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My Status: Fed Josh's almonds to the squirrels. They needed them very badly.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Friday Blog Roundup

I randomly taped footage of the Inauguration on Tuesday night, letting the VCR run for about 2 1/2 hours before I remembered to shut off the tape. I collected a random assortment of ball footage, photo montages of Barack Obama in his youth, and a great roundup of the day on the 11 p.m. news. I taped the footage because the ChickieNob requested it. Apparently, Inauguration Day was so much fun that the twins have decided it would be best to relive it every single day.

So at 6:45 each night this week, we've sat down on my bed to watch a half hour or so of the footage. Which, you know, makes it all kinds of trippy because we're reliving the same day over and over and over again. I have watched Beyonce sing "At Last" at least fourteen times. I literally can mimic every single one of Michelle Obama's facial expressions from her dance at the Mid-Atlantic ball.

Last night, the ChickieNob completely flipped out when we told her (with plenty of advance warning) that we'd be shutting off the VCR and saying goodnight to the Obamas. She threw herself backwards on the bed and kicked and screamed and writhed her way across our pillows. In a moment of panic, she even slapped Josh's leg and then freaked herself out over having done so by rolling around on the bed further, screaming her need to see Beyonce and the Obamas again. It was the craziest display of love I've ever witnessed. Josh stared at her and said, "if I had known that you would become this obsessed this quickly, I would have voted for McCain."

What do you do with a four-year-old who is softly moaning in her bed, her face stained with tears? Seriously? How will we make it through four years of this?

And even worse, that tape was our single blank tape in the house and now I can't tape over the footage because if she flips out like a ninja just for turning it off after a half hour, how will she react if the tape was gone?

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It will probably not come as a shock to anyone that we decided that our Purim theme for this year will be Obama-like in nature. A combination of renewal and change and hope. Though, er, now I'm thinking that this focus on the president isn't such a fine idea considering my daughter's reaction to turning off the tape. Can you imagine how she'll react when it comes time to mail out all of the presents?

I am putting up one of our mishloach manot baskets on the Internet again this year. You know, I like to invite y'all into our family's craziness. Doesn't everyone want a ton of candy and cookies and our ode to the First Family? So look for that in the next week or so when I've pulled my act together and taken photos of the first batch of baskets so you can get a sense of the cool factor in joining out mishloach manot list.

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So remember how I wrote last week about zombie squirrels? I was walking by the window yesterday and there on the ground, right near the house, was a dead squirrel and the only way to describe him is that he looked as if he had been Avada Kedavraed. He was lying on his back with his little paws up in front of him as if he were trying to stave off the spell. It literally looked as if he had been frightened to death.

I made Josh take care of it (i.e. remove him from the yard) and as he was walking back there to do so he pointed out the strange coincidence of the event and the post. "It's almost like the zombie squirrels aren't just a film idea. It's like they're literally coming for you."

Thanks, Josh, I guess you really wanted to miss out on all your sleep now that I'm going to keep you awake with not only talking about my feelings, but now talking about my fears and zombie squirrels. Good job.

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Kristen from The Fertile Infertile tagged me for a photo meme, but my contribution isn't so interesting. Now, if I could have chosen the 5th folder and the 5th picture, we would have had a different story. But my 4th picture in my 4th folder is this sign from the Cape.


It was the night before my sister's wedding and we were going to the rehearsal dinner. Josh and I saw it and started snickering. We ended up pulling over and snapping the picture even though we looked like idiots photographing a random hotel sign in really nice clothes. But there you have it.

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And now, the blogs...

An Unwanted Path had a post about remembering her miscarriage. The line that moved me most came in the middle: "No, it's not that I haven't met him; it's that you haven't met him yet. Your disbelief in my acute pain arises simply from your inability to see what I see. But it's right there, if you look hard enough with your sallow heart." I had chills when I read: "My child is not simply his death, no matter how much you think he is." An absolutely gorgeous post that will turn loss on its head.

Dear Monkey had a post that serves as background information for her new blog, but the writing really struck me especially the details about her emotional transformation after recurrent pregnancy loss. The final line of the post will gut you, especially after you read what comes before: "And every night in bed, before I drift off to sleep, the last thing I do is mentally rock an infant in my arms. Dear Monkey. This is for you."

On to Plan B had a heartbreaking post about an adoption plan which was interrupted after 38 hours as a mother. I cried over the line: "I was totally and completely hers, but she was no longer mine." Your heart will break for everyone one thousand times and you will also want to hug Pepper tightly.

Lastly, Baby Smiling in Back Seat started a series of posts a few weeks ago (and you can join in too every Thursday) and I really loved this week's musings on luck. I cracked up over this thought: "Seven years of infertility can turn you into a walking bundle of contradictions. Baby-crazed yet avoid most babies? Check. Can’t stand teenage mothers but hungry for paparazzi photos of Jamie Lynn Spears? Check. Sort of superstitious but not really? Apparently so." I liked her idea on the power of placebo. Join the conversation on lucky charms in her comment section.

The roundup to the Roundup: We love the First Family; we are already grooving on Purim; zombie squirrels are coming for me; and lots of bloggage to read. Plus, if you come back her Saturday night, I will show you the cool sugar flowers that I made this week.

18 comments:

Briar said...

