My son asked for popcorn for dinner. By name, he asked for popcorn. When pressed, he emphatically reiterated his request, complete with full-body nodding.

I, terrible mother that I am, acquiesced. Hey, it's fresh popped on the stove, with olive oil. And, people, he asked for it by using a WORD.

He ate the guts from a piece of crusty bread, a few handfuls of popcorn, and sucked down a glass of grape juice. The kid just has no appetite. I fail to see how he manages to survive, but the pediatrician and First Steps folks unanimously insist that he's fine, perfectly normal, nothing to worry about, Mizz Hartung.

Meanwhile, young SumoSon will eat an entire banana and then wash it all down with a 20 minute nursing session. And if you offered him some Cheerios, he'll take those, too, thank you very much.

Now they're sitting on the floor at my feet, watching Ni-hao, Kai-lan and passing a puffy book back and forth between them.

Mom tells me the kids love World... let's pull it up and see... Yep, rumor confirmed. Dixon is rocking back and forth, and Samuel climbed up into my lap to watch and replay ... and replay ... and replay.

And look! Now he's eating an apple and more popcorn. Just another Monday night in Paradise.

Lysol intimate cleanser, wife beatings, pedophilia... all these things just scream, "Buy me!"

hat tip: Radley Balko

From Dixon

Bonus: The video contains evidence that mom and I really do sound exactly alike.

See this innocent-looking bag of pine nuts?


Would you believe ( (dun dun DUN...) )

Next up, Dixon video :)

I'm a stair counter. Always have been. Our homes in Saudi Arabia had 15 steps, and I confirmed this fact every time I climbed or descended them.

I am still a stair counter, and have been counting our 18 steps with Samuel nearly every day for a year and half. Yesterday morning, I asked him to count with me and he counted up to ten. TEN! And here I thought he could only count to five.

So now I'm doubly impressed :)

I need to take a moment
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Alright, well I feel better now. Back to work!

PopPop took Samuel fishing at one of the city parks today and - happiness! - they caught a catfish. PopPop was pleased as punch, and so was Samuel... so long as the fish stayed beyond arm's reach. Heh. Now mommy has a new Skeptical icon.


If you're wondering, yes they let the fish go. Dad said he could have been a keeper, but catch and release was good enough for today.

He can count to five, he recognizes the word "moon" and more than half the letters of the alphabet.

Yesterday, he was singing "A,B,C... A,B,C" Then at dinner he said, clear as a bell, "napkin peeze". He's started singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", and is generally becoming more intelligible.

He's making great strides with his speech, and it's so thrilling to see. He's exceptionally bright, and as he gains expressive language he's blossoming even more.

Yes, I'm proud :)

This just in from MomMom and PopPop: Dixon is Crawling!

After several weeks of rocking, rolling, and backwards and sideways creeping, he's finally figured out the secret to forward locomotion.

YAY!

Can anyone explain to me how the SCOTUS decision makes any sense at all? I'm so disgusted, I'm speechless.

My new nephew was born yesterday. I'll be leaving early to go pay him and my SIL a visit.

Tomorrow morning, dark and early, we'll be taking Dixon to Kosair for his surgery.

Here's to hopes for a swift recovery for my SIL, for a happy and fulfilling life for little Hagan, and for Dixon's boys to be safe and easily secured in their proper home.

I'll be staying at the hospital with Dixon overnight, but I hope to be able to post a Hooray! from there.

First, there are these fabulous little fellas.



Then, there's my latest accomplishment: Dixon's quilt!





The pattern is Animal Crossing, from Cherry House Quilts. I can't say enough good things about Cherri... she's just wonderful. And check out her wildly talented daughter, Lizzy.

And now I have to go soothe the younger of those young'uns I'm so proud of. *sigh* So tired. Kid, I love you, but please please please go to sleep.

Today at 2:30 ET, the Mississippi Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the case of Cory Maye.

The court will have a live video stream here.

To remind you, here is an article on the case.

