Ten on Tuesday.

1. An old friend forwarded me a recipe from Catherine Newman, who I'd lost touch with after the folding of Wondertime. I'm so glad to find her again, and am digging through all of her food files. Everything I've ever made of hers is Yum.

2. I have never roasted a chicken, but would like to.

3. It is getting awful close to Fisher's second birthday.

4. Suddenly he's noticing ABCs everywhere, and singing them, too. The poor second child has no completely intact alphabet puzzle to his name, however, so I put up a poster just for him. Then I checked that off the list, figuring he would just go about his day, and at least I could say it was there! But he really did go over and point to it and say random letters several times today. Score 1 for Mom.

5. We are eagerly awaiting a letter in the mail that will decide where Alla attends kindergarten next year.

6. A friend got me some body butter that has since run out but I'm hooked and must find more.

7. I love Shea Terra stuff, most especially the Shea Nilotica for my face. Super moisturizing, a little goes a very long way, and there's always a coupon code. Right now it's 30% off!

8. Fisher said this weekend, I love it when Daddy's home.

9. Which he certainly was not last week, all week, having gone on vacation to Puerto Rico. The nerve.

10. I'm kidding.

Forgive me.

But, it's the middle of a long week and I've found some cuteness to get me through the rest of it. In case any of you are having a long week, too, I thought these might bring some joy.

I actually said to myself after I took these, They are so dang cute.

I love you two.

Hand-me-downs.

In any home, the little kid gets the big kid's hand-me-downs. The good part about not having kids of the same gender (for Fisher, anyway, not so much for the parents), is that he at least gets his own set of clothes. For obvious reasons.

Everything else is already here, so why buy new? Why buy more? Case in point: watercolors. Look at those old cruddy paints the poor kid has to work with, while the big kid gets the fancy stuff.
I was about ready to give in and just buy the kid a 99-cent set palette, but then I saw his face.

And I realized, he doesn't care. A paint brush, water to dip it in (and consider dumping), and paper to show me whah I made! He's happy.

I will continue to clean up the crusty dried up colorful crumbs until he gets old enough to care. Or until the six-color palette goes on sale. Whichever comes first.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. After dropping Alla at school this morning, Fisher came home and immediately spotted Lovey, just hangin' out waiting for him to come home. He went right up and said, Hi, Wuvee, what are you doin? Playin? Yes? Big kiss.

2. A loose ritual for he and I on this one morning a week is to come home and read a bunch of books (especially boy ones like Purplicious that Alla couldn't possibly stand when she's home), and/or watch Signing Time. We haven't moved past the helicopter one. It's the one I used to hook him, figuring on him being excited about seeing helicopters, motorcycles, fire trucks. But we're still there.

3. This morning I was finishing up putting away the dishes and he thought he'd go on down to the television and just wait for me. I come downstairs and find him sitting on the couch with a blanket on him and he says, Cosee. Yep we were super cozy watching that same old Signing Time.

4. Super Bowl at our house = picnic. Even Fisher gets the excitement. Downstairs! Blanket! Floor! Foo-bawl!

5. Oh and guacamole, since avocados were on sale for an unprecedented forty-eight cents each. Score. It is a rare day that Fisher and I don't split an avocado with our lunches. Avocado goes with everything, don't you know?

6. Lately I can count shoveling snow amongst my workout options. If it were just the powdery stuff on the driveway I doubt I could get away with this, but it seems everytime I get out there a plow has just come around and dumped a huge amount of heavy wet snow at the end of our driveway and today my arms are still aching from it. The deck needs a good shoveling but I'm not sure my arms can handle anymore!

7. Yesterday Alla asked me what a mine is. I thought that "a place where they gather things" was a good answer to give my four-year-old. She obviously did not, because here is how she responded: No, a mine is a network of tunnels.

8. Needless to say, both kids are enjoying a steady stream of road construction DVDs.

9. Nana + Pappi are headed into town this weekend! The kids are over the moon!

10. Know what that means for us? Date night! We haven't been out since October. Dinner and a movie? Any movie suggestions?

Things he says.

In my mind, I could hear Fisher's response to all the things I say, and after I lost the ability to remember them all, I started writing them down. At the end of the day I had amassed a pretty comprehensive list of the things Fisher says to us all day long. This isn't a list of his acquired vocabulary, just a list of the things we hear all day long, every day, the way he says them, for me, so I'll always have his 22-month-old voice in my head saying these things to me.

dat cool. (That's cool.)

sinka Mama (stinky mommy)

hab it (have it)

ree-rit (read it)

ahpane/hehcotuh (airplane/helicopter)

ah wub you, too!

one, two, free, five...[counting to 14, skipping the number 4!]

hep-uh Mommy (help Mommy)

hi, diggers!

watch the diggers

lovey go?

Purple Dishes (purplicious)

jiggajiggajigga-jog! (jiggity jog!)

talka'natah! (talk to you later!)

ank you! (thank you!)

scissors, pweese

I could do it!

be more

hear it

see it

sinka buns (stinky buns)

watch, Mommy

wook, Mommy (look, Mommy)

don't worry (generally followed by, 'be happy')

see ya 'nater, crocadawool! (see ya later crocodile!)

I came right back!

buhbuh D (vitamin D)

wait!

go pahee first (go potty first)

fabrit (favorite - music or book or shirt)

I'dno (I don't know)

I'dno is it (I don't know where it is)

one buh (one more)

oh buhvuh (oh brother!)

ah by sef (all by myself)

wook, Daddy, numba (what number is on the calculator)

poh ahssis (post office)

see you 'morrow (see you tomorrow)

buh bye wuvee (bye bye lovey)

I need foon (spoon)

frayuh (sprayer - for his hair)

pees-a-ahsa (police officer)

juh kin! (just kidding! This is usually followed by 'ding ding,' but we are confused as to where that comes from?)

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Yesterday we ventured to Michael's for three things: frames, a bottle of red paint, and an iron-on patch. When we came out, the woman who'd been behind us in line offered me her extra Michael's coupon, saying that she realized she wouldn't be here the next week to use it. So, apparently she thinks that we go to Michael's once a week, coupon in hand. We don't, but now I know she does.

2. When we came out of Michael's, it was snowing, and by the time I got the kids in the car they had snow in their hair, having ditched their hats early in our shopping venture. I asked Fisher if he had snow in his hair. He said that he did, and would need a bath because of it.

3. For the record, we did not take a bath just because we got a little snow in our hair.

4. Shows Alla rotates between: Caillou, Dragon Tales, Dinosaur Train, WordWorld, Clifford, It's a Big Big World.

5. Yesterday I read Pinkalicious 4 times, Purplicious 3 times. To Fisher.

6. When Ron got home it was requested that he read them as well - start with Pinkalicious, then move onto Purple Dishes. Alla surprised all of us by taking over Purplicious and "reading" the ENTIRE book, start to finish, verbatim. That is some serious memorizing; it is not a short book!

7. Our library finally got the new Vampire Weekend. I'm #14 on the list.

8. It's 22 today. Just in case you're wondering.

9. Planning on a run around 5:30 this evening.

10. Between 8-10pm I feel like I just sit. I feel like I deserve it, but I just sit. Sit with the computer, sit with my husband, sit with the t.v., sit with dessert, sit with the laundry. What do you do between 8 and 10 p.m.?

Goodbye, January.

You've been kind to us.

God grant me many more Januaries, so that I might grow old with the ones I love.