I am cracking up about the Inauguration tape. You need to hie thyself to a Best Buy or something for some new blank tapes. Or get a DVR. That reaction is amazing and she should be indulged in this for as long as possible because it's so amusing and bizarre.

N said...

Wow, you guys are so creative. We just usually give out bagels that J makes.

Cara said...

Mel - for the first time as I read through the round up I realized, I had already read all those posts.

Wild - and yet - seeing them through your eyes made it all come back.

And - FYI readers - if you haven't read about the undead squirrels you MUST - it's is hilarity with a point!

Tash said...

Bella made me wake her up in order to see Michele's gown (I think she couldn't believe there were actually BALLS outside of fairy tales) and after a few seconds proclaimed that she liked Beyonce's dress much better. She's STILL talking about Aretha's hat, too. And frankly, Bella and Aretha are the only two people I know who could pull that thing off.

Also funny: last week Bella fell and smacked her head. We've been watching a lot of football lately, and have explained all the tests they run if they think you hurt your brain (concussion). So for fun (I was certain she wasn't that hurt) I said, "How many fingers?" Bella: 68. "Who's the president?" Bella (completely deadpan): John McCain.

Kathy said...

I look forward to your Friday Blog Roundup post every week. Even though I don't always make it to all of the blogs you highlight, I appreciate even just reading the parts you share and why they moved you.

Likewise, I couldn't wait to read the blurb you wrote for the post I picked for the Creme de la Creme, as I was curious to see how you would describe something I had written. You really are an awesome writer Mel! Thanks for all you do for our ALI community!

This is only the second time I have participated in ICLW and when I make the time to do it, it is really cool to find my way to new and interesting blogs.

LJ said...

I miss chickienob. I need to see her soon, even if she has tantrums. That being said - your posts that week have totally cracked me up, I have no idea why.

Is it basket time yet? Expect me to ask that like 50 times in between now and Purim because they are SO tasty.

HereWeGoAJen said...

I missed the ball on TV. Maybe the ChickieNob could tell me about it. I bet she can do it word for word by now.

April said...

isn't it better that the kids are dying to watch the president instead of hannah montana?? :)

m said...

Um, what April said. Exactly. But kind of giggling at the thought of you and Josh getting pummeled by a year old distraught over the thought of no more Beyonce and Obama, at least no more from that moment in time.

On the way to read the round-up now...

Jamie said...

The ChickieNob story is too funny! Of course it might be less funny if I were living it and not just reading about it. :-)

I remember when my brother was about four he had this tape he was obsessed with. Sadly it wasn't something as patriotic and wholesome as the Presidential Inauguration but a horror movie called "Trilogy of Terror." I remember it was something about a little wooden doll that came to life and tried to kill this lady in her apartment. He would watch it over and over with his hands over his ears. It didn't take too long before my Mom decided it wasn't funny anymore and threw the tape away.

Thankfully, he didn't grow up to be anything scary!!

Anita said...

You cracked me up with that story about the tape~it is so funny what kids get 'stuck on' sometimes! :)

loribeth said...

I keep thinking what a totally different world today's kids are growing up in -- compared to when I was ChickieNob's age & you watched something on TV once & it was gone forever (or maybe one more time in summer reruns). How does that change your psyche, being able to watch whatever you want on demand as often as you want?

But as April pointed out, at least she has great taste in viewing material. : )

Actually -- I just remembered that in early 1970s (pre-video), we had a cassette tape recorder. We used to set the mike in front of the TV set & sound-record episodes of The Partridge Family (dialogue, songs & all), & then listen to them... over & over & over. I can still recite parts of the "Danny & the Mob" episode.

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Thanks for the shout-out! I look forward to hearing your Thoughtful thoughts on luck now that your edits are done.

Obamania reminds me of a very random story: When I was younger than the ChickieNob, I spent the full duration of one violin lesson (yes, violin lesson -- you don't even want to know all of the lessons I took at age 3) searching the floor for a 3-millimeter piece of cardboard. I made my mom and the teacher crawl around and search with me. You know how codes are sometimes stamped on packages (expiration dates and other codes)? My McDonalds chocolate chip cookies had an imprinted code containing, among other letters and numbers, the letter D. I had extricated the D and then carried it in my hand for probably an hour (definitely quite a while; hard to know exactly, since I couldn't tell time then). Soon after arriving, I lost it. And then, I really lost it. I never did find it, and I left the lesson without having touched my violin. Don't come between a little girl and her obsession du jour.

My violin career didn't last long.

Anonymous said...

They still make VCRs??

Kara said...

The zombie squirrels... perfect name for a punk band. There you go - think of that instead of them coming to nibble on your toes at night.

I have to agree with the chickienob -- I might be the same way when we start watching our Tivo'd Tuesday for change aka Inauguration day or as my newphew says - agnurationday.

Aurelia said...

She'll stop having tantrums like that in about a year.

Then they start again at age 12, about once a month! (wink)

The Wife said...

Sugar Flowers? Wow! Can you eat those?

Karalee said...

I love it!! Lily is crazy in love with the Obamas, too. She pretends to tickle them when they're on the screen, and the night of the inauguration, she said, "Michelle, rock you" when we were rocking her before bed. Followed by "Barack Obama put you to bed." It's hilarious. I think she really thinks they're her friends. Nothing like a 20 mo. old who cries for Barack Obama before bed. :)