Scenes from 3 am

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

In the middle of the night last night I heard a scream. An actual "AAAAAAAAA!" sort of scream. Leaping from my bed, I realized it was Pumpkin, who was then calling for me. I stumbled to her room, where she frantically told me, "There was a mouse on my pillow, Mommy! A mouse!" Now if you've been following the House of 42 Doors, you'll know we've caught almost that many mice in the past three months; I think the count is holding at 40.

However, I really, really, really doubt that there was a mouse in her bed. She's had vivid dreams before - that her best friend from Ireland was there in her playhouse on her bed so they could play together, for example - so I'm sure that's what it was.

Regardless, she needed a bit of reassurance and calming down. So I gathered her up in my arms, told her it was just a dream, and that everything was ok. She wanted me to double-check that there was no mouse, but I'd hurried to her room without my glasses. And since I'm desperately blind without them, I needed to go back and get them.

So I told her to look out the window because earlier that night I'd noticed it had snowed and I thought she'd be pleased and distracted by that, and that she'd stop thinking about the dream mouse for a minute.

I got my glasses, returned and asked her, "What do you see?" Instead of the "Snow!" response I expected, I got, "It's some animals, Mommy."

"No, honey, that mouse was just a dream," died on my lips as I looked out her window...

... at the two deer wandering through our neighbors' yard.

We stood there for a couple of minutes, watching and talking about those deer (who had the most wonderful sense of timing). And as I shared that moment with my daughter, I no longer regretted being woken up at 3 am.

Almost there

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

I'm almost there. I'm almost done with NaBloPoMo. This is my 29th post on the 29th day of the month. I'm nearly there!

And man, it's been a little trickier than I thought it would be. I found it challenging to try to remember what I had intended to write about, but even more difficult was that period of time when we didn't have internet here or at the rental house, so I had to get to the library. I won't take my internet access for granted again!

I was without water for the majority of the day while the plumber/sewer guys were working, so I have to keep this short because I've got a ton of dishes to do.

But just one more day, then I'll have done it!

Penguin's Turn

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

I'm blogging from home! I'm blogging from home!

Yup, Mr. Kluges got our internet up and running last night. It's not in its final configuration - I currently have to unplug the phone (which is sitting on the maid stairs), plug the phone jack into the router on the kitchen counter, and plug that in to power, but still - I've got internet! Woo-hoo!


While funny Pumpkin was the star of yesterday's blog (I forgot one quote I wanted to include: "That bite was too big. It stretched my soggygus out."), I wanted to share with you some of my current favorite things about Penguin.

• How intently she examines things and people. She gets this little frown and just stares as though she's trying to memorize their every little detail.

• The way she lifts her eyebrows sometimes when she smiles. It slays me.

• The way she giggles when I tickle her chubby, chubby thighs or pretend to eat up her tummy.

• Her funny little rather deep growly voice when she "talks" to us. She makes the oddest sounds and is so thrilled when we mimic them back to her.

• The fact that she said "Mamamama" as her first sort-of word.

And finally,

• The way she smiles at me when she first sees me in the morning. It's like I hung the moon, the stars and the sun especially for her. I don't know how she does it, but her face just SHINES with happiness.

Pumpkin Quotes

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Not much time again today as I'm blogging from the library, but this time I left the rest of the family at home. Still need to keep it brief as we've got to run over to the rental yet tonight for baths and showers. At least this is the LAST TIME! Mr. Kluges got the tub caulked tonight, so we should be good to use it as of tomorrow. Hooray! Now, once he gets phone/internet up, we won't have to run around like crazy chickens every evening. Not to denigrate Mr. Kluges at all - he's been trying to coordinate and manage all the electrical and plumbing/sewer stuff that's been going on at the house, plus put things away, plus actually do his job, plus, oh, help out with parenting our two girls.

I've been trying to keep track of some of the funny things Pumpkin has been saying lately, and I think it's time to do a brain dump 'cuz I just can't keep so many things in my head anymore these days. So here you go:

Oh no! Grabbity pulled down my tent!

Mmmm! Asparagus!