Here is the pdf of the appeal brief. I'm not a lawyer, but I think the appeal is so convincing that only a fool would deny it.

Cory is a wonderful man with a kind heart and a deep love of God. We write to each other, and through our letters, I've seen what a loving and generous man he is. He deserves his freedom, and I hope it is granted him.

First, I want to share a little story. When I was a wee thing, my parents used to try to convince me that I was really a boy. We found you under a rock, and you had a tail, they'd say, and we wanted a girl so much that we grew your hair long and put you in dresses.

I did indeed have long hair. It was so long, I used to sit on it. And I did like to wear dresses. One evening, when I was five or so years old, my parents were again telling me the story of how they found me under a rock. This evening, though, I pointed out that Nuh uh, I'm not a boy! I don't have what daddy has! I don't stand up to pee!

And so ended the game.

I thought it may be fun to play with my kids someday, and tell them that they were really girls. To bolster my argument in a way my parents didn't think of, I am gathering ( photographic evidence )

Somebody stop me. Please.

A new grant mechanism came out (thanks again, ARRA 2009), it looks like a great alternative to the mechanism we were pursuing.

I had to go and say so.

The reply: "Great we will do both. I will explain get ready for some hard work."


NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!

I can see where we can do both. I can. I just wish I could stop making so much work for myself.

Hey! Said I. I said, Hey! There's a whole lotta FDA hoop-jumping we have to do here, before we can do this other thing you want me to do.

So guess who's in charge of mapping out all those hoops? That's right, me.

The search for the government's definition of "medical device" has taken me half an hour of combing through the CFR database. Make that even longer, because the link that was supposed to take me to 21 CFR 201(h) has apparently been erased from the intertubes. Shit... Oh, look! Lazarus link! It's aliiiiiive. Finally!

I've read multiple guidances, and have tried to distill them into something palatable, but it's damn near impossible with some of these things. I'm sorry, you just have to read the whole thing, guys.

9:15 and I want a mojito. And a beach. And my well-tanned man in white shorts, rubbing scented oils into my skin...

*sigh* I'll just take a moment and go to my happy place.

ETA: Ok, so I'm scrolling through the index for 21 CFR (parts 1 to 1499, thankyouverymuch) and come across (332) Antiflatulent products for over-the-counter human use. That's right, the Beano regulation!

Nothing makes you lean libertarian like reading through the CFR. My god.

Oh, no! Not another picture post!

Samuel knows most of the alphabet, and I tried to capture it all on video, but he grew bored before we could finish. Ah, well. Maybe next time. For now, here's the alphabet through P.

From Samuel and Dixon

( More dreadful cuteness within. Beware! )

The kids were loads and loads of fun, this weekend. Many giggles, skishes, kisses, chases and cuddles were had. Jeff built the first of two garden beds for me yesterday, and I'm very nearly finished with Dixon's quilt. All that's left is the quilting and binding.

I'm just going to sit here at my desk and bask in the memories ... and work, I guess :)

Dixon sprouted his first tooth yesterday, at 7 months, 6 days.

Samuel didn't sprout his first tooth until his 10-monthsday, and took another month to sprout tooth #2.

Funny, the differences.

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The neurosurgeon tells us that Dixon's head is just big and ridgy. He also declared Jeff's head to be big and ridgy. "It's your fault," they said. *grins* So. No horrible skull-busting surgery for my little snuggle bug.

Also, no MRI is needed, so I canceled that.

Dr. N, the ped. surgeon, will perform laparoscopy to find The Boys and place them (or it, depends on what he finds) in their rightful home. We scheduled that surgery for June 10, with an overnight stay because the doctor says he'll have to "do a lot of dissection", which will likely make Dixon feel pretty ill.

Yeah, rational as I may be, my stomach lurched at hearing the word "dissection" used in reference to my baby.

It'll be ok, though. *sigh of relief*

Samuel and the sandbox


Somebody get this boy some sunglasses!

No, I don't mean the shuttle launch.

I mean this!