Do Fish Play Dead?

So Megan has this fish named Gil, who was a gift from Grandma Donna. Three times today, I have thought that fish was dead, only to shake the tank ever so gently and send him into a flurry of activity. He's been floating on his side, laying on the bottom of the tank, and doing other weird things not indicative of fish. It's very weird.

Spoiler Alert: I am going to vent about poopy diapers.

So Marina has been blowing out like you would not believe lately. Naturally, like any good mother, I assumed that her diapers were just too small. So I sent my sister to the store for the next size up, and stuck them on her. All was well. Then, I was on the computer awhile ago, happily reading the Howell's blog, when she rolled over from her back to her stomach. Now, she's only done that once before, so I was pretty excited. Until I saw (cue Jaws theme music) the hideous orange stain on her back. She had pooped all over herself AGAIN. So I did what any good mother would do: I called my husband at work to complain that she had blown out again and he wasn't home to take his turn with the poopy diaper (she never poops when he's home anymore). He wasn't at his desk. So I called my sister at work. She WAS at her desk, and laughed at me a lot. She also refused to trot across the street (she works at the school) and come change the diaper. So I had to do it again. Of course, while all this is going on, Marina is laughing and drooling and being incredibly cute and happy. Ergh.

After burning the cupcakes yesterday, I felt an almost primitive need to make them again, so I could prove to this recipe that it could not beat me. So I made them again. C'est perfection!! They are perfect. Roman and Evy are coming over in a little while, so I am going to make some icing and we are going to decorate Valentine's cupcakes. I will even wake Megan up from her nap to help.

Straws & Crocs

So while I was doing the dishes today, Megan discovered a box of plastic straws that I have had since who knows when. Since I was wearing my Crocs (which have lots of straw-sized holes in them) she thought it would be super fun to stick straws in all the holes. She did this with abandon--I looked like I had neon porcupine quills coming out of my feet. They actually stayed in pretty well...when I walked, one or two would fall out, and then she would run after me and stick them back in. I tried to take a picture, but our camera batteries are dead. Anyway, it was funny.

We did make cupcakes today. And I burned them. So we will try again tomorrow.

Sick little girls

So I thought nothing could be worse then a sick kid. WRONG. Two sick kids is much worse. Megan has influenza, and Marina has what could be the start of RSV. Ergh. Thankfully, our pediatrician is awesome and gave me down to earth advice--like he always does--and hopefully the kids will get better soon.

Nothing incredibly exciting has been going on in my life lately. However, in my friends' lives it seems that excitement abounds. Andrea and Mary have both had their babies (a boy for Andrea, a girl for Mary), so that's pretty cool. My Mom and Dad are heading out of town for their first week off together since they opened the bakery four years ago, my sister is having fun ignoring all my wedding suggestions...like I said, exciting stuff.

I feel like I'm kind-of in a rut today. It's probably just because I've been so busy all week with Megan (she's been SO sick). It's hard to believe that it's only Wednesday. Maybe tomorrow I'll come up with something cool for us to do. Reading Ser's blog about turning off the TV and doing other things has inspired me. Hmm...Valentine's Day is Saturday--maybe we will make cookies or cupcakes or something. Sweet, I have a project! Hooray for breaking the monotony!

Some new videos

Marina having fun in her Exersaucer...sorry if the video makes you seasick. Megan kept touching the camera, so Dn. John was having a hard time holding it still.




Megan dancing. I'm not sure what was going on with the hat, but she loved it.

I'd Like To Thank The Academy...

So a big fat thank you to the fine folks at Disney/Pixar for their brilliance at creating Wall-E. Megan loves that movie, and will often sit for long (for Megan) periods of time while I accomplish things that would not otherwise get done. And while we're thanking people who have made my life easier, here's a shout-out to Rachael Ray, the Aztec Nation (was it the Aztecs? I think so) for discovering chocolate, and the hardworking Americans at the Vitamin Water facility who are not spitting in my new love of lemonade vitamin water.

Water issues

So I was just going about my day today--took a shower, threw in a load of laundry, lalala, when all of a sudden my water pump started making scary and angry noises. That's right, I had run our water supply COMPLETELY OUT. There was dirty sludge water pumping into the washer, and nothing coming out of the faucets. Good times. My poor husband is downstairs now trying to fix everything.

I decided to clean the upstairs today. It was like going on an archeological dig in our bedroom--it had been SO LONG since I had cleaned upstairs. But, now it is clean, and I am happy. Of course, our only set of flannel sheets is what I threw in the washer, so I still have to make the bed whenever they dry...and seeing as it's a quarter to 7, I don't know if we're going to get the flannel sheets tonight. That sucks, since it's like 5 degrees outside.

I made a cheesecake today for my husband...I have been trying valiantly to figure out a way to bake cheesecake without there being a giant crack in it. Foiled again! I like to call it a "flavor crevasse" because you can just dump tons of topping in there to cover it up. However, today's cheesecake split in an almost straight line, so I think if I just cut it that way, it will get rid of the evidence!

We put up Marina's crib yesterday, and she is officially out of our bedroom. Such a delightful time in our life! I love being able to turn the light on at night, and roll over on our creaky box spring without worrying about it waking her up. However, it is annoying to have to get up and walk into the next room to nurse her 10,000 times a night, but it's worth it. She seemed to sleep better last night, too. Makes me happy.

Well, since the water situation seems to be remedied, I should probably go do the dishes. I love having a built in excuse not to do them all day, but that time has evidently passed. I should also get them done before the clergy meeting starts so that Dn. John can hold Marina for me...

Cool Things That Happened This Week

Here are some cool things that happened this week (as the title suggests):

--Driving through Eagle River the other day, I saw 15 Bald Eagles--and six of them were in one tree! Pretty sweet.

--Watching my nephew Zachary score 7 or 8 goals (I lost track) at his soccer game on Saturday...coincidentally, right before I saw the eagles.

--Got in touch with an old elementary school friend I hadn't heard from since 6th grade.

--My sister Jess got engaged.

--Marina finally figured out how to roll over.