out of the mouths of babes

so yesterday i hosted my alumnae chapter's monthly meeting at my home and one of the women brought her daughter along. she's a precocious child, so tall for age that i can't remember if she's 4 or 5 or 6 and blessed with the gift of gab. i ended up sitting with her in the kitchen during meal time to keep her from 1) stabbing my chocolate cavity maker cake and 2)dropping food on my hardwood floor.

we conversed about a myriad of topics including what i put in the cake, what i put in the rest of the food, her neighbors, and my neighbors. she asked if my neighbors have any kids ("no") and are they getting any kids ("no"). then the conversation turned towards me...

do you have any kids?
no.
are you getting any kids?
no.
why not?
because i'm not married yet. you have to be married to have kids.

at this point her eyes opened real wide and rolled to the back of her head. then her neck swung to the right and came 'round back to the left as she sighed, "gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl..." (she moved in close to my face)"...you mean you're not married yet?!"

this little girl sonned me in MY OWN HOUSE THAT I PAY FOR!

i couldn't do anything but laugh.

best toy ever

i spent my sunday visiting family and playing with my little cousin. boy was she hours of fun! we played chase, hide n seek, read books, and jammed on the best toy ever - the kitty keyboard! it's intended for ages 2+ but michaela won't be two until the summer and she works it fine. the keyboard has several preset drum patterns including a rock one that sounds like prince and a techno one that sounds like nine inch nails. you can adjust the tempo and record too.

my sister recorded michaela singing/drooling on the mic. she got so into it at one point she had her eyes closed and was just singing away. i thought i would die laughing. i showed her how to play "mary had a little lamb" and she almost had it (the first two notes anyway). MUSICAL PRODIGY! lol. the best part was she was asking for me after i left (she calls me gee-ya...hard g...awwwwwww).

i want one of each now.

(a toddler and a keyboard)

baby makes three

no, not me you silly geese.

when i arrived home yesterday there was a baby shower invitation waiting for me. my cousin (one of many...i have so many cousins) and her husband are expecting their first child in two months. i guess it's baby year again. last year was weddings (i attended three and there were a few more in my extended circle) and the year before that was babies. it seems to alternate. i recall reading somewhere that once you hit a certain age your life becomes a series of bridal showers, weddings, and baby showers. well la-dee-da.

i was gonna do a vacation part 3 post but i changed my mind. without going into too much detail, i saw my dad for the first time in a long time on christmas day along with my half brother and sister (and their children). numbers were exchanged and promises to keep in touch were made. i can honestly say i'm open to it although i haven't quite come to grips with being an auntie yet.

sittin' on blades like kristi yamaguchi

the feet of a champion

a friend of mine asked me to help chaperone his youth group on a day trip to the city this past saturday. since i love the kids i happily obliged. our excursion included brunch at maroons, ice skating at chelsea piers, and crowd navigation at rockefeller center.

maroons is still yummy as ever and they've increased their portion sizes since the last time i was there (over a year ago). the waffle entree comes with four waffles which no one in our group was able to finish. and i don't know how they make their grits but they are the creamiest i've ever had.

now, i hadn't been ice skating since 1990 maybe so i am proud to say i didn't fall once. i'll even venture to say that i had FUN. i still don't know how to stop so i did a lot of skating to the wall, but i was able to take the curves and i managed to turn a couple of times too (purely by accident since i was trying not to fall). i only wish the rink had been a little less crowded with small children. i really wanna go again in the near future.

i hate crowds immensely so i'm not even gonna talk about rockefeller center. here are a couple of photos instead.

the aftermath

photo courtesy of fun express

there were lots of kids. some cute, some smelly, some too damn old to be trick-or-treating. i wore my costume and one said "i like your lunch lady costume!"...smart boy. another said "you look like aunt jemima!" but his friend corrected him, "aunt jemima? it's aunt jemEEma! whatchu talkin' 'bout aunt jemima?"...i almost died laughing. then there was young lloyd the r&b singer whose voice was much too deep when he turned his backpack towards me and commanded, "hook me up." as the night went on the kids got older and their costumes were non-existent. that was our cue to turn out the lights.

so now all i'm left with is this vanilla tootsie roll addiction. o man. i picked them all out from the candy bowl cuz they are so yummm-ay. i need to eat like a whole bag so i'll be over them and not crave them anymore.