super sniffer

I have a superpower. Every time I am pregnant I develop an extraordinary good sense of smell. I have no idea why this happens, but there is no escaping my super sniffer. For instance, if someone is eating peppers within a five mile radius, I know it. My kids are no longer able to sneak treats in the kitchen; even if I am in the attic with the door closed not only can I smell them in the kitchen, I can tell you exactly what they are into. So stinkers beware! If you have any odors you are trying to hide make sure you stay a good distance from me.

And if you happened to skip a shower or two, for mercy's sake, my stomache is still delicate so unless you want to get bowled over as I make a mad dash for the porcelin god, keep away!!!

the name game

With the new baby on the way the boys have already been discussing what to name her- I say her because they are convinced she is a girl -we don't have any proof yet. Samuel was set on Obi Wan Traverso until I painstakingly convinced him that Obi Wan was NOT a girls name. ("What about Obi Wan with the long hair down?" James confusedly asked. "No, not even then!") So then we ran the gammut of Star Wars girls characters and the boys, with John egging them on, came up with Asouka Tanno Ratto Traverso, compliments of Star Wars the Clone Wars.
Shoot me now!
Anyhow, I am not really sure the boys (all three of them) should have any say in the matter of naming the baby. After all, when presented with the opportunity to name their stuffed animals, Samuel came up with Marty Stripes and Marty Zebra for his zebras and Aaron the Elephant (Aaron pronounced AA-Rin); while James came up with the stunningly clever Lamby the Sheep and Lamby the Lamby for his Lambs and for his new dragon webkinz, what else but Dragon the Dragon! Not to mention that Samuel was lovingly referred to as Bagel in-utero while James was auspiciously called Wookie. Both courtesy of John.
I think if it is up to them we will end up naming our new arrival Baby the Baby or Girl the Girl.
Maybe I should invest in a Baby Names book.

new lingo

We finally broke down and bought James a webkinz this weekend. He is so excited I don't think he has stopped smiling for two days. Due to the webkinz the kids have developed a new lingo. Just before dinner tonight Sam announced, "Mom, I am so hungry I am down to a 72." (Referring of course to the hunger meter on the webkinz website) James chimed in, "Well, I'm a five!" I laughed and fed them dinner. As they were washing their hands James said, "Now I am 100." Samuel nodded in agreement, asking if we could play with the webkinz online...again.

banana bread and froot loops

Oh, the joys of pregnancy! Like many moms-to-be I have morning sickness for the first 16 weeks or so. This time around my doc prescribed this amazing anti-nausea pill that does a great job of quelling most of the sickness. However, the baby is already picky (definitely a member of our family) and food which is ok to eat one day is not any good the next- with two notable exceptions: banana bread and froot loops (without milk of course). So if you stop by our house, we may not have real food to offer but there will be no shortage of banana bread and froot loops...if I feel inclined to share.

what our children see

I have spent the morning following the media circus of the inauguration today. It annoys me how sensationalized the news has become over the years- almost like they are trying to become the next hot reality tv show. Anyway, FINALLY we got to the heart of the purpose of all this craziness, the actual oath of office and speech by President Obama. I have not been a big fan of his and have been waiting to be impressed since he first stepped onto the political scene. Today, in his speech I finally saw someone worth respecting and though incredibly idealistic (how in the world does he expect to make that many changes in 4 years, let alone an entire lifetime???), someone worth believing. I only pray that he carries through with his goals and holds the government to the ideals he so strongly laid out today.

What affected me most during his speech was the potential his presidency has to effect the lives of my children and children all over the world. Last night we sat down with the boys and talked about Martin Luther King Jr. We read his "I have a dream" speech and explained what Dr. King was trying to accomplish. Samuel could hardly believe the unfairness with which black people in America were treated. His expression was shock when we related the speech to Barak Obama and told him that Obama would be the first black president of our country. I love that he could not believe it! I want my kids to grow up understanding that everyone should be treated with respect and given the same opportunities. That Samuel never felt differently makes me very happy. (I have to think that this is a credit to our Philadelphia ward that is so racially diverse with amazing people who are appreciated for who they are not what they look like.)

I look forward to a society where the color of our skin really makes no difference, not just in the eyes of our children.

water troubles

So, there is sort of a learning curve you go through with a new house: what weird noises does it make, where do we set the thermostat, how well does the dishwasher work, how many leaves can be in the gutters before you can clean them, etc. Well, we are still trying to figure out this house and we just came up with a doosy of a problem.
For the month of December we apparently used 11,600 gallons of water- which is impressive considering we were gone for two weeks of that time. If the figure seems astronomically high to you, don't worry. Now you understand how we feel. The question is, where is the water going? We don't see any water damage and we don't hear any water running. ???????
Has anyone ever had a similar situation? We are now paying about $60 more a month for water (more than double what we should be paying) and we have no idea what is going on. Are there any plumbing experts out there who have come across this sort of thing before. It is driving us crazy trying to figure out this new house idiocyncracy.

webkinz crazy

I know Erin K. already posted about this topic but I wanted to add my two cents. We got Sam a webkinz elephant for Christmas and the entire family has become completely enthralled by the whole deal. John and I have been spending the last couple of evenings playing the games on webkinz.com so Samuel could build more rooms and decorate, feed and clothe his webkin. In fact, I am embarrased to say, I spent most of the day on the website just for the fun of it. While Sam was at school James wanted his turn to play the games and feed the webkin--now we know what to get him for his birthday. Just when I thought I wasted enough time on the computer, I found this new way to throw away an entire day.

I think I need some professional help! Is there such things as Webkinz Anonymous?