(Followed by grabbing an asparagus spear off Mommy's plate. How many 3 year olds like asparagus?)

The bacteardium in my stomach are eatin' it all up!

And my favorite, courtesy of an extra-long shirt she was wearing...

Aaah! Where's my butt?!

And you think YOUR basement is messy

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

You'll have to forgive me. I had all these ideas for what to write about, but now that I've sat down to write, they're just gone. Phooey. And we made a special trip out to the library so I can finish out NaBloPoMo in style. Just gotta make it through Friday! (Well, that and I had to return and/or renew a bunch of stuff & couldn't do it online from home since there's still no "on-line" there yet.)

Thanks to those who let me know how far (or not) they are with their holiday shopping. I feel a bit better to hear I'm not the only one barely started. Also, I started counting through the presents we need to get and I've at least got ideas for a lot of them, and at least one person I'm buying for has an Amazon.com wishlist.

(Handy things, those. I also use mine to store ideas of things I'd like to get for myself, and I like how I can set up present idea lists for others in case I come across good ideas.)

I'm totally wishing that our computer was set up so that I could share some pictures with you of our basement. We're in the midst of what they first said would be a 2-3 day project to replace all the sewer line, but that now looks to be a 4 day project. The basement... well... how to describe it.... It's got HUGE paths of concrete cut out it. It looks like there's not much more than 50% of the concrete left in place between the cut-out for the main line, the one that connects to the toilet, the long one along the wall for the laundry sink, the one for the drain we're putting in near the boiler, and the one to the defunct stand-alone shower dealie drain. (Yeah, don't ask - I don't know what they were thinking.) And these cut-out paths are, oh, say around two feet wide and go down through what turned out to be the 6-8 inch concrete slab to dirt. And then there's the path cut through the to-be-exercise-room. It really looks weird. And messy. Really muddy and messy and crazy. I have to take some pictures when we get home because it's something. (Also, probably, find the camera charger 'cuz it's almost out.)

And outside? Well, the backyard is ALL ripped up thanks to the line they're running out to the city line. They showed up with a much bigger digger than we expected and so took out more of the brick path - and even part of the patio - than we had moved/removed. Mr. Kluges is also a bit crabby about the damage this larger digger did to his limestone path. Also, there's still a huge pile of dirt. Granted - they're not done yet, but it's a good thing we're doing all this before we'd done any landscaping because it'd be toast.

Ok, I should finish up. Both girls are being remarkably quiet with Mr. Kluges across in the kid section of the library, but I don't want to push my luck. Especially since the big one didn't get a nap today and was in tears getting out of the car because she wanted to bring her stuffed bear in and the other one was asleep in the car. Poor things. I'm looking forward to when life slows down a bit for all our sakes!

Xmas Status Check

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Ok, I've got a question for you all. Mr. Kluges loves Thanksgiving and feels it gets too short-changed by the Christmas season (and shopping season) coming early. Therefore, in deference to his feelings and because it's been so busy this year, we haven't really done much Christmas shopping at all, nor are our cards ordered, etc.

So here's my question:

What percentage are you done with your holiday shopping?

(If it seems like y'all are also not very done, then I'll feel better; if you're close to completion, it can be a reason me to talk Mr. Kluges into watching the girls while I go shopping without them! I win either way.)

Hmm... how many more days to go for NaBloPoMo?

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Ok, I'm having a bit of brain blockage here. Can't really think of anything new to write about. So... um...

Oh, ok, confession's good for the soul, right?

My November goal (other than NaBloPoMo) was to limit the amount of treats I ate since I knew we'd have a bunch of leftover Halloween candy around.

And that's been going... well... um... yeah. Chocolate = good. Chocolate in the house - willpower = no more chocolate in the house.


But on the plus side, (or minus side, actually), I've lost weight since the last time I was at my in-laws's house. (Yeah, we don't own a scale, other than a kitchen one for ingredients.) I'm sure it wasn't in the last month, with all the post-Halloween candy, but still, I'll celebrate progress where I can.

There, I'd say that's enough words to qualify as a post. I'll have to try to get some ideas stewing in the back of my head because I've still got not quite a week yet of this NaBloPoMo business.

