Why do British people never sound British when they sing?

I have always wondered.....

Some bits and pieces o' Random.
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Despite my last post that made me sound like I am Scrooge McGrinch over here, that is not the case. This year, my family has gotten all cheapish with the adults and as such, gentle reader, fear not for the children. Besides, as anyone who hangs out with me knows, each Christmas and Birthday, I obsess endlessly over what to buy my kids. Not because they care, mind you, but rather, I want to get them a toy or two that will have ample Entertainment Mileage and that they will play with for a long time. It has absolutely nothing to do with fulfiling some special magical dreamy desire on their part but it has absolutely everything to do with me. It would like to get my money's worth and perhaps, even a moment of peace. To boot, this year has a Special Challenge - the Ultimate Toy that will bring my children together as they peacefully play in harmony as angels sing on high while I drink my wine and watch my stories. Thus far, I have rolled the dice on a play kitchen and I am on the hunt for another thing or two that they might both like. And that will be it, save for a few stocking stuffers.

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Speaking of holidays, the Cool Mom Picks Holiday Gift Guide is pretty awesome. I do not normally read this site, but came across the link and thought it was useful. Wow - there are some great thoughtful yet, affordable ideas in there. (Note: They are also holding some sort of contest. Notice how lazy I am that I did not bother with it.)

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I HATE naps. There, I said it. Arun is finally over his nap, thank goodness, because it was seriously messing with his nighttime sleep. I wish Anjali would give hers up as well. Neither of my kids are good nappers and it is usually more effort than it is worth to get them down. When or if they ever went down at the same time, I usually spent the entire time biting my nails waiting for one of them to get up. It is not like I ever felt I could that time to start a project, say, fixing our toilet or regrouting our tile. Argh.

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I love, LOVE fruit juice, but consider it a waste of calories and money. Worthless. At home, the kids drink water or milk (soy and bovine.) However, after waging a bloody war with Arun in attempting to get him to take the Nastiest Antibiotic Known to Man, I found a juicebox that masks the Nastiness. However, this Friday, Arun will done with the Nastiness as will access to the beloved juicebox. This could get interesting.

What did she say, Mama?

Me: Fork. She said "fork", Arun.

Only, except that she did not say "fork" and someone around here needs to clean up her act. And soon.

Oh, and speaking of speaking toddlers, let me say this: the ability of a toddler to speak well does not stave off tantrums. Oh No, It Does Not. I had often heard that one reason toddlers throw tantrums, is that they have difficulty communicating and this leads to frustration and this leads to tantrums. Um, no. What happens when your toddler can speak clearly and decisively is that she proceeds to get super annoyed with you because damn it, woman! Did you not hear her clearly shriek "want" and "puppy" as you dragged her howling through the toy store? Hell's bells, she even jabbed her pointer finger in the direction of said puppy, you moron. Speaking clearly only serves to frustrate her even more because she knows that you know very damned well exactly and precisely what She Wants Right Now.

So, yes. It appears I am going to finally get a normal toddler. One who has no patience and throws tantrums. Even though Arun was a late talker, his temperament was such that he could usually be distracted or comforted before anything escalated into a Category 5 status. Anjali? Is a different sort of beast. I would lying if I did not admit that we are fairly tickled with her attitude, though. I never wanted a shrinking violet for a daughter but then again, you know what they say about being cautious during your wishing process. *gulp*

In other news, I had a weird mental freakout this weekend and am embarrassed that Jodifur got to hear about it. Sorry about that. Yikes.

This economy crunch has not really hit us directly (yet?!?), but I am very worried for some folks that I love dearly. I am also very conscious of what we have and how fortunate we are. I have bagged up two sacks of food to donate to a local food pantry and will drop it off today. I am also pondering what to do for the holidays. I want to do something that will get Arun directly involved, even if it is just picking out something he can give to Toys for Tots. I am also going to make a habit of having some quarters and dollar bills available for him to give to the red kettles we will be encountering.

I do worry about my kids being appreciative of what they have. I do not think it is a bad thing to have material possessions, but I do want them to be respectful of it. By virtue of our backgrounds (middle class ourselves, but having classmates and friends who were very poor) , X and I are distinctly aware of how good we have it.

Fortunately, my family really tones down the holidays - we focus on the lights, the tree, the music, the food and just being together. We have cut out much of the gift-giving and instead, are mostly drawing names now. My gift list for this year is a grand total of 11 people, which does not seem too bad. And that includes Arun's school and such. I am so grateful that we are low-key for the holidays. Sure, gifts are gooeylicious fun (hello!) but my favorite memories are not from the ripping of packages. I do want the same for my own kids.

Is the slug sad, Mama?

Dear Arun,
Yes, that slug is most likely really sad that you have been holding it all day in your very salty, sodium-laden guillotine paws. You heartless slayer of slugs.

Love you!
Mama

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Dear Seldon Edwards,
With the weird, contrived plot twists in your wee tale of time-travel, The Little Book, you are leading me to believe that the main character will turn out to be his own damned grandpa. Literally.

Capital!
Kelli

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Dear Anjali,
Um, it appears you are talking now. Today, you said "Don't, please." when Arun was tickling you. Then, later you dropped a crayon and said "I drop it." and when you picked it up, you proudly exclaimed "I find it!". And yes, I got teary-eyed because I am a sentimental fool. Quit with the growing up, dammit.

