He Came to Town

A week ago NT could only say, "Mama, Sata" (Santa). Now, he says, "Santa Cause!," several times a day. It's one of his clearer phrases. Besides the fact that I am now aware of the number of holiday Santas still on display, it just goes to show that where there is a will there is a way. Clearly, the man in red made a real impression with the lad on the big day, so he feels compelled to call him by his whole name. Who knows, he might wake up tomorrow shouting for Kris Kringle. At any rate, I feel compelled to add Mr. C to NT's top five most important (and therefore most clearly spoken) things:

1. baby

2. ketchup

3. tic-tac

4. mama/papa/Jasper

and now… 

5. Santa Claus

Cutting it

Today I was in the kitchen cutting up an apple for NT. The Honey was loading the dishwasher but had stepped away for a minute, leaving it open. NT started saying his favorite new phrase, "cutting it, cutting it, cutting it, mama." Without looking at him I said, "Yeah NT, I am cutting your apple." He kept at it, practically chanting. "Cutting it! Cut it!" I turned to give him his apple bits and there he was. He had two steak knives precariously pinched between the knuckles of his right hand, waving it in the air above his head. In his left hand he was gripping a paring knife. He was so happy just marching around the kitchen with his deadly dishwasher contraband. I don't know what is more remarkable, the way this kid puts himself into harms way, or that he hasn't been to the emergency room yet (knock on wood).

O-BAT-MA for Halloween, and for President

Happy Halloween. Here is a link to a full-page pdf of some Obama Halloween decor that I made today. I call it "ObatMa '08" Feel free to adorn your house and to vote accordingly. ;-)

Just My 'magination

J is so into his imagination and dress-up these days. He usually starts his day as a pirate, tying any available scraps of fabric and/or scarves around his neck, body and waist. He has been wearing the pirate vest I made him for last Halloween, daily, for over a month now. He adds an assortment of belts and ropes, criss-crossing his torso and uses my hair elastics to hold his daggers onto them. By mid-afternoon he has morphed into, "The Army of the Undead," (Thank you Scooby Doo). He adds more fabric scraps, and wraps my cloth headbands around his ankles and wrists to become a, "moomy" (mummy). He takes his role as guardian of "Cleopatricka's" tomb very seriously. He can often be found standing very still against the wall, eyes closed, a blanket draped from his waist to the floor. At those times he is a statue or a yet to be awakened Army of the Undead. He will recruit NT to stand at attention on opposite sides of the entryway, swords meeting in the center - guarding the entrance to the coliseum. That is when they are Roman soldiers. He regularly wants me to watch him run around and around the living room, demonstrating his chasing prowess. "Want to watch me run like a pirate mom?" "See how I can jump over the snake pit like Indiana Jones?" "Look at my ninja moves!" Or, donning swim goggles, "Don't I look like a Lego Agent bad guy?" 

If you ask, or even if you don't, but are willing to listen and listen he will tell you in intricate detail about his mission, who he is protecting, what the dangers are, and the underlying motives of all of the players. Generally speaking, the Army of the Undead doesn't hurt the bad guys. Rather, they prefer to scare them off. As J explained, "There is a danger that they need to protect the people, but they can't talk. They can only make scary sounds (he demonstrates the range here). So they don't want to hurt anyone, they just want to scare them off. Except for the really bad guys. They have to kill them." I am starting to realize that being an Army of the Undead in Cleopatricka's service isn't an easy calling. 

My favorite thing about today though was at bedtime. We were looking at the Playmobil catalog together and Jasper pointed out this one small set that he really liked. It was a Playmobil kid and a bunch of kittens. Oh the depths of this boy. He is a treasure.

These Times They Are for Changin'

What is it about certain movies? They get under your skin and make you want change. I think I am overly susceptible to the power of suggestion, but is that so bad? Tonight I watched Sex and the City, the movie. My apologies (and appreciation for the sentiment) if you were expecting something less shallow. 

If you know me, it doesn't take you long to become familiar with my wardrobe of yoga pants, and black tee shirts. Or to discover that my beauty regimen involves taking a shower and toweling off. But I was inspired by this movie. The fashion, at times hideous, was mostly over-the-top fabulous. The hair, the makeup, the EFFORT – amazing. 

There was a woman in front of me at the grocery store today with her panties showing. I'm not talking obscene, hoochie mama whale tail – just a little lace that peeked out for a second. Sigh. I want to be a girl that wears pretty lace panties. In my 20s I was that girl. Now I am a 100% cotton Hanes underwear girl (they're just too practical to call them panties).

Although, high fashion is well beyond my reach and interest (I could never spend that kind of money on shoes and bags), this NinjaMama is ready for the wind of change. Not sure which way it will blow through, but hold onto your hat.

It's debatable...

I just finished watching the first of the Presidential debates and then pouring ice water over my head, to cool down. Actually, unlike the RNC, this didn't get me too riled up. In turns I found McCain to be laughable, impressive and a liar. I don't have it in me to break things down in their entirety but here is a recap regarding those impressions.

Laughable McCain: "I have a fundamental belief in the United States of America." Well, now THAT is an important topic! I wonder why the moderator didn't make it into one of his questions for the night. After all, are we sure that everyone involved here has a fundamental belief  in our country? Puh-lease. In regard to McCain's obsession with pork barrel spending, I am relieved to know that he plans to cut out those big ticket expenses like the bear DNA study ($3 million), and enact a, "spending freeze"on everything except defense, veteran affairs and entitlement programs. After all, it's not like we are completely out of control on defense spending - sending 10 billion a month to Iraq. What we really need to do is get our $3 million back. Phew. Economic crisis solved. Thank heavens McCain has been in DC all week working so hard to push through the bailout. Clearly he has his finger on the pulse of the problem. Ha!

Impressive McCain: Hmm, what was it? Oh, right. I noticed that McCain had changed his tone in regards to the war in Iraq. He went from declaring that the troops will be coming home in "victory," to insisting the troops will come home, "not in defeat." I saw a faint glimmer of reality shining in that statement, and coming from McCain, that small concession was impressive.

Lying McCain: Actually, I was shocked and awed by the sheer number of times McCain outright lied during the debate. It's one thing to run misleading ads, or have your running mate make false claims in her RNC speech, but with fact checkers like this one from the Washington Post, it didn't really fly tonight. Maverick move, Johnny.

So, there it is. I am sure reader(s) of this blog - hi mom! - will be relieved when this election is over and I go back to writing about how tired I am, or how cute my boys are. Until then, nice job tonight Senator Obama. Can't wait to see Palin and Biden behind the podiums.

Waiting for a Reason

I have been thinking about it for months, and I finally got my carpet shampooed. I feel really good about it. I should probably be disturbed (we lay on it every day) but there is something so satisfying about sucking up some seriously dirty water from the carpet. Clean now. Yay. 

Before you go ahead and pat me on the back though, you should know that I only did it because J hurled his breakfast dead-center, and a foot wide on said carpet - leaving me no choice. Yep. We are experiencing the full spectacle of stomach flu, and all of its glories. Soiled laundry, extra baths, tired mama! At least when I collapse on the floor at the end of the day I know the carpet I am laying on is clean.