More Swearing - Not Our Fault This Time, Honest.

Cici: Daddy, is 'budge' the B word?

Dadam: Yes, 'budge' is a B word.

Cici: No . . . is 'budge' THE B word?

Dadam: Wait . . . what do you mean, THE B word?

Cici: Well, the kids at school say there's a B word that's a bad word, and that it's 'budge.'

Dadam [hardly believing his ears]: Well . . . no, it's not 'budge.'

More Undesirable Vocab.

[Cici is climbing up the ladder into her bunk bed, and Ruby is trying to follow her.]

Ruby: Let me sleep in your bed, Cici.

Cici: No, Ruby.

Ruby: Cici, let me sleep in your bed.

Cici: No, sleep in your own bed, Ruby.

Ruby: I wanna sleep in your BED, dammit!

Pretty, pretty girlies.

I'm not the kind of mother who puts much emphasis on the physical appearance of her daughters, choosing instead to focus on their interesting personalities and unique talents. They are smart and funny and creative and joyful children, and I'm just so proud of them. But yesterday -- Easter morning -- after they were bathed and dressed for Mass -- I just couldn't get over how gosh darn cute they are! Cici the spitting image of her dad, and Ruby the strawberry-blond version of me, posing for pictures. Gotta love it.

Guess Who Came to Visit Yesterday...

It was the Easter Bunny.

'Mexican-American Idol,' Maybe?

Last night we saw the girls' Great-Uncle Victor for the first time in quite a while, and at one point Ruby serenaded him with "her" song - Kenny Rogers's "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town."

Naturally, Victor responded as anyone would have - by performing Vicki Lawrence's "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" in its entirety.

Like I keep saying, we need to put together a family talent show sometime in the very near future. . . .
Here they are together at Christmas. Quite the pair...

Happy Birthday Dadam!

To the best daddy in the whole, wide world:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We Are Family!

We went to Sturgeon Bay to celebrate the March birthdays and took this great picture of the Al & Linda family.

Aren't we cute?

A Peace Treaty With Unusual Terms.

[Cici and Ruby are fighting over a book.]

Ruby: I want it! I want it!

Cici: Okay, Ruby - you can have it, but then I get to be the mom, okay?

Ruby: No.

Cici [holding book out of reach]: Okay?

Ruby [grouchy and defeated]: Okay.

[Cici gives her a look.]

Ruby: Okay, "Mom."

Fancy Momlissa and Dadam

About once a year we get dressed up and go out. We've now filled our quota for 2008!

A Random Post

Remember when Cici looked like this? This is July 2005, just a few weeks before her 3rd birthday:

Career Paths.

On Saturday morning I asked the girls which they would rather be, a princess or a superhero.

Ruby answered instantly: "A princess in a castle."

I expected Cici to answer "superhero" just as quickly, but she surprised me by taking a little more time and then saying, "Actually, I'd rather just be myself." Then she added, "I'd like to be a mom, too, with just a regular job, like Mommy."

I found both these answers to be kind of touching . . . although I would note that Momlissa is both princess and superhero in my book.

Either That, Or A Very Hairy Yow.

Last night Cici was doing an assignment in her workbook in which she was given a letter and picture of an animal that began with that letter. When she got to 'Y,' she saw an illustration of the animal pictured here.

Which is a yak, of course. Not being particularly familiar with yaks, Cici made a perfectly reasonable guess:

"Is it . . . a yuffalo?"

The Bathroom Is Not Your Personal Candy Store, Young Lady.

As a follow-up to the "toothpaste as condiment" post from last week, this morning we got out of bed to find Ruby already awake and happily eating TUMS out of the bottle. Anybody got the number for Poison Control handy?

(Update: As of five hours after ingestion, Ruby is JUST FINE, so there's no need for frantic or reproachful calls, thank you very much!)

A Special Night Remembered.

On Friday Cici brought home a project she had made at school. It was a crayon picture of a group of people all holding hands together, and her teacher had typed up this caption for it:

When I read Owl Moon, I remembered something special. My special moment is going with my mom and dad to my grandpa's grave. It was special because we gathered around him and sang his favorite songs. We held candles to remember him.

This is a Christmas tradition of Momlissa's family; on Christmas Day, we gather at Grandpa's grave and sing "Feliz Navidad" and other Christmas songs. I know she's very proud that it made such an impact on Cici.