More Emmettisms

Emmettisms:  He had an upset tummy the past couple of days.  He says that after he eats, in a little while, his tummy gets mad.

Instead of "supposed" he says, "opposed (with a soft s)"  As in, I'm on the computer, checking Facebook or writing a blog entry and he asks for a drink of water, and I tell him, "OK honey, just one minute."  Then in five minutes he says, "Mommy, you're OPPOSED to get me my water!

Instead of "remember" he says, "you membered?!"  As in, Mommy, you were opposed to get me my water, you membered?!"

Instead of "maybe" he says, "naybe."  And naybe is the Weapon of Choice for pitching an idea.  "Naaaaybe we should go to Target and I can choose a toy."  Coupled with Weapon of Choice #2:  the adorable look.  He's well aware how cute he is and how to arrange the facial features in a manner that is very difficult to resist.

Instead of "accidentally" he says, "actually."   For instance:  While he's giggling because he called me Daddy instead of Mommy by accident, he'll exclaim that he... "actually called me Daddy!"   His laughter comes freely and often, and it is such a sweet part of my life.

He also says, "Mommy, guess what?!" about 200 times a day, and I love it because he's just so busy thinking.  His observations are keen and lately he's also launching into the world of make believe in a very entertaining fashion.

He's really good company, and I will have to have a firm strategy in place when he goes to kindergarten next year to help alleviate my loneliness.  Of course, he maintains that he will not EVER be going to school.  For months this has been his stance.  He says I will be his teacher and this will be his school.  I'm considering it, but I know he would thrive at school, meeting new people and exploring the world in different ways.  We'll see.

But I do treasure the time I have with him now, my final baby.

The reason I normally exercise when Emmett is at Grandpa and Grandma's

I'm on a health kick. I found sparkpeople.com and am using it to return to exercise and a fitness focus. I have been meaning to since Emmett was born, and had a really great phase there for a while when he was about 5 months old until I got very sick and achy for months with Fifth's disease and decided to back off. It is now time again, and it's feeling great to have an organized approach.

I am blessed to have my retired parents living 7.5 miles away from me, and they are very generous with babysitting favors. It's great for everyone: the grandchildren get doted on, the grandparents get delighted by their progeny and I get a break from the 24/7 Mom/homemaker duties. I do various things with my "me time"; run errands, do yoga, take a walk, write, read...

I missed a babysitting date yesterday bringing Dakota to the vet (she is evacuated and feels and smells much better, btw) and so I decided to risk it and do my prescribed strength training followed by yoga this morning while Emmett was with me, and awake even! I know--what was I thinking?! It felt so good! Emmett sat on me if I was in a prone position doing ab work, and copied me if I stood up for wall push ups or resistance pulls. When I started doing yoga to stretch it all out he wandered off after a while. I heard him but couldn't see him over in his toy corner, and decided to go for a body scan to finish it all off and get centered. I was so thrilled that I got all the way through it and in the zone before the Mommy instinct kicked in and I realized it was... (say it with me) TOO QUIET.

Somehow while I was in the zone Emmett got in my baking drawer--his reach has really increased lately!--and found a delightful set of colorful, capped objects and brought them into the living room for closer inspection--squeeze bottles of food coloring! Thankfully, instinct kicked in before the coffee table got permanently stained. I'm afraid the birthday candles I had socked away for the next celebration are toast, though.

Dinner preparations...

I love to cook. Well, I should rephrase that. I love occasion cooking. Everyday cooking turns into somewhat of a chore. But I love having a special guest or occasion to plan for and really enjoy preparing and enjoying a big spread.

Since I had baby #4, I have been pretty slow to get back into making a big deal over dinner, and my efforts at hospitality have been slim to none. I think I'm (kinda) hitting my groove again now. Emmett is 20 months today, after all. Wow. I think I should get back in to cooking and having friends over.

Clara and I planted a little pot garden this summer, and the basil was starting to flower, so yesterday I decided it was high time to make fresh pesto. I found an authentic Genovesan preparation of pesto on 101cookbooks.com, which told me I needed to chop all the ingredients by hand which I was in the mood to do. It referenced homemade gnocchi to go along with it, which I've never had a go at, so... I bought the ingredients needed and a bottle of merlot and at dinnertime had fun sipping, chopping, kneading, sipping, rolling, boiling, sipping... It was definitely labor intensive, but I had fun and the family enjoyed the results.

I think pesto and gnocchi would be a fun group event. Get several couples together and have a party chopping and kneading and boiling, and definitely sipping.

When I was at Trader Joe's for the extra virgin olive oil and the 3 buck Chuck, I saw in the freezer section a Tiramisu Torte, which seemed an ideal choice to finish off the Italian meal. As it turned out, everyone in the family loved it! Even with the cocoa dusting and the hints of both coffee and alcohol. Even Emmett had a slice of it. I thought I'd share a picture of exactly how much he enjoyed the tiramisu. Not sure how much of it actually made it down the hatch, but as fingerpaint it really hit the spot. *sidebar* we have not bothered with a bib on him for months as he is a bib Houdini--it's off within 5 seconds and all you did by putting it on him was get his dander up.

Decree from the baby: "Take those off"

The snippet for today is from my 19 month old baby boy (pictured here dressed after a bath by his big sister and looking a little bit like Obi-Wan to me). This morning we heard the pitter-patter of little feet in the hallway and knew Emmett had awoken and was about to join us--such a sweet sound it is, too. Then he saw me and started reaching out, clearly displeased. Though he is at that age where he has learned the power in expressing his displeasure, this was a genuine bother. As it turned out, he wanted me to take my glasses off (and this is not the first time)! I guess now I have the clear answer to the question, "Do I look better wearing glasses or contacts?"