Sniff,
Mama

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Dear Fellow Bloggers,
I swear I am not doing the NaBloPoMo this year. Pinkie swear. I am not entirely sure why I keep posting everyday.

WTF?
Cagey

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Dear Sofia,
Can you just molt already? You are looking a bit haggard.

Your faithful invertebrate enthusiast,
Kelli

Are you writing all this down?

That is what my Olathe Grandma asks whenever I relay a Cute Kid story for her. Oh, Innernets, if only she knew. If only she knew. Oh sure, I have tried to explain my blog to her, but I suspect she thinks the Internet is some great vortex of mysterious cables that involves electricity. Which you should know is dangerous . Folks, electricity kills, as she constantly reminds me when she discovers my coffee pot has been left plugged in. I tell her I prefer to live on the edge, but she is not convinced.

Anyway............ Um, sometimes, I feel like a cruise director. Every single day, I hear from Arun "What are we going to do today, Mama?" He will probably ask for detailed itineraries when he learns how to read. Folks, just smack my ass and call me Julie. Furthermore, whenever Arun and I discuss what we are about to do next, he always, always asks if Anjali will also be participating. As if we would just leave her at home to fend for herself. So, overall, the whole Haircut Incident was a little sweet, because he probably thought he was doing her a favor. And knowing her, she probably giggled the entire time. Which only served to encourage him. Rinse, repeat.

I have some video of Anjali telling her version of events. I also tried to get her to show off her fancy-fangled usage of the English language but you know kids, they never show off when the camara is rolling. She can do quadratic equations in her head, but would she defer to do while I am recording? Of course not. Darned kids. I have a blog that needs material, damnit.

Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution from Kelli Oliver George on Vimeo.

NaBloPoWhat?

I swear I am not doing NaBloPoMo. Um, at least I think I am not. Whoa. I believe I have posted every day thus far, but I have no intentions of truckin' on through November. Trust me.

Anyway, Jackie at Nursing Your Kids did a fun meme and I have not done a meme for so long now. It looked delicious enough to feed my hungry ego.

Let me know in the comments if you decide to do this as well.

A is for age: I turned 37 in April. Seriously, at this point, I have to do the math (2008-1971 = 37) My age? Is of so little importance to me. As long as I am alive, not too wrinkly or creaky, and still changing diapers and not wearing them, that is all with which I am mostly concerned. Keep in mind that in 2006 I had ADDED an entire year to my age and was telling my doctor that I was at an ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE during my pregnancy and needed Special Attention because I had lost track of the years. Like, I did not even care (and was stupid with math and all that. WHATEVER.)

B is for burger of choice: Honestly? A McDonald's cheeseburger, no ketchup. Small and simple. Sue me.

C is for the car I drive: I drive a 2005 Acura, which I still worship and tithe to on a monthly basis with no regrets. Furthermore, when the Monthly Tithing Doth Be Done, its perceived value to me will rise even further. I HATE car payments as they cause me physical pain.

D is for your dog’s name: George W. Bush. Oops, you said DOG. Sorry 'bout that.

E is for essential item you use every day: My Treo. It is my phone and my port to checking my email. Enough said.

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Since Mad Men has ended and the new Antiques Roadshow season has yet to begin, I will have to say 30 Rock instead.

G is for favorite game: Holy Crap. Only ONE game? My mind is flooded with Trivial Pursuit, Wit's End, Canasta, Cribbage, Euchre, Backgammon, Apples to Apples, Spit and Russian Bank. I can hardly think straight. Really, I have to choose just one? ONE? Really?

H is for home state: Kansas. And damned proud of it. And no, Jesus did not ride a dinosaur across the plains, y'all.

I is for instruments you play: Piano, the piccolo, the vibes, the flute. On a lesser scale, the triangle, the bells, the conga.

J is for favorite juice: OMG, limeade. LIMEADE.

K is for whose bum you’d like to kick: My own ass, for a variety of reasons.

L is for last restaurant at which you ate: la Hacienda

M is for your favorite Muppet: Miss Piggy

N is for number of piercings: 4 - all in the ears. DUDE. Did you see the line about my age? Am old. In my day, having TWO piercings in the ear was total Rebel Without a Cause. We risked paralysis with multiple piercings in the ear. Did you not know??

O is for overnight hospital stays: 4 nights total for the birthin' of babies.

P is for people you were with today: Today? X, Arun, Anjali, Chocolate Covered Susan, her two kids, my dad, step-mom, youngest sister and my brother.

Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Read blogs, eat sunflower seeds, read books and enjoy the lovely hum of my refrigerator

R is for biggest regret: Not going to work for Ernst and Young at the first go-around. My career path would have been remarkably different if I had gone to work for them a few years before I eventually did end up working for them.

S is for status: Ready to hit "publish".

T is for time you woke up today:8:45am

U is for what you consider unique about yourself: I think folks would be surprised at all the people I have met from other countries over the years. I went to a university that had an active international community and frankly, I relished and flourished in it. I held a chair in the International Students Association and folks would always say "why do you belong to that group, you're not foreign!?" and I would answer "because it is an INTERNATIONAL group, which includes the United States". I love small talk and I love meeting new folks.

V is for vegetable you love: Roasted cauliflower in garlic and olive oil

W is for worst habit: I nag my husband WAY too much and I am way too picky about inconsequential things.

X is for x-rays you’ve had: Dental x-rays

Y is for yummy food you ate today: Sunflower Seeds, Root Beer Float

Z is for zodiac: Aries