena was so proud of herself. "Mmmm. Yummy. Oliver likes it."

Amusing incident #2:
Per this post, we are teaching Lena animals and their corresponding noises. She has gotten pretty fast at spouting them off too. I am constantly amazed at the information that she soaks up, and the complex processes she has learned and which are now autonomous. But I digress, again. My conversation with Lena before bed went something like this:
"What's this Lena?"
"A cow"
"And the cow says"
"Mooooooo"
"And this is...?"
"A puppy"
"And the puppy says"
"Woof woof"
"And this?"
"It's a pig. Oink Oink"
"And this is a..."
"A teddy bear"
"And bears say..."
"Roar [but deep and throaty like she has been smoking cigars recently]"
"And what's this?"
"A bird."
"And the bird says...?"
"[deep, throaty, and roar-like] Buuuuwwwdd!"

At which point I fell over laughing. Evidently we still have some work to do.

Amusing incident #3:
More a fact really. Oliver snorts when he is being tickled and laughs really hard.

I love my kids.

Mealtimes In Our House

A couple of weeks ago, associating a noise with a particular animal really clicked for Lena. She will usually perform on cue now when we ask her about different animal sounds, rather than looking at us blankly or saying 'No'. Recently, Evan took full advantage of this over dinner when he demonstrated to Lena how different animals ate their food. It pretty much consisted of shoving his head in his food and making the corresponding animal noise. Lena just about died laughing, and so it has now become a regular game at our table once dinner is finished. Even Oliver enjoys it. I don't think he has a clue what is going on, but he certainly joins in with the laughing, smiling, and making funny noises.