Random Stuff from a Busy Time!

So long since I've posted and so much has happened, but sadly, I've forgotten a lot of it! That is the precise reason I keep a blog - to produce a book of it for my kids so they can read all of the little things that my sieve-like mind forgets week to week! Let's see:
The new bedrooms are working our fabulously. Tiernan's is still in transition, however, due to my being lazy and not losing my Craigslist virginity. Furniture that needs to go to a loving home is still occupying space in his room! Hopefully not for long!

The Gardipee Hale has gained a new toy for G and I - XBox 360 and Rock Band. LOVING IT! G is the permanent bassist named G Money and my Cella (short for Cinderella) plays both drums and vocals for our band, 180. We don't need no stinking guitarist! G and I set up our XBox (not Rock Band) Avatars to resemble ourselves and apparently G was successful! I turned it on with Kealan a few days later and she saw G signed in and exclaimed, "It's Daddy!"

The kids and I recently took a walk to go feed the ducks in the wetlands, and T went nuts! The whole time he was yelling, "Here, Duckies! Here's Lunch! Catch! Num, num, num!" You can see his delight in the pics.

There was one little female who was very aggressive, but sweet. She was right in the front row, often resting her beak on the bench. The kids were completely overwhelmed at first, and scrunched up on the bench the best they could! I kept feeling little tugs at my jeans and there she was, nipping at them.

Tiernan has been really amping up his vocabulary lately, and it's so fun to see it developing. It's very different than my experiences with Kealan in this department, because she was speaking right out of the womb! A few weeks ago I was watching him play with his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figures, introducing them to each other and experiencing near disaster: "Hi, Meek-oo (Mickey). Hi, Mimi (Minnie). Hi, Donna (Daisy), Boopy (Goofy), Pootu (Pluto). Stuck in house! Oh no! Bear coming! Hide!"

He is also discovering the joy and humor in bodily functions. A few weeks ago he burped at the table and said, "Hahahahahahahahahaha! Burp, Momma!" Kea and I are patiently teaching him how to say "excuse me". This is only the beginning!

One of these past evenings there was a gorgeous sunset and the kids and I sat on the deck watching it in their jammies.

Kealan and I hit Salmon Days again this year - my fave festival. We took her annual picture in the sculpture.

K Funnies:

One of her new nicknames for Tiernan: Little Homey

I made Trader Joe's Mini Tacos for the kids one night in an attempt to expand their repertoire. Trying to get her excited about their size, I asked, "You're not going to eat your baby tacos?" To which she replied dryly, "I don't eat babies, Mother."

She was demonstrating her pretend-piano playing skills when she showed me where the "stop" and "go" buttons were. "Pianos don't have stop and go buttons.", I said. "Mine does." she stated, matter-of-factly.

We're borrowing a friend's monitor for her until we're sure she's able to get in and out of her top bunk in the middle of the night and she's gone back to treating it as a CB: "Kshhhhhh! (CB noise) Agent Momma? You got your ears on? Kshhhhhhh!"

T Funny:

T and I were walking to the mailbox and I was explaining that we were getting the mail. He requested, "Money, please!"