what lives in the grass

Yesterday’s commuting conversation between me and the three year old:

Zee: Mommy, do you know what lives in grass?

Me: Hmmmm…worms? Worms live in grass?

Zee: No. Flowers!

Me: Right, flowers. Flowers live in grass. You’re absolutely right.

[Pause]

Zee: Doggie poo poo lives in grass, too.

no words necessary, just click on the link.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vp-is6S_b_g

i dig my new job

I started a new job last Monday. Without giving away too much, I am writing and coordinating proposals for an E/A firm. It's corporate, but it's good corporate, meaning that there's a genuine desire to maintain a work/life balance and people generally are well-intentioned.

Ten years ago, I would've thought this was too square of a place to work. Having worked for "cutting edge" firms, I can say that, yeah, I landed in a good place. The problem with being cutting edge is that there is constant, unrelenting pressure to be cutting edge all the damn time. You can't. You just can't. But a lot of people think you can, and therein lies the problem. I'll take less stress in a less glam industry, thank you. I'm treated well, am respected by co-workers, have access to free coffee and water, leave at 5 p.m. and have the option of bringing the laptop home if I need to...not a shabby trade-off at all.

In other news, we're gearing up for our weeklong trip to SF. We've already got a full schedule - brunch here, birthday party there, dinner over that way. I'm looking forward to exploring my hometown with the minis. Not that they'll remember too much, but in a way, I'm sharing my experience as a kid with them.

M to the c to the D

I'll admit we are McDonald's patrons, a little more frequently than I like. A franchise is literally around the corner from our house, next to the Dairy Queen. The fast food temptation is a daily battle.

Our default purchases are:

D-Money - Royale with Cheese meal with a Coke

Zee - Chicken McNugget Happy Meal with apple juice and apple dippers.

Mr. O - Filet o' Fish, with most of the tartar sauce wiped off. I kid you not. He'll also help himself to some of my fries, as does Zee.

me - Big Mac meal with a Coke. Love that special sauce!

the vocabulary of a 17 month old boy

Our Mr. O has been diligently expanding his vocabulary. Below is a current list of favorite words.

snuh = snow

snah = snack

nana = banana, also a code word for "give me something that's good 'n' tasty to eat because I will expire from hunger in three seconds if you don't"

baba = bottle, of course. Can also be code for "sippy cup"

meh = milk

da = downstairs, also "what's that?", also an all-purpose term for anything for which we don't know the word yet

Mah! = Max, the name of one of our cats

Mah! = Coco, the name of the other cat

Cah! = cat

mama = mama

dada = daddy

duhduh = Zee

Duh! = duck

Cuh! = cow

aaaaaaarrrrrrrr = growling sound, can be related to polar bears, lions, tigers or bears in general. Occasionally related to pirates.

Dun! = done, as in "I'm done with dinner. I'll throw it on the floor if you don't clear my placesetting fast enough...oops, you're too late."

boh = book

baf = bath

No! = No!