Thanksgiving recap

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

We had a very enjoyable and filling day yesterday, and I hope you did, too. Delicious feast with turkey AND ham, green bean casserole, yummy-scrummy mashed potatoes, homemade buns... I'm starting to drool again already!

It was so nice to have all of my immediate family together. My parents, my brothers, my sister-in-law, my husband, my children - all in the same house, chatting and laughing and playing and eating together. That didn't happen the whole time two years we were in Ireland, with the exception of Uncle TP and Auntie Kay's wedding, so I really appreciate it more when it happens now. (We even got to open a package for us all from TNGreatAunt - it was much enjoyed - thanks!)

And today Pumpkin is enjoying playing "tea party" with Gramma Pet, Penguin got to go on a stroller ride with Grampa Pharaoh to the store, and soon we off to see the other grandparents and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with them tomorrow.

It's so nice to be closer to family.

Thankful

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans out there! Here's an incomplete list of things for which I'm thankful:

• my wonderful husband Mr. Kluges, who makes my life a grand adventure
• my darling firstborn child Pumpkin, who makes me laugh daily
• my precious secondborn child Penguin, for her smiles like the sun rising
• my mother for her quirky, just-so ways, yummy chocolate chip cookies, dedicated nursing skills, and willingness to be silly with us and the girls
• my father for balancing out my mom, his we-can-do-it attitude, his help with our house to-do lists and his wisdom
• both my parents, for their boundless love and support throughout the years
• my brother Uncle Drew for his humor, intelligence, and love of games
• my brother Uncle TP for his drive and ambition
• my sister-in-law Auntie Kay for her graciousness and for bringing out the best in Uncle TP
• my in-laws for their many visits and much help (especially recently), and for making me so welcome in their family
• my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their two girls for how fun and lively things are when they're around
• my TNGreatAunt, for her fun attitude, her own quirkiness, and her extreme generosity
• all of my relatives for being family, with all that entails
• my college friends for how tight we've stayed over the years, and how much we care about and help each other. You guys rock! I could say individual things about you all, because you're all fabulous in your own different ways, but I've only got until Penguin decides to wake up...
• my wonderful friends I made in Ireland. They are what I miss the most from our time there
• the internet, which helps me keep in contact with all of those listed above and has let me make new friends as well
• YOU (yes, you) for reading this blog and making me feel my thoughts are heard and validated
• the delicious food we'll be enjoying today and Saturday surrounded by family
• being able to see grandparents more often now that we're back in the US
• having had the opportunity to live over in Ireland for those two years, and all of the adventures we had there
• our it'll-be-gorgeous-someday House of 42 Doors. Did I mention that my life is more adventurous thanks to Mr. Kluges? *grin*
• the huge grocery stores stocked with such a variety and sufficiency of food here in the US, and also that they have fun shopping carts with cars on the front for Pumpkin to ride in
• my college experience. Meeting new people, studying challenging and/or fun subjects, and really connecting with others - I felt like I really became myself in those years.
• the changing of the seasons. I know winter will seem extra cold to us this year, but the changing seasons have always helped me mark and celebrate time
• libraries, books, and reading. They have enriched and entertained my life.
• hot baths
• a bed that's cozy and warm
• beer
• chocolate
• for Pumpkin and Penguin sleeping in long enough for me to do this post
• and so many, many more things with which I've been blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Placeholder for pie

(c) 2007 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Just a quick post due to travelling all day today. Also, I'm getting closer to the wire today! Between 1) we were trying to finish up packing and get on the road and 2) while the phone and internet service were supposed to get switched over yesterday, the electric guys who were at the House of 42 Doors to trench in the upgraded power accidentally cut the phone line, I couldn't post before we left this morning. So, anyway, I'm posting from Gramma Pet and Grampa Pharoah's place - better late than never.

This post is really just a placeholder to send you over to Recipeeps 4 Us where the Wednesday Fun question and poll are about the pies and/or desserts you're having for Thanksgiving.

(And now I'm totally hungry for something sweet...)